A Solanum lycopersicoides reference genome facilitates insights into tomato specialized metabolism and immunity.

Wild relatives of tomato are a valuable source of natural variation in tomato breeding, as many can be hybridized to the cultivated species (Solanum lycopersicum). Several, including Solanum lycopersicoides, have been crossed to S. lycopersicum for the development of ordered introgression lines (ILs), facilitating breeding for desirable traits. Despite the utility of these wild relatives and their associated ILs, few finished genome sequences have been produced to aid genetic and genomic studies. Here we report a chromosome-scale genome assembly for S. lycopersicoides LA2951, which contains 37 938 predicted protein-coding genes. With the aid of this genome assembly, we have precisely delimited the boundaries of the S. lycopersicoides introgressions in a set of S. lycopersicum cv. VF36 × LA2951 ILs. We demonstrate the usefulness of the LA2951 genome by identifying several quantitative trait loci for phenolics and carotenoids, including underlying candidate genes, and by investigating the genome organization and immunity-associated function of the clustered Pto gene family. In addition, syntenic analysis of R2R3MYB genes sheds light on the identity of the Aubergine locus underlying anthocyanin production. The genome sequence and IL map provide valuable resources for studying fruit nutrient/quality traits, pathogen resistance, and environmental stress tolerance. We present a new genome resource for the wild species S. lycopersicoides, which we use to shed light on the Aubergine locus responsible for anthocyanin production. We also provide IL boundary mappings, which facilitated identifying novel carotenoid quantitative trait loci of which one was likely driven by an uncharacterized lycopene ß-cyclase whose function we demonstrate.

Phased, chromosome-scale genome assemblies of tetraploid potato reveal a complex genome, transcriptome, and predicted proteome landscape underpinning genetic diversity.

Cultivated potato is a clonally propagated autotetraploid species with a highly heterogeneous genome. Phased assemblies of six cultivars including two chromosome-scale phased genome assemblies revealed extensive allelic diversity, including altered coding and transcript sequences, preferential allele expression, and structural variation that collectively result in a highly complex transcriptome and predicted proteome, which are distributed across the homologous chromosomes. Wild species contribute to the extensive allelic diversity in tetraploid cultivars, demonstrating ancestral introgressions predating modern breeding efforts. As a clonally propagated autotetraploid that undergoes limited meiosis, dysfunctional and deleterious alleles are not purged in tetraploid potato. Nearly a quarter of the loci bore mutations are predicted to have a high negative impact on protein function, complicating breeder's efforts to reduce genetic load. The StCDF1 locus controls maturity, and analysis of six tetraploid genomes revealed that 12 allelic variants of StCDF1 are correlated with maturity in a dosage-dependent manner. Knowledge of the complexity of the tetraploid potato genome with its rampant structural variation and embedded deleterious and dysfunctional alleles will be key not only to implementing precision breeding of tetraploid cultivars but also to the construction of homozygous, diploid potato germplasm containing favorable alleles to capitalize on heterosis in F1 hybrids.

MapMan4: A Refined Protein Classification and Annotation Framework Applicable to Multi-Omics Data Analysis.

Genome sequences from over 200 plant species have already been published, with this number expected to increase rapidly due to advances in sequencing technologies. Once a new genome has been assembled and the genes identified, the functional annotation of their putative translational products, proteins, using ontologies is of key importance as it places the sequencing data in a biological context. Furthermore, to keep pace with rapid production of genome sequences, this functional annotation process must be fully automated. Here we present a redesigned and significantly enhanced MapMan4 framework, together with a revised version of the associated online Mercator annotation tool. Compared with the original MapMan, the new ontology has been expanded almost threefold and enforces stricter assignment rules. This framework was then incorporated into Mercator4, which has been upgraded to reflect current knowledge across the land plant group, providing protein annotations for all embryophytes with a comparably high quality. The annotation process has been optimized to allow a plant genome to be annotated in a matter of minutes. The output results continue to be compatible with the established MapMan desktop application.

Computational aspects underlying genome to phenome analysis in plants.

Recent advances in genomics technologies have greatly accelerated the progress in both fundamental plant science and applied breeding research. Concurrently, high-throughput plant phenotyping is becoming widely adopted in the plant community, promising to alleviate the phenotypic bottleneck. While these technological breakthroughs are significantly accelerating quantitative trait locus (QTL) and causal gene identification, challenges to enable even more sophisticated analyses remain. In particular, care needs to be taken to standardize, describe and conduct experiments robustly while relying on plant physiology expertise. In this article, we review the state of the art regarding genome assembly and the future potential of pangenomics in plant research. We also describe the necessity of standardizing and describing phenotypic studies using the Minimum Information About a Plant Phenotyping Experiment (MIAPPE) standard to enable the reuse and integration of phenotypic data. In addition, we show how deep phenotypic data might yield novel trait-trait correlations and review how to link phenotypic data to genomic data. Finally, we provide perspectives on the golden future of machine learning and their potential in linking phenotypes to genomic features.

Footprints of parasitism in the genome of the parasitic flowering plant Cuscuta campestris.

A parasitic lifestyle, where plants procure some or all of their nutrients from other living plants, has evolved independently in many dicotyledonous plant families and is a major threat for agriculture globally. Nevertheless, no genome sequence of a parasitic plant has been reported to date. Here we describe the genome sequence of the parasitic field dodder, Cuscuta campestris. The genome contains signatures of a fairly recent whole-genome duplication and lacks genes for pathways superfluous to a parasitic lifestyle. Specifically, genes needed for high photosynthetic activity are lost, explaining the low photosynthesis rates displayed by the parasite. Moreover, several genes involved in nutrient uptake processes from the soil are lost. On the other hand, evidence for horizontal gene transfer by way of genomic DNA integration from the parasite's hosts is found. We conclude that the parasitic lifestyle has left characteristic footprints in the C. campestris genome.

