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Castanera R, de Tomás C, Ruggieri V, Vicient C, Eduardo I, Aranzana MJ, Arús P, Casacuberta JM. A phased genome of the highly heterozygous 'Texas' almond uncovers patterns of allele-specific expression linked to heterozygous structural variants. HORTICULTURE RESEARCH 2024; 11:uhae106. [PMID: 38883330 PMCID: PMC11179849 DOI: 10.1093/hr/uhae106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2024] [Accepted: 04/01/2024] [Indexed: 06/18/2024]
Abstract
The vast majority of traditional almond varieties are self-incompatible, and the level of variability of the species is very high, resulting in a high-heterozygosity genome. Therefore, information on the different haplotypes is particularly relevant to understand the genetic basis of trait variability in this species. However, although reference genomes for several almond varieties exist, none of them is phased and has genome information at the haplotype level. Here, we present a phased assembly of genome of the almond cv. Texas. This new assembly has 13% more assembled sequence than the previous version of the Texas genome and has an increased contiguity, in particular in repetitive regions such as the centromeres. Our analysis shows that the 'Texas' genome has a high degree of heterozygosity, both at SNPs, short indels, and structural variants level. Many of the SVs are the result of heterozygous transposable element insertions, and in many cases, they also contain genic sequences. In addition to the direct consequences of this genic variability on the presence/absence of genes, our results show that variants located close to genes are often associated with allele-specific gene expression, which highlights the importance of heterozygous SVs in almond.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raúl Castanera
- Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics, CRAG (CSIC-IRTA-UAB-UB), Campus UAB, 08193, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Carlos de Tomás
- Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics, CRAG (CSIC-IRTA-UAB-UB), Campus UAB, 08193, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain
| | | | - Carlos Vicient
- Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics, CRAG (CSIC-IRTA-UAB-UB), Campus UAB, 08193, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Iban Eduardo
- Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics, CRAG (CSIC-IRTA-UAB-UB), Campus UAB, 08193, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain
- IRTA (Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentàries), 08140, Caldes de Montbui, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Maria José Aranzana
- Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics, CRAG (CSIC-IRTA-UAB-UB), Campus UAB, 08193, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain
- IRTA (Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentàries), 08140, Caldes de Montbui, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Pere Arús
- Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics, CRAG (CSIC-IRTA-UAB-UB), Campus UAB, 08193, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain
- IRTA (Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentàries), 08140, Caldes de Montbui, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Josep M Casacuberta
- Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics, CRAG (CSIC-IRTA-UAB-UB), Campus UAB, 08193, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain
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D'Amico-Willman KM, Niederhuth CE, Sovic MG, Anderson ES, Gradziel TM, Fresnedo-Ramírez J. Hypermethylation and small RNA expression are associated with increased age in almond (Prunus dulcis [Mill.] D.A. Webb) accessions. PLANT SCIENCE : AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL PLANT BIOLOGY 2024; 338:111918. [PMID: 37956826 DOI: 10.1016/j.plantsci.2023.111918] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2023] [Revised: 10/20/2023] [Accepted: 11/04/2023] [Indexed: 11/15/2023]
Abstract
The focus of this study is to profile changes in DNA methylation and small RNA expression occurring with increased age in almond breeding germplasm to identify possible biomarkers of age that can be used to assess the potential of individuals to develop aging-related disorders. To profile DNA methylation in almond germplasm, 70 methylomes were generated from almond individuals representing three age cohorts (11, 7, and 2 years old) using an enzymatic methyl-seq approach followed by analysis to call differentially methylated regions (DMRs) within these cohorts. Small RNA (sRNA) expression was profiled in three breeding selections, each from two age cohorts (1 and 6 years old), using sRNA-Seq followed by differential expression analysis. Weighted chromosome-level methylation analysis reveals hypermethylation in 11-year-old almond breeding selections when compared to 2-year-old selections in the CG and CHH contexts. Seventeen consensus DMRs were identified in all age contrasts. sRNA expression differed significantly between the two age cohorts tested, with significantly decreased expression in sRNAs in the 6-year-old selections compared to the 1-year-old. Almond shows a pattern of hypermethylation and decreased sRNA expression with increased age. Identified DMRs and differentially expressed sRNAs could function as putative biomarkers of age following validation in additional age groups.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Chad E Niederhuth
- Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Michael G Sovic
- Center for Applied Plant Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - Elizabeth S Anderson
- Department of Horticulture and Crop Science, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, The Ohio State University, Wooster, OH 44691, USA
| | - Thomas M Gradziel
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Jonathan Fresnedo-Ramírez
- Translational Plant Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA; Center for Applied Plant Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA; Department of Horticulture and Crop Science, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, The Ohio State University, Wooster, OH 44691, USA.
