Project description:Genome assemblies are in the process of becoming an increasingly important tool for understanding genetic diversity in threatened species. Unfortunately, due to limited budgets typical for the area of conservation biology, genome assemblies of threatened species, when available, tend to be highly fragmented, represented by tens of thousands of scaffolds not assigned to chromosomal locations. The recent advent of high-throughput chromosome conformation capture (Hi-C) enables more contiguous assemblies containing scaffolds spanning the length of entire chromosomes for little additional cost. These inexpensive contiguous assemblies can be generated using Hi-C scaffolding of existing short-read draft assemblies, where N50 of the draft contigs is larger than 0.1% of the estimated genome size and can greatly improve analyses and facilitate visualization of genome-wide features including distribution of genetic diversity in markers along chromosomes or chromosome-length scaffolds. We compared distribution of genetic diversity along chromosomes of eight mammalian species, including six listed as threatened by IUCN, where both draft genome assemblies and newer chromosome-level assemblies were available. The chromosome-level assemblies showed marked improvement in localization and visualization of genetic diversity, especially where the distribution of low heterozygosity across the genomes of threatened species was not uniform.
Project description:Legumes are simultaneously one of the largest families of crop plants and a cornerstone in the biological nitrogen cycle. We combined molecular and phylogenetic analyses to evaluate genome conservation both within and between the two major clades of crop legumes. Genetic mapping of orthologous genes identifies broad conservation of genome macrostructure, especially within the galegoid legumes, while also highlighting inferred chromosomal rearrangements that may underlie the variation in chromosome number between these species. As a complement to comparative genetic mapping, we compared sequenced regions of the model legume Medicago truncatula with those of the diploid Lotus japonicus and the polyploid Glycine max. High conservation was observed between the genomes of M. truncatula and L. japonicus, whereas lower levels of conservation were evident between M. truncatula and G. max. In all cases, conserved genome microstructure was punctuated by significant structural divergence, including frequent insertion/deletion of individual genes or groups of genes and lineage-specific expansion/contraction of gene families. These results suggest that comparative mapping may have considerable utility for basic and applied research in the legumes, although its predictive value is likely to be tempered by phylogenetic distance and genome duplication.
| S-EPMC524433 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Parnassius clodius genotype by sequencing study
Project description:When the genomes of Caulobacter isolates NA1000 and K31 were compared, numerous genome rearrangements were observed. In contrast, similar comparisons of closely related species of other bacterial genera revealed nominal rearrangements. A phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA indicated that K31 is more closely related to Caulobacter henricii CB4 than to other known Caulobacters. Therefore, we sequenced the CB4 genome and compared it to all of the available Caulobacter genomes to study genome rearrangements, discern the conservation of the NA1000 essential genome, and address concerns about using 16S rRNA to group Caulobacter species. We also sequenced the novel bacteria, Brevundimonas DS20, a representative of the genus most closely related to Caulobacter and used it as part of an outgroup for phylogenetic comparisons. We expected to find that there would be fewer rearrangements when comparing more closely related Caulobacters. However, we found that relatedness was not correlated with the amount of observed "genome scrambling." We also discovered that nearly all of the essential genes previously identified for C. crescentus are present in the other Caulobacter genomes and in the Brevundimonas genomes as well. However, a few of these essential genes were only found in NA1000, and some were missing in a combination of one or more species, while other proteins were 100 % identical across species. Also, phylogenetic comparisons of highly conserved genomic regions revealed clades similar to those identified by 16S rRNA-based phylogenies, verifying that 16S rRNA sequence comparisons are a valid method for grouping Caulobacters.
Project description:Inferring in humans biological responses to external cues such as drugs, chemicals, viruses and hormones, is an essential question in biomedicine and cannot be easily studied in humans. Thus, biomedical research has continuously relied on animal models for studying the impact of these compounds and attempted to M-^StranslateM-^T the results to humans. In this context, the Systems Biology Verification for Industrial Methodology for Process Verification in Research (SBV IMPROVER) initiative had run a Species Translation Challenge for the scientific community to explore and understand the limit of translatability from rodent to human using systems biology. Therefore, a multi-layer omics dataset was generated that comprised of phosphoproteomics, transcriptomics and cytokine data derived from normal human (NHBE) and rat (NRBE) bronchial epithelial cells exposed in parallel to more than 50 different stimuli under identical conditions. The present manuscript describes in detail the experimental settings, the generation, processing and quality control analysis of the multi-layer omics dataset. The datasets are accessible in public repositories could be leveraged for further translation studies.
