| 1. |
- Liu, Hui, et al.
(författare)
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Centromere-Specific Retrotransposons and Very-Long-Chain Fatty Acid Biosynthesis in the Genome of Yellowhorn (Xanthoceras sorbifolium, Sapindaceae), an Oil-Producing Tree With Significant Drought Resistance
- 2021
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Plant Science. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 1664-462X. ; 12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In-depth genome characterization is still lacking for most of biofuel crops, especially for centromeres, which play a fundamental role during nuclear division and in the maintenance of genome stability. This study applied long-read sequencing technologies to assemble a highly contiguous genome for yellowhorn (Xanthoceras sorbifolium), an oil-producing tree, and conducted extensive comparative analyses to understand centromere structure and evolution, and fatty acid biosynthesis. We produced a reference-level genome of yellowhorn, ∼470 Mb in length with ∼95% of contigs anchored onto 15 chromosomes. Genome annotation identified 22,049 protein-coding genes and 65.7% of the genome sequence as repetitive elements. Long terminal repeat retrotransposons (LTR-RTs) account for ∼30% of the yellowhorn genome, which is maintained by a moderate birth rate and a low removal rate. We identified the centromeric regions on each chromosome and found enrichment of centromere-specific retrotransposons of LINE1 and Gypsy in these regions, which have evolved recently (∼0.7 MYA). We compared the genomes of three cultivars and found frequent inversions. We analyzed the transcriptomes from different tissues and identified the candidate genes involved in very-long-chain fatty acid biosynthesis and their expression profiles. Collinear block analysis showed that yellowhorn shared the gamma (γ) hexaploidy event with Vitis vinifera but did not undergo any further whole-genome duplication. This study provides excellent genomic resources for understanding centromere structure and evolution and for functional studies in this important oil-producing plant.
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| 2. |
- Wang, Xi, 1990-
(författare)
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The roles of demography and natural selection in shaping genome-wide variation of Norway spruce
- 2020
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Understanding the relative contribution of genetic drift, natural selection, and mutation to genetic variation, and quantifying adaptive evolution and the effects of natural selection in species are enduring goals of evolutionary genetics. Norway spruce (Picea abies) is one of the most important conifer species that dominates from both an ecological and economical point of view in many boreal ecosystems. Recently published reference genome of Norway spruce makes it possible to perform population genomic studies to understand the basis of genetic variation and evolutionary effects of natural selection in P. abies by using next-generation sequencing (NGS) data. We create an ultra-dense genetic linkage map for Norway spruce using sequence capture data. The consensus genetic map consists of 21,056 markers derived from 14,336 scaffolds that contain 17,079 gene models (25.6% of the validated gene models) that we have anchored to the 12 linkage groups (LGs). We also demonstrate, however, that approximately 3.8% of the anchored scaffolds and 1.6% of the gene models covered by the consensus map have likely assembly errors. By performing population genetic analyses using the genomic regions anchored to LGs, our genetic linkage map is sufficiently dense to enable detailed evolutionary analyses across the P. abies genome.In order to understand how different evolutionary forces have shaped patterns of nucleotide diversity in Norway spruce, we perform population genomic analyses using whole-genome resequencing data. We find that genetic diversity is low across a number of populations in spite of a very wide geographic distribution of P. abies. The demographic history of several reoccurring bottlenecks with concomitant decreases in effective population size, the recurrent natural selection (both purifying and positive selection), and the low overall mutation rates seen in conifers, together make contribute to the loss of genome-wide nucleotide diversity in Norway spruce.We quantify adaptive evolution and the effects of natural selection across the Norway spruce whole genome. The results show that negative selection is very limited in coding regions, while positive selection is rare in coding regions but very strong in non-coding regions, suggesting the great importance of regulatory changes in evolutionary history of P. abies. We further find a positive correlation between adaptive rate with recombination rate and a negative correlation between adaptive rate and gene density, suggesting a widespread influence from Hill-Robertson interference to efficiency of protein adaptation in P. abies. The distinct population statistics between genomic regions under either positive or balancing selection with that under neutral regions indicate impact from natural selection to genomic architecture of Norway spruce.
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| 3. |
- Yang, Fu-Sheng, et al.
(författare)
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Chromosome-level genome assembly of a parent species of widely cultivated azaleas
- 2020
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Ingår i: Nature Communications. - : Nature Publishing Group. - 2041-1723. ; 11:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Azaleas (Ericaceae) comprise one of the most diverse ornamental plants, renowned for their cultural and economic importance. We present a chromosome-scale genome assembly for Rhododendron simsii, the primary ancestor of azalea cultivars. Genome analyses unveil the remnants of an ancient whole-genome duplication preceding the radiation of most Ericaceae, likely contributing to the genomic architecture of flowering time. Small-scale gene duplications contribute to the expansion of gene families involved in azalea pigment biosynthesis. We reconstruct entire metabolic pathways for anthocyanins and carotenoids and their potential regulatory networks by detailed analysis of time-ordered gene co-expression networks. MYB, bHLH, and WD40 transcription factors may collectively regulate anthocyanin accumulation in R. simsii, particularly at the initial stages of flower coloration, and with WRKY transcription factors controlling progressive flower coloring at later stages. This work provides a cornerstone for understanding the underlying genetics governing flower timing and coloration and could accelerate selective breeding in azalea. Azaleas are one of the most diverse ornamental plants and have cultural and economic importance. Here, the authors report a chromosome-scale genome assembly for the primary ancestor of the azalea cultivar Rhododendro simsi and identify transcription factors that may function in flower coloration at different stages.
