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Danilevicz MF, Gill M, Fernandez CGT, Petereit J, Upadhyaya SR, Batley J, Bennamoun M, Edwards D, Bayer PE. DNABERT-based explainable lncRNA identification in plant genome assemblies. Comput Struct Biotechnol J 2023; 21:5676-5685. [PMID: 38058296 PMCID: PMC10696397 DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2023.11.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2022] [Revised: 11/13/2023] [Accepted: 11/13/2023] [Indexed: 12/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Long non-coding ribonucleic acids (lncRNAs) have been shown to play an important role in plant gene regulation, involving both epigenetic and transcript regulation. LncRNAs are transcripts longer than 200 nucleotides that are not translated into functional proteins but can be translated into small peptides. Machine learning models have predominantly used transcriptome data with manually defined features to detect lncRNAs, however, they often underrepresent the abundance of lncRNAs and can be biased in their detection. Here we present a study using Natural Language Processing (NLP) models to identify plant lncRNAs from genomic sequences rather than transcriptomic data. The NLP models were trained to predict lncRNAs for seven model and crop species (Zea mays, Arabidopsis thaliana, Brassica napus, Brassica oleracea, Brassica rapa, Glycine max and Oryza sativa) using publicly available genomic references. We demonstrated that lncRNAs can be accurately predicted from genomic sequences with the highest accuracy of 83.4% for Z. mays and the lowest accuracy of 57.9% for B. rapa, revealing that genome assembly quality might affect the accuracy of lncRNA identification. Furthermore, we demonstrated the potential of using NLP models for cross-species prediction with an average of 63.1% accuracy using target species not previously seen by the model. As more species are incorporated into the training datasets, we expect the accuracy to increase, becoming a more reliable tool for uncovering novel lncRNAs. Finally, we show that the models can be interpreted using explainable artificial intelligence to identify motifs important to lncRNA prediction and that these motifs frequently flanked the lncRNA sequence.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Mitchell Gill
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Australia
| | | | - Jakob Petereit
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Australia
| | | | - Jacqueline Batley
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Australia
| | - Mohammed Bennamoun
- School of Physics, Mathematics and Computing, University of Western Australia, Australia
| | - David Edwards
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Australia
| | - Philipp E. Bayer
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Australia
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2
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Cross A, Li JB, Waugh R, Golicz AA, Pourkheirandish M. Grain dispersal mechanism in cereals arose from a genome duplication followed by changes in spatial expression of genes involved in pollen development. TAG. THEORETICAL AND APPLIED GENETICS. THEORETISCHE UND ANGEWANDTE GENETIK 2022; 135:1263-1277. [PMID: 35192007 PMCID: PMC9033732 DOI: 10.1007/s00122-022-04029-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2021] [Accepted: 01/04/2022] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
KEY MESSAGE Grain disarticulation in wild progenitor of wheat and barley evolved through a local duplication event followed by neo-functionalization resulting from changes in location of gene expression. One of the most critical events in the process of cereal domestication was the loss of the natural mode of grain dispersal. Grain dispersal in barley is controlled by two major genes, Btr1 and Btr2, which affect the thickness of cell walls around the disarticulation zone. The barley genome also encodes Btr1-like and Btr2-like genes, which have been shown to be the ancestral copies. While Btr and Btr-like genes are non-redundant, the biological function of Btr-like genes is unknown. We explored the potential biological role of the Btr-like genes by surveying their expression profile across 212 publicly available transcriptome datasets representing diverse organs, developmental stages and stress conditions. We found that Btr1-like and Btr2-like are expressed exclusively in immature anther samples throughout Prophase I of meiosis within the meiocyte. The similar and restricted expression profile of these two genes suggests they are involved in a common biological function. Further analysis revealed 141 genes co-expressed with Btr1-like and 122 genes co-expressed with Btr2-like, with 105 genes in common, supporting Btr-like genes involvement in a shared molecular pathway. We hypothesize that the Btr-like genes play a crucial role in pollen development by facilitating the formation of the callose wall around the meiocyte or in the secretion of callase by the tapetum. Our data suggest that Btr genes retained an ancestral function in cell wall modification and gained a new role in grain dispersal due to changes in their spatial expression becoming spike specific after gene duplication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arthur Cross
- Faculty of Veterinary and Agriculture, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, 3010, Australia
| | - John B Li
- Faculty of Veterinary and Agriculture, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, 3010, Australia
| | - Robbie Waugh
- Division of Plant Sciences, The James Hutton Institute, Invergowrie, Dundee, DD2 5DA, Scotland, UK
| | - Agnieszka A Golicz
- Faculty of Veterinary and Agriculture, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, 3010, Australia.
