Nucleic acid hybridization capture is a principal technology in molecular ecology and genomics. Bait design, however, is a nontrivial task and few resources currently exist to automate the process. ...Here, I present baitstools, an open‐source, user‐friendly software package to facilitate the design of nucleic acid baits for hybridization capture.
Here, we introduce RatesTools, an automated pipeline to infer de novo mutation rates from parent-offspring trio data of diploid organisms. By providing a reference genome and high-coverage, ...whole-genome resequencing data of a minimum of three individuals (sire, dam and offspring), RatesTools provides a list of candidate de novo mutations and calculates a putative mutation rate. RatesTools uses several quality filtering steps, such as discarding sites with low mappability and highly repetitive regions, as well as sites with low genotype and mapping qualities to find potential de novo mutations. In addition, RatesTools implements several optional filters based on post hoc assumptions of the heterozygosity and mutation rate of the organism. Filters are highly customizable to user specifications in order to maximize utility across a wide range of applications.
RatesTools is freely available at https://github.com/campanam/RatesTools under a Creative Commons Zero (CC0) license. The pipeline is implemented in Nextflow (Di Tommaso et al., 2017), Ruby (http://www.ruby-lang.org), Bash (https://www.gnu.org/software/bash/) and R (R Core Team, 2020) with reliance upon several other freely available tools. RatesTools is compatible with macOS and Linux operating systems.
Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Museum genomics provide an opportunity to investigate population demographics of extinct species, especially valuable when research prior to extinction was minimal. The Bachman’s warbler (Vermivora ...bachmanii) is hypothesized to have gone extinct due to loss of its specialized habitat. However, little is known about other potential contributing factors such as natural rarity or changes to connectivity following habitat fragmentation. We examined mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and genome-wide SNPs using specimens collected from breeding and migration sites across the range of the Bachman’s warbler. We found no signals of strong population structuring across the breeding range of Bachman’s warblers in both mtDNA and genome-wide SNPs. Thus, long-term population isolation did not appear to be a significant contributor to the extinction of the Bachman’s warbler. Instead, our findings support the theory that Bachman’s warblers underwent a rapid decline likely driven by habitat destruction, which may have been exacerbated by the natural rarity, habitat specificity and low genetic diversity of the species.
Hawaiian songbird radiations Fleischer, Robert C.; Campana, Michael G.; James, Helen F.
Current biology,
10/2022, Letnik:
32, Številka:
20
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Robert Fleischer and colleagues introduce the unique songbird fauna of Hawaii and the threats it faces.
Reptiles show varying degrees of facultative parthenogenesis. Here we use genetic methods to determine that an isolated, captive female Asian water dragon produced at least nine offspring via ...parthenogenesis. We identified microsatellites for the species from shotgun genomic sequences, selected and optimized primer sets, and tested all of the offspring for a set of seven microsatellites that were heterozygous in the mother. We verified that the seven loci showed high levels of polymorphism in four wild Asian water dragons from Vietnam. In all cases, the offspring (unhatched, but developed eggs, or hatched young) had only a single allele at each locus, and contained only alleles present in the mother's genotype (i.e., were homozygous or hemizygous). The probability that our findings resulted from the female mating with one or more males is extremely small, indicating that the offspring were derived from a single female gamete (either alone or via duplication and/or fusion) and implicating parthenogenesis. This is the first documented case of parthenogenesis in the Squamate family Agamidae.
The recent use of next-generation sequencing methods to investigate historical disease outbreaks has provided us with an unprecedented ability to address important and long-standing questions in ...epidemiology, pathogen evolution, and human history. In this review, we present major findings that illustrate how microbial genomics has provided new insights into the nature and etiology of infectious diseases of historical importance, such as plague, tuberculosis, and leprosy. Sequenced isolates collected from archaeological remains also provide evidence for the timing of historical evolutionary events as well as geographic spread of these pathogens. Elucidating the genomic basis of virulence in historical diseases can provide relevant information on how we can effectively understand the emergence and re-emergence of infectious diseases today and in the future.