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| 4. |
- Shi, Tian-Le, et al.
(författare)
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High-quality genome assembly enables prediction of allele-specific gene expression in hybrid poplar
- 2024
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Ingår i: Plant Physiology. - : Oxford University Press. - 0032-0889 .- 1532-2548. ; 195:1, s. 652-670
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Poplar (Populus) is a well-established model system for tree genomics and molecular breeding, and hybrid poplar is widely used in forest plantations. However, distinguishing its diploid homologous chromosomes is difficult, complicating advanced functional studies on specific alleles. In this study, we applied a trio-binning design and PacBio high-fidelity long-read sequencing to obtain haplotype-phased telomere-to-telomere genome assemblies for the 2 parents of the well-studied F1 hybrid “84K” (Populus alba × Populus tremula var. glandulosa). Almost all chromosomes, including the telomeres and centromeres, were completely assembled for each haplotype subgenome apart from 2 small gaps on one chromosome. By incorporating information from these haplotype assemblies and extensive RNA-seq data, we analyzed gene expression patterns between the 2 subgenomes and alleles. Transcription bias at the subgenome level was not uncovered, but extensive-expression differences were detected between alleles. We developed machine-learning (ML) models to predict allele-specific expression (ASE) with high accuracy and identified underlying genome features most highly influencing ASE. One of our models with 15 predictor variables achieved 77% accuracy on the training set and 74% accuracy on the testing set. ML models identified gene body CHG methylation, sequence divergence, and transposon occupancy both upstream and downstream of alleles as important factors for ASE. Our haplotype-phased genome assemblies and ML strategy highlight an avenue for functional studies in Populus and provide additional tools for studying ASE and heterosis in hybrids.
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| 5. |
- Sullivan, Alexis R., 1988-
(författare)
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A forest dark : an evolutionary history of Norway spruce
- 2020
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Embedded within the relationships among species is a dense forest of gene trees, each with a potentially unique and discordant history. Such widespread genealogical heterogeneity is expected, but embracing this hierarchy of discordance while reconstructing the histories of populations and species remains a major challenge.In this thesis, I studied the history of the genes and genomes contained within Norway spruce (Picea abies: Pinaceae), a forest tree distributed throughout boreal and montane Europe. I sequenced plastid genomes from all the commonly-recognized Picea species and developed a novel strategy to assemble the bacterial-sized mitochondrial genome of Norway spruce. Using multispecies coalescent network models, I reconstructed the relationships among populations of Norway spruce and the parapatric Siberian spruce (P. obovata) and distinguished between drift and hybridization as sources of phylogenetic discord.Norway spruce holds heterogenous histories at multiple levels of organization. Although organelle genomes are expected to be clonal and uniparentally inherited, the chloroplast genome held by Norway spruce originated after sexual recombination between two divergent lineages. In the mitochondrial genome, recombination creates a diverse population of genome arrangements subjected to drift and selection within individuals and populations. Genetic diversity among populations is shaped in nearly equal measure by divergence and hybridization. Norway spruce is discordance distilled.
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| 6. |
- Sullivan, Alexis R., 1988-, et al.
(författare)
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The Mitogenome of Norway Spruce and a Reappraisal of Mitochondrial Recombination in Plants
- 2020
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Ingår i: Genome Biology and Evolution. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1759-6653. ; 12:1, s. 3586-3598
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Plant mitogenomes can be difficult to assemble because they are structurally dynamic and prone to intergenomic DNA transfers, leading to the unusual situation where an organelle genome is far outnumbered by its nuclear counterparts. As a result, comparative mitogenome studies are in their infancy and some key aspects of genome evolution are still known mainly from pregenomic, qualitative methods. To help address these limitations, we combined machine learning and in silico enrichment of mitochondrial-like long reads to assemble the bacterial-sized mitogenome of Norway spruce (Pinaceae: Picea abies). We conducted comparative analyses of repeat abundance, intergenomic transfers, substitution and rearrangement rates, and estimated repeat-by-repeat homologous recombination rates. Prompted by our discovery of highly recombinogenic small repeats in P. abies, we assessed the genomic support for the prevailing hypothesis that intramolecular recombination is predominantly driven by repeat length, with larger repeats facilitating DNA exchange more readily. Overall, we found mixed support for this view: Recombination dynamics were heterogeneous across vascular plants and highly active small repeats (ca. 200 bp) were present in about one-third of studied mitogenomes. As in previous studies, we did not observe any robust relationships among commonly studied genome attributes, but we identify variation in recombination rates as a underinvestigated source of plant mitogenome diversity.
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