Project description:“Compassionate Conservation” is an emerging movement within conservation science that is gaining attention through its promotion of “ethical” conservation practices that place empathy and compassion and the moral principles of “first, do no harm” and “individuals matter” at the forefront of conservation practice. We have articulated elsewhere how Compassionate Conservation, if adopted, could be more harmful for native biodiversity than any other conservation action implemented thus far, while also causing more net harm to individuals than it aims to stop. Here, we examine whether empathy, compassion and inflexible adherence to moral principles form a solid basis upon which to meet the goals of conservation biology as specified by pioneers in the discipline. Specifically, we examine a large empirical literature demonstrating that empathy is subject to significant biases and that inflexible adherence to moral rules can result in a “do nothing” approach. In light of this literature, we argue that our emotional systems have not evolved to provide a reliable basis for making decisions as to how best to ensure the long-term persistence of our planet. Consequently, in its most radical form, the Compassionate Conservation philosophy should not be enshrined as a legalized guiding principle for conservation action.
Project description:Regulation of gene expression is highly conserved between vertebrates, yet the genomic binding patterns of transcription factors are poorly conserved, suggesting that other mechanisms may contribute. The spatial organization of chromosomes in the nucleus is known to affect gene activity, but it is unclear to what extent this organization is conserved in evolution. Genome-wide maps of nuclear lamina (NL) interactions show that human and mouse chromosomes have highly similar folding patterns inside the nucleus. Breaks in synteny are often located at transition points between NL interacting and intra-nuclear regions. Data were compared against data from Peric-Hupkes, Meuleman et al. (Molecular Cell, 2010). The procedure to arrive at the provided Hidden Markov Model (HMM) state calls is as follows: We fitted a two-state HMM whereby emissions are distributed as Student's t variables. Mean and variance of DamID signals differ between states, but the degree of freedom (nu) is the same. Gaps in the probe coverage were filled by evenly spaced null probe-values. The parameters were estimated by an adaptation of the ECME algorithm to the HMM framework, showing faster convergence than regular EM when nu is unknown (Filion et al., Cell, 2010). State calls were derived through the Viterbi algorithm. This process was repeated separately for each cell type, yielding per-probe calls. Probes in the ‘bound’ (1) state are indicated as LAD-probes, probes in the ‘unbound’ (0) state as inter-LAD-probes. All data are mapped to human reference genome assembly NCBI36 / hg18
Project description:We mapped DNA methylation in 580 animal species (535 vertebrates, 45 invertebrates), resulting in 2443 genome-scale, base-resolution DNA methylation profiles of primary tissue samples from various organs. Reference-genome independent analysis of this comprehensive dataset defined a “genomic code” of DNA methylation, which allowed us to predict global and locus-specific DNA methylation from the DNA sequence within and across species. This code appears broadly conserved throughout vertebrate evolution, with two major transitions – once in the first vertebrates and again with the emergence of reptiles. Beyond the central role of species-specific DNA sequence composition, our dataset identified the tissue type and the individual as two main sources of DNA methylation variability within species. Tissue type was the dominant factor in fish, birds, and mammals, while in invertebrates, reptiles, and amphibians both factors were similarly strong. Cross-species comparisons focusing on heart and liver tissues supported a highly conserved role of DNA methylation for tissue type and identity and cross-mapping based promoter methylation analysis revealed divergence at specific genes. In summary, this study establishes a large resource of vertebrate and invertebrate DNA methylomes, it showcases the power of reference-free epigenome analysis in species for which no reference genomes are available, and it contributes an epigenetic perspective to the study of vertebrate evolution.
Project description:The increasing application of RNA-seq to study non-model species demands easy-to-use and efficient bioinformatics tools to help researchers quickly uncover biological and functional insights. We developed ExpressAnalyst (www.expressanalyst.ca), a web-based tool for processing, analyzing, and interpreting RNA-seq data from any eukaryotic species. ExpressAnalyst contains a series of modules that enable raw data processing and annotation of FASTQ files, and statistical and functional analysis of counts tables and gene lists. All modules are integrated with EcoOmicsDB, an ortholog database that enables comprehensive analysis for species without a reference transcriptome. By coupling ultra-fast read mapping algorithms with high-resolution ortholog databases through a user-friendly web interface, ExpressAnalyst enables researchers to obtain global expression profiles and gene-level insights from raw RNA-seq reads within 24 hours. Here, we present ExpressAnalyst and demonstrate its utility with a case study of RNA-seq data from multiple non-model salamander species, including two that do not have a reference transcriptome.