Project description:The brushtail possum, Trichosurus vulpecula, is threatened in parts of its native range in Australia, but has also become a devastating mammalian pest following introduction into New Zealand from the mid 1800s. We have completed the first chromosome-level assembly of the possum genome and, using nuclear and mitochondrial analyses, traced southern New Zealand possums to distinct Tasmanian and mainland Australian subspecies, which have subsequently hybridised. This admixture is reflected in high levels of genetic diversity within New Zealand populations despite a founding bottleneck. Functional genomics revealed unique adaptations to altricial birth and extending weaning, including novel chemo-sensory genes, and at least four genes with imprinted, parent-specific expression not yet detected in other species (MLH1, EPM2AIP1, UBP1 and GPX7). We found that reprogramming of possum germline imprints and the wider epigenome was similar to eutherian mammals, except onset occurs after birth. Together, our data and analysis is useful for genetic-based control and conservation of possums, and contributes to understanding of the evolution of novel mammalian epigenetic traits such as germline methylation erasure and genomic imprinting.
Project description:The brushtail possum, Trichosurus vulpecula, is threatened in parts of its native range in Australia, but has also become a devastating mammalian pest following introduction into New Zealand from the mid 1800s. We have completed the first chromosome-level assembly of the possum genome and, using nuclear and mitochondrial analyses, traced southern New Zealand possums to distinct Tasmanian and mainland Australian subspecies, which have subsequently hybridised. This admixture is reflected in high levels of genetic diversity within New Zealand populations despite a founding bottleneck. Functional genomics revealed unique adaptations to altricial birth and extending weaning, including novel chemo-sensory genes, and at least four genes with imprinted, parent-specific expression not yet detected in other species (MLH1, EPM2AIP1, UBP1 and GPX7). We found that reprogramming of possum germline imprints and the wider epigenome was similar to eutherian mammals, except onset occurs after birth. Together, our data and analysis is useful for genetic-based control and conservation of possums, and contributes to understanding of the evolution of novel mammalian epigenetic traits such as germline methylation erasure and genomic imprinting.
2022-11-29 | GSE218734 | GEO
Project description:Bacterial diversity in aquaculture enrichment gradient New Zealand
| PRJNA666153 | ENA
Project description:Genetic Diversity of Giardia intestinalis in New Zealand
Project description:In order to understand how Phormidium mats establish, and the role of associated taxa in their development, we collected biofilms over a 19-day growth period during a nitrate-induced bloom event in the Wai-iti River for proteogenomics analysis. At the onset of a late summer bloom, cobbles from the Wai-iti River (Nelson, New Zealand) were removed, cleared of incipient growth with sterile sponges, and placed back into the river. Clearing was gentle as seeding from the pre-existing rock surface is important for bloom establishment [24]. Five pre-cleared cobbles were collected at each of 3 time points to capture the first 3, 6 and 9 days of growth (Table S1). Additional cobbles that contemporaneously developed biofilms were collected at days 12 and 19.