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Fresnedo-Ramírez J, Anderson ES, D'Amico-Willman K, Gradziel TM. A review of plant epigenetics through the lens of almond. THE PLANT GENOME 2023; 16:e20367. [PMID: 37434488 DOI: 10.1002/tpg2.20367] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2023] [Revised: 06/08/2023] [Accepted: 06/15/2023] [Indexed: 07/13/2023]
Abstract
While genomes were originally seen as static entities that stably held and organized genetic information, recent advances in sequencing have uncovered the dynamic nature of the genome. New conceptualizations of the genome include complex relationships between the environment and gene expression that must be maintained, regulated, and sometimes even transmitted over generations. The discovery of epigenetic mechanisms has allowed researchers to understand how traits like phenology, plasticity, and fitness can be altered without changing the underlying deoxyribonucleic acid sequence. While many discoveries were first made in animal systems, plants provide a particularly complex set of epigenetic mechanisms due to unique aspects of their biology and interactions with human selective breeding and cultivation. In the plant kingdom, annual plants have received the most attention; however, perennial plants endure and respond to their environment and human management in distinct ways. Perennials include crops such as almond, for which epigenetic effects have long been linked to phenomena and even considered relevant for breeding. Recent discoveries have elucidated epigenetic phenomena that influence traits such as dormancy and self-compatibility, as well as disorders like noninfectious bud failure, which are known to be triggered by the environment and influenced by inherent aspects of the plant. Thus, epigenetics represents fertile ground to further understand almond biology and production and optimize its breeding. Here, we provide our current understanding of epigenetic regulation in plants and use almond as an example of how advances in epigenetics research can be used to understand biological fitness and agricultural performance in crop plants.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Elizabeth S Anderson
- Department of Horticulture and Crop Science, The Ohio State University, Wooster, OH, USA
| | | | - Thomas M Gradziel
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
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Zhang L, Zhang C, An Y, Zhu Q, Wang M. A High-Quality Reference Genome Assembly of Prinsepia uniflora (Rosaceae). Genes (Basel) 2023; 14:2035. [PMID: 38002978 PMCID: PMC10671140 DOI: 10.3390/genes14112035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2023] [Revised: 10/26/2023] [Accepted: 11/01/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023] Open
Abstract
This study introduces a meticulously constructed genome assembly at the chromosome level for the Rosaceae family species Prinsepia uniflora, a traditional Chinese medicinal herb. The final assembly encompasses 1272.71 megabases (Mb) distributed across 16 pseudochromosomes, boasting contig and super-scaffold N50 values of 2.77 and 79.32 Mb, respectively. Annotated within this genome is a substantial 875.99 Mb of repetitive sequences, with transposable elements occupying 777.28 Mb, constituting 61.07% of the entire genome. Our predictive efforts identified 49,261 protein-coding genes within the repeat-masked assembly, with 45,256 (91.87%) having functional annotations, 5127 (10.41%) demonstrating tandem duplication, and 2373 (4.82%) classified as transcription factor genes. Additionally, our investigation unveiled 3080 non-coding RNAs spanning 0.51 Mb of the genome sequences. According to our evolutionary study, P. uniflora underwent recent whole-genome duplication following its separation from Prunus salicina. The presented reference-level genome assembly and annotation for P. uniflora will significantly facilitate the in-depth exploration of genomic information pertaining to this species, offering substantial utility in comparative genomics and evolutionary analyses involving Rosaceae species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Ecological Protection of Agro-Pastoral Ecotones in the Yellow River Basin, National Ethnic Affairs Commission of the People’s Republic of China, College of Biological Science & Engineering, North Minzu University, Yinchuan 750021, China; (L.Z.); (C.Z.); (Y.A.)
| | - Chaopan Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Ecological Protection of Agro-Pastoral Ecotones in the Yellow River Basin, National Ethnic Affairs Commission of the People’s Republic of China, College of Biological Science & Engineering, North Minzu University, Yinchuan 750021, China; (L.Z.); (C.Z.); (Y.A.)
| | - Yajing An
- Key Laboratory of Ecological Protection of Agro-Pastoral Ecotones in the Yellow River Basin, National Ethnic Affairs Commission of the People’s Republic of China, College of Biological Science & Engineering, North Minzu University, Yinchuan 750021, China; (L.Z.); (C.Z.); (Y.A.)