Plant genome and transcriptome annotations: from misconceptions to simple solutions.

Next-generation sequencing has triggered an explosion of available genomic and transcriptomic resources in the plant sciences. Although genome and transcriptome sequencing has become orders of magnitudes cheaper and more efficient, often the functional annotation process is lagging behind. This might be hampered by the lack of a comprehensive enumeration of simple-to-use tools available to the plant researcher. In this comprehensive review, we present (i) typical ontologies to be used in the plant sciences, (ii) useful databases and resources used for functional annotation, (iii) what to expect from an annotated plant genome, (iv) an automated annotation pipeline and (v) a recipe and reference chart outlining typical steps used to annotate plant genomes/transcriptomes using publicly available resources.

De Novo Assembly of a New Solanum pennellii Accession Using Nanopore Sequencing.

Updates in nanopore technology have made it possible to obtain gigabases of sequence data. Prior to this, nanopore sequencing technology was mainly used to analyze microbial samples. Here, we describe the generation of a comprehensive nanopore sequencing data set with a median read length of 11,979 bp for a self-compatible accession of the wild tomato species Solanum pennellii We describe the assembly of its genome to a contig N50 of 2.5 MB. The assembly pipeline comprised initial read correction with Canu and assembly with SMARTdenovo. The resulting raw nanopore-based de novo genome is structurally highly similar to that of the reference S. pennellii LA716 accession but has a high error rate and was rich in homopolymer deletions. After polishing the assembly with Illumina reads, we obtained an error rate of <0.02% when assessed versus the same Illumina data. We obtained a gene completeness of 96.53%, slightly surpassing that of the reference S. pennellii Taken together, our data indicate that such long read sequencing data can be used to affordably sequence and assemble gigabase-sized plant genomes.

Bioinformatics in the plant genomic and phenomic domain: The German contribution to resources, services and perspectives.

Plant genetic resources are a substantial opportunity for plant breeding, preservation and maintenance of biological diversity. As part of the German Network for Bioinformatics Infrastructure (de.NBI) the German Crop BioGreenformatics Network (GCBN) focuses mainly on crop plants and provides both data and software infrastructure which are tailored to the needs of the plant research community. Our mission and key objectives include: (1) provision of transparent access to germplasm seeds, (2) the delivery of improved workflows for plant gene annotation, and (3) implementation of bioinformatics services that link genotypes and phenotypes. This review introduces the GCBN's spectrum of web-services and integrated data resources that address common research problems in the plant genomics community.

The genome of the stress-tolerant wild tomato species Solanum pennellii.

Solanum pennellii is a wild tomato species endemic to Andean regions in South America, where it has evolved to thrive in arid habitats. Because of its extreme stress tolerance and unusual morphology, it is an important donor of germplasm for the cultivated tomato Solanum lycopersicum. Introgression lines (ILs) in which large genomic regions of S. lycopersicum are replaced with the corresponding segments from S. pennellii can show remarkably superior agronomic performance. Here we describe a high-quality genome assembly of the parents of the IL population. By anchoring the S. pennellii genome to the genetic map, we define candidate genes for stress tolerance and provide evidence that transposable elements had a role in the evolution of these traits. Our work paves a path toward further tomato improvement and for deciphering the mechanisms underlying the myriad other agronomic traits that can be improved with S. pennellii germplasm.

Plant genome sequencing - applications for crop improvement.

It is over 10 years since the genome sequence of the first crop was published. Since then, the number of crop genomes sequenced each year has increased steadily. The amazing pace at which genome sequences are becoming available is largely due to the improvement in sequencing technologies both in terms of cost and speed. Modern sequencing technologies allow the sequencing of multiple cultivars of smaller crop genomes at a reasonable cost. Though many of the published genomes are considered incomplete, they nevertheless have proved a valuable tool to understand important crop traits such as fruit ripening, grain traits and flowering time adaptation.

Crystal structure and functional characterization of a glucosamine-6-phosphate N-acetyltransferase from Arabidopsis thaliana.

GlcNAc (N-acetylglucosamine) is an essential part of the glycan chain in N-linked glycoproteins. It is a building block for polysaccharides such as chitin, and several glucosaminoglycans and proteins can be O-GlcNAcylated. The deacetylated form, glucosamine, is an integral part of GPI (glycosylphosphatidylinositol) anchors. Both are incorporated into polymers by glycosyltransferases that utilize UDP-GlcNAc. This UDP-sugar is synthesized in a short pathway comprising four steps starting from fructose 6-phosphate. GNA (glucosamine-6-phosphate N-acetyltransferase) catalyses the second of these four reactions in the de novo synthesis in eukaryotes. A phylogenetic analysis revealed that only one GNA isoform can be found in most of the species investigated and that the most likely Arabidopsis candidate is encoded by the gene At5g15770 (AtGNA). qPCR (quantitative PCR) revealed the ubiquitous expression of AtGNA in all organs of Arabidopsis plants. Heterologous expression of AtGNA showed that it is highly active between pH 7 and 8 and at temperatures of 30-40°C. It showed Km values of 231 µM for glucosamine 6-phosphate and 33 µM for acetyl-CoA respectively and a catalytic efficiency comparable with that of other GNAs characterized. The solved crystal structure of AtGNA at a resolution of 1.5 Å (1 Å=0.1 nm) revealed a very high structural similarity to crystallized GNA proteins from Homo sapiens and Saccharomyces cerevisiae despite less well conserved protein sequence identity.