- Department of Plant Breeding, IFZ Research Centre for Biosystems, Land Use and Nutrition, Justus Liebig University Gießen, Gießen, Germany.
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3
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Zanini SF, Bayer PE, Wells R, Snowdon RJ, Batley J, Varshney RK, Nguyen HT, Edwards D, Golicz AA. Pangenomics in crop improvement-from coding structural variations to finding regulatory variants with pangenome graphs. THE PLANT GENOME 2022; 15:e20177. [PMID: 34904403 DOI: 10.1002/tpg2.20177] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2021] [Accepted: 10/07/2021] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
Since the first reported crop pangenome in 2014, advances in high-throughput and cost-effective DNA sequencing technologies facilitated multiple such studies including the pangenomes of oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.), soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.], rice (Oryza sativa L.), wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), and barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). Compared with single-reference genomes, pangenomes provide a more accurate representation of the genetic variation present in a species. By combining the genomic data of multiple accessions, pangenomes allow for the detection and annotation of complex DNA polymorphisms such as structural variations (SVs), one of the major determinants of genetic diversity within a species. In this review we summarize the current literature on crop pangenomics, focusing on their application to find candidate SVs involved in traits of agronomic interest. We then highlight the potential of pangenomes in the discovery and functional characterization of noncoding regulatory sequences and their variations. We conclude with a summary and outlook on innovative data structures representing the complete content of plant pangenomes including annotations of coding and noncoding elements and outcomes of transcriptomic and epigenomic experiments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvia F Zanini
- Dep. of Plant Breeding, IFZ Research Centre for Biosystems, Land Use and Nutrition, Justus Liebig Univ. Giessen, Giessen, 35392, Germany
| | - Philipp E Bayer
- School of Biological Sciences and Institute of Agriculture, Univ. of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Rachel Wells
- Dep. of Crop Genetics, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR47UH, UK
| | - Rod J Snowdon
- Dep. of Plant Breeding, IFZ Research Centre for Biosystems, Land Use and Nutrition, Justus Liebig Univ. Giessen, Giessen, 35392, Germany
| | - Jacqueline Batley
- School of Biological Sciences and Institute of Agriculture, Univ. of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Rajeev K Varshney
- Center of Excellence in Genomics & Systems Biology, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Patancheru, India
- State Agricultural Biotechnology Centre, Centre for Crop Food Innovation, Food Futures Institute, Murdoch Univ., Murdoch, WA, Australia
| | - Henry T Nguyen
- Division of Plant Sciences, Univ. of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
| | - David Edwards
- School of Biological Sciences and Institute of Agriculture, Univ. of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Agnieszka A Golicz
- Dep. of Plant Breeding, IFZ Research Centre for Biosystems, Land Use and Nutrition, Justus Liebig Univ. Giessen, Giessen, 35392, Germany
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4
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Tay Fernandez CG, Nestor BJ, Danilevicz MF, Gill M, Petereit J, Bayer PE, Finnegan PM, Batley J, Edwards D. Pangenomes as a Resource to Accelerate Breeding of Under-Utilised Crop Species. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:2671. [PMID: 35269811 PMCID: PMC8910360 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23052671] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2022] [Revised: 02/21/2022] [Accepted: 02/21/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Pangenomes are a rich resource to examine the genomic variation observed within a species or genera, supporting population genetics studies, with applications for the improvement of crop traits. Major crop species such as maize (Zea mays), rice (Oryza sativa), Brassica (Brassica spp.), and soybean (Glycine max) have had pangenomes constructed and released, and this has led to the discovery of valuable genes associated with disease resistance and yield components. However, pangenome data are not available for many less prominent crop species that are currently under-utilised. Despite many under-utilised species being important food sources in regional populations, the scarcity of genomic data for these species hinders their improvement. Here, we assess several under-utilised crops and review the pangenome approaches that could be used to build resources for their improvement. Many of these under-utilised crops are cultivated in arid or semi-arid environments, suggesting that novel genes related to drought tolerance may be identified and used for introgression into related major crop species. In addition, we discuss how previously collected data could be used to enrich pangenome functional analysis in genome-wide association studies (GWAS) based on studies in major crops. Considering the technological advances in genome sequencing, pangenome references for under-utilised species are becoming more obtainable, offering the opportunity to identify novel genes related to agro-morphological traits in these species.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - David Edwards
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6009, Australia; (C.G.T.F.); (B.J.N.); (M.F.D.); (M.G.); (J.P.); (P.E.B.); (P.M.F.); (J.B.)