White-nose syndrome, first diagnosed in North America in 2006, causes mass deaths among bats in North America. We found the causative fungus, Pseudogymnoascus destructans, in a 1918 sample collected ...in Europe, where bats have now adapted to the fungus. These results are consistent with a Eurasian origin of the pathogen.
The geographic distribution of genetic diversity and the population structure of tetraploid wheat landraces in the Mediterranean basin has received relatively little attention. This is complicated by ...the lack of consensus concerning the taxonomy of tetraploid wheats and by unresolved questions regarding the domestication and spread of naked wheats. These knowledge gaps hinder crop diversity conservation efforts and plant breeding programmes. We investigated genetic diversity and population structure in tetraploid wheats (wild emmer, emmer, rivet and durum) using nuclear and chloroplast simple sequence repeats, functional variations and insertion site-based polymorphisms. Emmer and wild emmer constitute a genetically distinct population from durum and rivet, the latter seeming to share a common gene pool. Our population structure and genetic diversity data suggest a dynamic history of introduction and extinction of genotypes in the Mediterranean fields.
Understanding patterns of diversification, genetic exchange, and pesticide resistance in arthropod disease vectors is necessary for effective population management. With the availability of ...next-generation sequencing technologies, one of the best approaches for surveying such patterns involves the simultaneous genotyping of many samples for a large number of genetic markers. To this end, the targeting of gene sequences of known function can be a cost-effective strategy. One insect group of substantial health concern are the mosquito taxa that make up the
Culex pipiens
complex. Members of this complex transmit damaging arboviruses and filariae worms to humans, as well as other pathogens such as avian malaria parasites that are detrimental to birds. Here we describe the development of a targeted, gene-based assay for surveying genetic diversity and population structure in this mosquito complex. To test the utility of this assay, we sequenced samples from several members of the complex, as well as from distinct populations of the relatively under-studied
Culex quinquefasciatus
. The data generated was then used to examine taxonomic divergence and population clustering between and within these mosquitoes. We also used this data to investigate genetic variants present in our samples that had previously been shown to correlate with insecticide-resistance. Broadly, our gene capture approach successfully enriched the genomic regions of interest, and proved effective for facilitating examinations of taxonomic divergence and geographic clustering within the
Cx
.
pipiens
complex. It also allowed us to successfully survey genetic variation associated with insecticide resistance in
Culex
mosquitoes. This enrichment protocol will be useful for future studies that aim to understand the genetic mechanisms underlying the evolution of these ubiquitous and increasingly damaging disease vectors.
Age‐associated DNA‐methylation profiles have been used successfully to develop highly accurate biomarkers of age ("epigenetic clocks") in humans, mice, dogs, and other species. Here we present ...epigenetic clocks for African and Asian elephants. These clocks were developed using novel DNA methylation profiles of 140 elephant blood samples of known age, at loci that are highly conserved between mammalian species, using a custom Infinium array (HorvathMammalMethylChip40). We present epigenetic clocks for Asian elephants (Elephas maximus), African elephants (Loxodonta africana), and both elephant species combined. Two additional human‐elephant clocks were constructed by combining human and elephant samples. Epigenome‐wide association studies identified elephant age‐related CpGs and their proximal genes. The products of these genes play important roles in cellular differentiation, organismal development, metabolism, and circadian rhythms. Intracellular events observed to change with age included the methylation of bivalent chromatin domains, and targets of polycomb repressive complexes. These readily available epigenetic clocks can be used for elephant conservation efforts where accurate estimates of age are needed to predict demographic trends.
DNA methylation aging clocks for African and Asian elephants. Some of these clocks apply to humans as well. Parts of the graphic were created by Hollis Burbank‐Hammerlund, Sandra Oviedo, and BioRender.com.
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