| | - Qiang Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Efficient Production of Forest Resources, Ningxia Forestry Institute, Yinchuan 750001, China;
| | - Mingcheng Wang
- Institute for Advanced Study, Chengdu University, No. 2025 Chengluo Road, Chengdu 610106, China
- Engineering Research Center of Sichuan-Tibet Traditional Medicinal Plant, Chengdu 610106, China
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Qin Y, Zhao H, Han H, Zhu G, Wang Z, Li F. Chromosome-Level Genome Assembly and Population Genomic Analyses Reveal Geographic Variation and Population Genetic Structure of Prunus tenella. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:11735. [PMID: 37511492 PMCID: PMC10380494 DOI: 10.3390/ijms241411735] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2023] [Revised: 07/08/2023] [Accepted: 07/14/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Prunus tenella is a rare and precious relict plant in China. It is an important genetic resource for almond improvement and an indispensable material in ecological protection and landscaping. However, the research into molecular breeding and genetic evolution has been severely restricted due to the lack of genome information. In this investigation, we created a chromosome-level genomic pattern of P. tenella, 231 Mb in length with a contig N50 of 18.1 Mb by Hi-C techniques and high-accuracy PacBio HiFi sequencing. The present assembly predicted 32,088 protein-coding genes, and an examination of the genome assembly indicated that 94.7% among all assembled transcripts were alignable to the genome assembly; most (97.24%) were functionally annotated. By phylogenomic genome comparison, we found that P. tenella is an ancient group that diverged approximately 13.4 million years ago (mya) from 13 additional closely related species and about 6.5 Mya from the cultivated almond. Collinearity analysis revealed that P. tenella is highly syntenic and has high sequence conservation with almond and peach. However, this species also exhibits many presence/absence variants. Moreover, a large inversion at the 7588 kb position of chromosome 5 was observed, which may have a significant association with phenotypic traits. Lastly, population genetic structure analysis in eight different populations indicated a high genetic differentiation among the natural distribution of P. tenella. This high-quality genome assembly provides critical clues and comprehensive information for the systematic evolution, genetic characteristics, and functional gene research of P. tenella. Moreover, it provides a valuable genomic resource for in-depth study in protection, developing, and utilizing P. tenella germplasm resources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yue Qin
- Research Institute of Non-Timber Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Zhengzhou 450003, China
| | - Han Zhao
- Research Institute of Non-Timber Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Zhengzhou 450003, China
| | - Hongwei Han
- Economic Forest Research Institute, Xinjiang Academy of Forestry, Urumqi 830000, China
| | - Gaopu Zhu
- Research Institute of Non-Timber Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Zhengzhou 450003, China
| | - Zhaoshan Wang
- Research Institute of Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing 100091, China
| | - Fangdong Li
- Research Institute of Non-Timber Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Zhengzhou 450003, China
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Prudencio AS, Devin SR, Mahdavi SME, Martínez-García PJ, Salazar JA, Martínez-Gómez P. Spontaneous, Artificial, and Genome Editing-Mediated Mutations in Prunus. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms232113273. [PMID: 36362061 PMCID: PMC9653787 DOI: 10.3390/ijms232113273] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2022] [Revised: 10/27/2022] [Accepted: 10/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Mutation is a source of genetic diversity widely used in breeding programs for the acquisition of agronomically interesting characters in commercial varieties of the Prunus species, as well as in the rest of crop species. Mutation can occur in nature at a very low frequency or can be induced artificially. Spontaneous or bud sport mutations in somatic cells can be vegetatively propagated to get an individual with the mutant phenotype. Unlike animals, plants have unlimited growth and totipotent cells that let somatic mutations to be transmitted to the progeny. On the other hand, in vitro tissue culture makes it possible to induce mutation in plant material and perform large screenings for mutant’s selection and cleaning of chimeras. Finally, targeted mutagenesis has been boosted by the application of CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats)/Cas9 and Transcription activator-like effector nuclease (TALEN) editing technologies. Over the last few decades, environmental stressors such as global warming have been threatening the supply of global demand for food based on population growth in the near future. For this purpose, the release of new varieties adapted to such changes is a requisite, and selected or generated Prunus mutants by properly regulated mechanisms could be helpful to this task. In this work, we reviewed the most relevant mutations for breeding traits in Prunus species such as flowering time, self-compatibility, fruit quality, and disease tolerance, including new molecular perspectives in the present postgenomic era including CRISPR/Cas9 and TALEN editing technologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angel S. Prudencio