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5
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Lohani N, Singh MB, Bhalla PL. Biological Parts for Engineering Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Plants. BIODESIGN RESEARCH 2022; 2022:9819314. [PMID: 37850130 PMCID: PMC10521667 DOI: 10.34133/2022/9819314] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2021] [Accepted: 12/17/2021] [Indexed: 10/19/2023] Open
Abstract
It is vital to ramp up crop production dramatically by 2050 due to the increasing global population and demand for food. However, with the climate change projections showing that droughts and heatwaves becoming common in much of the globe, there is a severe threat of a sharp decline in crop yields. Thus, developing crop varieties with inbuilt genetic tolerance to environmental stresses is urgently needed. Selective breeding based on genetic diversity is not keeping up with the growing demand for food and feed. However, the emergence of contemporary plant genetic engineering, genome-editing, and synthetic biology offer precise tools for developing crops that can sustain productivity under stress conditions. Here, we summarize the systems biology-level understanding of regulatory pathways involved in perception, signalling, and protective processes activated in response to unfavourable environmental conditions. The potential role of noncoding RNAs in the regulation of abiotic stress responses has also been highlighted. Further, examples of imparting abiotic stress tolerance by genetic engineering are discussed. Additionally, we provide perspectives on the rational design of abiotic stress tolerance through synthetic biology and list various bioparts that can be used to design synthetic gene circuits whose stress-protective functions can be switched on/off in response to environmental cues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neeta Lohani
- Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Laboratory, Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia
| | - Mohan B. Singh
- Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Laboratory, Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia
| | - Prem L. Bhalla
- Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Laboratory, Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia
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6
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Golicz AA. Long Intergenic Noncoding RNA (lincRNA) Discovery from Non-Strand-Specific RNA-Seq Data. Methods Mol Biol 2022; 2443:465-482. [PMID: 35037221 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-2067-0_24] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are transcripts over 200 base pairs in length without discernible protein coding potential. Long intergenic noncoding RNAs (lincRNAs) constitute a subset of lncRNAs, which do not overlap protein coding genes. Here we describe a detailed pipeline for lincRNA discovery from publicly available non-stranded RNA-Seq datasets. The pipeline presented can be applied to any plant species for which RNA-Seq data and a reference genome sequence are available.
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Affiliation(s)
- A A Golicz
- Department of Plant Breeding, Justus Liebig University Gießen, Gießen, Germany.
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7
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Xu Y, Liu X, Cao X, Huang C, Liu E, Qian S, Liu X, Wu Y, Dong F, Qiu CW, Qiu J, Hua K, Su W, Wu J, Xu H, Han Y, Fu C, Yin Z, Liu M, Roepman R, Dietmann S, Virta M, Kengara F, Zhang Z, Zhang L, Zhao T, Dai J, Yang J, Lan L, Luo M, Liu Z, An T, Zhang B, He X, Cong S, Liu X, Zhang W, Lewis JP, Tiedje JM, Wang Q, An Z, Wang F, Zhang L, Huang T, Lu C, Cai Z, Wang F, Zhang J. Artificial intelligence: A powerful paradigm for scientific research. Innovation (N Y) 2021; 2:100179. [PMID: 34877560 PMCID: PMC8633405 DOI: 10.1016/j.xinn.2021.100179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 83] [Impact Index Per Article: 27.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2021] [Accepted: 10/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Artificial intelligence (AI) coupled with promising machine learning (ML) techniques well known from computer science is broadly affecting many aspects of various fields including science and technology, industry, and even our day-to-day life. The ML techniques have been developed to analyze high-throughput data with a view to obtaining useful insights, categorizing, predicting, and making evidence-based decisions in novel ways, which will promote the growth of novel applications and fuel the sustainable booming of AI. This paper undertakes a comprehensive survey on the development and application of AI in different aspects of fundamental sciences, including information science, mathematics, medical science, materials science, geoscience, life science, physics, and chemistry. The challenges that each discipline of science meets, and the potentials of AI techniques to handle these challenges, are discussed in detail. Moreover, we shed light on new research trends entailing the integration of AI into each scientific discipline. The aim of this paper is to provide a broad research guideline on fundamental sciences with potential infusion of AI, to help motivate researchers to deeply understand the state-of-the-art applications of AI-based fundamental sciences, and thereby to help promote the continuous development of these fundamental sciences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yongjun Xu
- Institute of Computing Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Xin Liu
- Academy of Mathematics and Systems Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Xin Cao
- Zhongshan Hospital Institute of Clinical Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Changping Huang
- Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100094, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Enke Liu
- Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
- Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory, Dongguan, Guangdong 523808, China
| | - Sen Qian
- Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Xingchen Liu
- Institute of Coal Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Taiyuan 030001, China
| | - Yanjun Wu
- Institute of Software, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Fengliang Dong
- National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing 100190, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Cheng-Wei Qiu
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117583, Singapore
| | - Junjun Qiu
- Department of Gynaecology, Obstetrics and Gynaecology Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200011, China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Female Reproductive Endocrine-Related Diseases, Shanghai 200011, China
| | - Keqin Hua
- Department of Gynaecology, Obstetrics and Gynaecology Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200011, China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Female Reproductive Endocrine-Related Diseases, Shanghai 200011, China
| | - Wentao Su
- School of Food Science and Technology, Dalian Polytechnic University, Dalian 116034, China
| | - Jian Wu
- Second Affiliated Hospital School of Medicine, and School of Public Health, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Huiyu Xu
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Yong Han
- Zhejiang Provincial People’s Hospital, Hangzhou 310014, China
| | - Chenguang Fu
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
| | - Zhigang Yin
- Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fuzhou 350002, China
| | - Miao Liu
- Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
- Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory, Dongguan, Guangdong 523808, China
| | - Ronald Roepman
- Medical Center, Radboud University, 6500 Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Sabine Dietmann
- Institute for Informatics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Marko Virta
- Department of Microbiology, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Fredrick Kengara
- School of Pure and Applied Sciences, Bomet University College, Bomet 20400, Kenya
| | - Ze Zhang
- Agriculture College of Shihezi University, Xinjiang 832000, China
| | - Lifu Zhang
- Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100094, China
- Agriculture College of Shihezi University, Xinjiang 832000, China
| | - Taolan Zhao
- Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Ji Dai
- The Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
- Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science-Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | | | - Liang Lan
- Department of Communication Studies, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China
| | - Ming Luo
- South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China
- Center of Economic Botany, Core Botanical Gardens, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China
| | - Zhaofeng Liu
- Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Tao An
- Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200030, China
| | - Bin Zhang
- Institute of Coal Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Taiyuan 030001, China
| | - Xiao He
- Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Shan Cong
- Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Xiaohong Liu
- Chongqing Institute of Green and Intelligent Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chongqing 400714, China
| | - Wei Zhang
- Chongqing Institute of Green and Intelligent Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chongqing 400714, China
| | - James P. Lewis
- Institute of Coal Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Taiyuan 030001, China
| | - James M. Tiedje
- Center for Microbial Ecology, Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Qi Wang
- Institute of Computing Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
- Zhejiang Lab, Hangzhou 311121, China
| | - Zhulin An
- Institute of Computing Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Fei Wang
- Institute of Computing Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Libo Zhang
- Institute of Software, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Tao Huang
- Shanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China
| | - Chuan Lu
- Department of Computer Science, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion SY23 3FL, UK
| | - Zhipeng Cai
- Department of Computer Science, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA
| | - Fang Wang
- Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Jiabao Zhang
- Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
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8
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Marsh JI, Hu H, Gill M, Batley J, Edwards D. Crop breeding for a changing climate: integrating phenomics and genomics with bioinformatics. TAG. THEORETICAL AND APPLIED GENETICS. THEORETISCHE UND ANGEWANDTE GENETIK 2021; 134:1677-1690. [PMID: 33852055 DOI: 10.1007/s00122-021-03820-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2020] [Accepted: 03/18/2021] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Safeguarding crop yields in a changing climate requires bioinformatics advances in harnessing data from vast phenomics and genomics datasets to translate research findings into climate smart crops in the field. Climate change and an additional 3 billion mouths to feed by 2050 raise serious concerns over global food security. Crop breeding and land management strategies will need to evolve to maximize the utilization of finite resources in coming years. High-throughput phenotyping and genomics technologies are providing researchers with the information required to guide and inform the breeding of climate smart crops adapted to the environment. Bioinformatics has a fundamental role to play in integrating and exploiting this fast accumulating wealth of data, through association studies to detect genomic targets underlying key adaptive climate-resilient traits. These data provide tools for breeders to tailor crops to their environment and can be introduced using advanced selection or genome editing methods. To effectively translate research into the field, genomic and phenomic information will need to be integrated into comprehensive clade-specific databases and platforms alongside accessible tools that can be used by breeders to inform the selection of climate adaptive traits. Here we discuss the role of bioinformatics in extracting, analysing, integrating and managing genomic and phenomic data to improve climate resilience in crops, including current, emerging and potential approaches, applications and bottlenecks in the research and breeding pipeline.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob I Marsh
- School of Biological Sciences and Institute of Agriculture, The University of Western Australia, Perth, 6009, Australia
| | - Haifei Hu
- School of Biological Sciences and Institute of Agriculture, The University of Western Australia, Perth, 6009, Australia
| | - Mitchell Gill
- School of Biological Sciences and Institute of Agriculture, The University of Western Australia, Perth, 6009, Australia
| | - Jacqueline Batley
- School of Biological Sciences and Institute of Agriculture, The University of Western Australia, Perth, 6009, Australia
| | - David Edwards
- School of Biological Sciences and Institute of Agriculture, The University of Western Australia, Perth, 6009, Australia.