- Department of Plant Breeding, Centro de Edafología y Biología Apliacada del Segura-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CEBAS-CSIC), 30100 Espinardo, Spain
| | - Sama Rahimi Devin
- Department of Horticultural Science, College of Agriculture, Shiraz University, Shiraz 7144165186, Iran
| | | | - Pedro J. Martínez-García
- Department of Plant Breeding, Centro de Edafología y Biología Apliacada del Segura-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CEBAS-CSIC), 30100 Espinardo, Spain
| | - Juan A. Salazar
- Department of Plant Breeding, Centro de Edafología y Biología Apliacada del Segura-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CEBAS-CSIC), 30100 Espinardo, Spain
| | - Pedro Martínez-Gómez
- Department of Plant Breeding, Centro de Edafología y Biología Apliacada del Segura-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CEBAS-CSIC), 30100 Espinardo, Spain
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +34-968-396-200
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Genome-Wide Analysis of the Almond AP2/ERF Superfamily and Its Functional Prediction during Dormancy in Response to Freezing Stress. BIOLOGY 2022; 11:biology11101520. [PMID: 36290423 PMCID: PMC9598233 DOI: 10.3390/biology11101520] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2022] [Revised: 10/11/2022] [Accepted: 10/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Simple Summary The ethylene-responsive element (AP2/ERF) is one of the key and conserved transcription factors (TFs) in plants, and it plays a crucial role in regulating plant growth, development, and stress response. The cultivated almond in Xinjiang is often affected by short-term ultralow temperature freezing stress during the winter dormancy period, resulting in the death of large-scale almond plants. In this study, we conducted the first genome-wide analysis of the PdAP2/ERF family in almond, including protein physicochemical properties, phylogenetic relationships, motif types, gene structures, gene replication types, collinearity relationships, and cis-element types in promoter regions. We further analyzed the expression patterns of the PdAP2/ERF gene in different tissues of almond and under freezing stress at different temperatures in annual dormant branches using transcriptome data. In addition, we also analyzed the expression levels of 13 PdAP2/ERF genes in four tissues of almond and in annual dormant branches treated with freezing stress at different temperatures using fluorescence quantitative technology. This study laid the foundation for further exploring the function of the PdAP2/ERF gene in almond. Abstract The AP2/ERF transcription factor family is one of the largest transcription factor families in plants and plays an important role in regulating plant growth and development and the response to biotic and abiotic stresses. However, there is no report on the AP2/ERF gene family in almond (Prunus dulcis). In this study, a total of 136 PdAP2/ERF genes were identified from the almond genome, and their protein physicochemical properties were analyzed. The PdAP2/ERF members were divided into five subgroups: AP2, RAV, ERF, DREB, and Soloist. The PdAP2/ERF members in each subgroup had conserved motif types and exon/intron numbers. PdAP2/ERFS members are distributed on eight chromosomes, with 22 pairs of segmental duplications and 28 pairs of tandem duplications. We further explored the colinear relationship between almond and Arabidopsis thaliana, Oryza sativa, Malus domestica, and Prunus persicaAP2/ERF genes and their evolution. The results of cis-acting elements showed that PdAP2/ERF members are widely involved in various processes, such as growth and development, hormone regulation, and stress response. The results based on transcriptome expression patterns showed that PdAP2/ERF genes had significant tissue-specific expression characteristics and were involved in the response of annual dormant branches of almond to low-temperature freezing stress. In addition, the fluorescence quantitative relative expression results of 13 representative PdAP2/ERF genes in four tissues of ‘Wanfeng’ almond and under six low-temperature freezing treatments of annual dormant branches were consistent with the transcriptome results. It is worth noting that the fluorescence quantitative expression level showed that the PdERF24 gene was extremely significant at −30 °C, suggesting that this gene may play an important role in the response of almond dormancy to ultralow temperature freezing stress. Finally, we identified 7424 and 6971 target genes based on AP2 and ERF/DREB DNA-binding sites, respectively. The GO and KEGG enrichment results showed that these target genes play important roles in protein function and multiple pathways. In summary, we conducted bioinformatics and expression pattern studies on PdAP2/ERF genes, including 13 PdAP2/ERF genes, and performed fluorescence quantitative analysis of annual dormant shoots under different low-temperature freezing stress treatments to understand the tolerance of almond dormancy to freezing stress and suggest future improvements.
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