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9
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Bayer PE, Golicz AA, Scheben A, Batley J, Edwards D. Plant pan-genomes are the new reference. NATURE PLANTS 2020; 6:914-920. [PMID: 32690893 DOI: 10.1038/s41477-020-0733-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 216] [Impact Index Per Article: 54.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2020] [Accepted: 06/29/2020] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
Recent years have seen a surge in plant genome sequencing projects and the comparison of multiple related individuals. The high degree of genomic variation observed led to the realization that single reference genomes do not represent the diversity within a species, and led to the expansion of the pan-genome concept. Pan-genomes represent the genomic diversity of a species and includes core genes, found in all individuals, as well as variable genes, which are absent in some individuals. Variable gene annotations often show similarities across plant species, with genes for biotic and abiotic stress commonly enriched within variable gene groups. Here we review the growth of pan-genomics in plants, explore the origins of gene presence and absence variation, and show how pan-genomes can support plant breeding and evolution studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philipp E Bayer
- School of Biological Sciences and Institute of Agriculture, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Agnieszka A Golicz
- Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Laboratory, Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Armin Scheben
- Simons Center for Quantitative Biology, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA
| | - Jacqueline Batley
- School of Biological Sciences and Institute of Agriculture, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - David Edwards
- School of Biological Sciences and Institute of Agriculture, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
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10
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Pourkheirandish M, Golicz AA, Bhalla PL, Singh MB. Global Role of Crop Genomics in the Face of Climate Change. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2020; 11:922. [PMID: 32765541 PMCID: PMC7378793 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2020.00922] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2019] [Accepted: 06/05/2020] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
The development of climate change resilient crops is necessary if we are to meet the challenge of feeding the growing world's population. We must be able to increase food production despite the projected decrease in arable land and unpredictable environmental conditions. This review summarizes the technological and conceptual advances that have the potential to transform plant breeding, help overcome the challenges of climate change, and initiate the next plant breeding revolution. Recent developments in genomics in combination with high-throughput and precision phenotyping facilitate the identification of genes controlling critical agronomic traits. The discovery of these genes can now be paired with genome editing techniques to rapidly develop climate change resilient crops, including plants with better biotic and abiotic stress tolerance and enhanced nutritional value. Utilizing the genetic potential of crop wild relatives (CWRs) enables the domestication of new species and the generation of synthetic polyploids. The high-quality crop plant genome assemblies and annotations provide new, exciting research targets, including long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and cis-regulatory regions. Metagenomic studies give insights into plant-microbiome interactions and guide selection of optimal soils for plant cultivation. Together, all these advances will allow breeders to produce improved, resilient crops in relatively short timeframes meeting the demands of the growing population and changing climate.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Mohan B. Singh
- Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Laboratory, Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
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11
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Golicz AA, Bayer PE, Bhalla PL, Batley J, Edwards D. Pangenomics Comes of Age: From Bacteria to Plant and Animal Applications. Trends Genet 2019; 36:132-145. [PMID: 31882191 DOI: 10.1016/j.tig.2019.11.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 109] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2019] [Revised: 11/09/2019] [Accepted: 11/12/2019] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
The pangenome refers to a collection of genomic sequence found in the entire species or population rather than in a single individual; the sequence can be core, present in all individuals, or accessory (variable or dispensable), found in a subset of individuals only. While pangenomic studies were first undertaken in bacterial species, developments in genome sequencing and assembly approaches have allowed construction of pangenomes for eukaryotic organisms, fungi, plants, and animals, including two large-scale human pangenome projects. Analysis of the these pangenomes revealed key differences, most likely stemming from divergent evolutionary histories, but also surprising similarities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agnieszka A Golicz
- Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Laboratory, Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
| | - Philipp E Bayer
- School of Biological Sciences and Institute of Agriculture, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia
| | - Prem L Bhalla
- Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Laboratory, Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Jacqueline Batley
- School of Biological Sciences and Institute of Agriculture, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia
| | - David Edwards
- School of Biological Sciences and Institute of Agriculture, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia.
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