A high-throughput strategy for screening of bacterial artificial chromosome libraries and anchoring of clones on a genetic map constructed with single nucleotide polymorphisms

Effective BAC clone anchoring with genotyping-by-sequencing and Diversity Arrays Technology in a large genome cereal rye

Identification of bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) clones containing specific sequences is a prerequisite for many applications, such as physical map anchoring or gene cloning. Existing BAC library screening strategies are either low-throughput or require a considerable initial input of resources for platform establishment. We describe a high-throughput, reliable, and cost-effective BAC library screening approach deploying genotyping platforms which are independent from the availability of sequence information: a genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) method DArTSeq and the microarray-based Diversity Arrays Technology (DArT). The performance of these methods was tested in a very large and complex rye genome. The DArTseq approach delivered superior results: a several fold higher efficiency of addressing genetic markers to BAC clones and anchoring of BAC clones to genetic map and also a higher reliability. Considering the sequence independence of the platform, the DArTseq-based library screening can be proposed as an attractive method to speed up genomics research in resource poor species.

High-throughput physical map anchoring via BAC-pool sequencing

BACKGROUND

Physical maps created from large insert DNA libraries, typically cloned in BAC vector, are valuable resources for map-based cloning and de novo genome sequencing. The maps are most useful if contigs of overlapping DNA clones are anchored to chromosome(s), and ordered along them using molecular markers. Here we present a novel approach for anchoring physical maps, based on sequencing three-dimensional pools of BAC clones from minimum tilling path.

RESULTS

We used physical map of wheat chromosome arm 3DS to validate the method with two different DNA sequence datasets. The first comprised 567 genes ordered along the chromosome arm based on syntenic relationship of wheat with the sequenced genomes of Brachypodium, rice and sorghum. The second dataset consisted of 7,136 SNP-containing sequences, which were mapped genetically in Aegilops tauschii, the donor of the wheat D genome. Mapping of sequence reads from individual BAC pools to the first and the second datasets enabled unambiguous anchoring 447 and 311 3DS-specific sequences, respectively, or 758 in total.

CONCLUSIONS

We demonstrate the utility of the novel approach for BAC contig anchoring based on mass parallel sequencing of three-dimensional pools prepared from minimum tilling path of physical map. The existing genetic markers as well as any other DNA sequence could be mapped to BAC clones in a single in silico experiment. The approach reduces significantly the cost and time needed for anchoring and is applicable to any genomic project involving the construction of anchored physical map.

Construction and characterization of three wheat bacterial artificial chromosome libraries

We have constructed three bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) libraries of wheat cultivar Triticum aestivum Wangshuibai, germplasms T. monococcum TA2026 and TA2033. A total of 1,233,792,170,880 and 263,040 clones were picked and arrayed in 384-well plates. On the basis of genome sizes of 16.8 Gb for hexaploid wheat and 5.6 Gb for diploid wheat, the three libraries represented 9.05-, 2.60-, and 3.71-fold coverage of the haploid genomes, respectively. An improved descending pooling system for BAC libraries screening was established. This improved strategy can save 80% of the time and 68% of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with the same successful rate as the universal 6D pooling strategy.

Intergenomic single nucleotide polymorphisms as a tool for bacterial artificial chromosome contig building of homoeologous Brassica napus regions

BACKGROUND

Homoeologous sequences pose a particular challenge if bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) contigs shall be established for specific regions of an allopolyploid genome. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) differentiating between homoeologous genomes (intergenomic SNPs) may represent a suitable screening tool for such purposes, since they do not only identify homoeologous sequences but also differentiate between them.

RESULTS

Sequence alignments between Brassica rapa (AA) and Brassica oleracea (CC) sequences mapping to corresponding regions on chromosomes A1 and C1, respectively were used to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms between the A and C genomes. A large fraction of these polymorphisms was also present in Brassica napus (AACC), an allopolyploid species that originated from hybridisation of A and C genome species. Intergenomic SNPs mapping throughout homoeologous chromosome segments spanning approximately one Mbp each were included in Illumina's GoldenGate® Genotyping Assay and used to screen multidimensional pools of a Brassica napus bacterial artificial chromosome library with tenfold genome coverage. Based on the results of 50 SNP assays, a BAC contig for the Brassica napus A subgenome was established that spanned the entire region of interest. The C subgenome region was represented in three BAC contigs.

CONCLUSIONS

This proof-of-concept study shows that sequence resources of diploid progenitor genomes can be used to deduce intergenomic SNPs suitable for multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based screening of multidimensional BAC pools of a polyploid organism. Owing to their high abundance and ease of identification, intergenomic SNPs represent a versatile tool to establish BAC contigs for homoeologous regions of a polyploid genome.

Consolidation of the genetic and cytogenetic maps of turbot (Scophthalmus maximus) using FISH with BAC clones

Bacterial artificial chromosomes (BAC) have been widely used for fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) mapping of chromosome landmarks in different organisms, including a few in teleosts. In this study, we used BAC-FISH to consolidate the previous genetic and cytogenetic maps of the turbot (Scophthalmus maximus), a commercially important pleuronectiform. The maps consisted of 24 linkage groups (LGs) but only 22 chromosomes. All turbot LGs were assigned to specific chromosomes using BAC probes obtained from a turbot 5× genomic BAC library. It consisted of 46,080 clones with inserts of at least 100 kb and <5 % empty vectors. These BAC probes contained gene-derived or anonymous markers, most of them linked to quantitative trait loci (QTL) related to productive traits. BAC clones were mapped by FISH to unique marker-specific chromosomal positions, which showed a notable concordance with previous genetic mapping data. The two metacentric pairs were cytogenetically assigned to LG2 and LG16, and the nucleolar organizer region (NOR)-bearing pair was assigned to LG15. Double-color FISH assays enabled the consolidation of the turbot genetic map into 22 linkage groups by merging LG8 with LG18 and LG21 with LG24. In this work, a first-generation probe panel of BAC clones anchored to the turbot linkage and cytogenetical map was developed. It is a useful tool for chromosome traceability in turbot, but also relevant in the context of pleuronectiform karyotypes, which often show small hardly identifiable chromosomes. This panel will also be valuable for further integrative genomics of turbot within Pleuronectiformes and teleosts, especially for fine QTL mapping for aquaculture traits, comparative genomics, and whole-genome assembly.

Screening of a Brassica napus bacterial artificial chromosome library using highly parallel single nucleotide polymorphism assays

Background

Efficient screening of bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) libraries with polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based markers is feasible provided that a multidimensional pooling strategy is implemented. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) can be screened in multiplexed format, therefore this marker type lends itself particularly well for medium- to high-throughput applications. Combining the power of multiplex-PCR assays with a multidimensional pooling system may prove to be especially challenging in a polyploid genome. In polyploid genomes two classes of SNPs need to be distinguished, polymorphisms between accessions (intragenomic SNPs) and those differentiating between homoeologous genomes (intergenomic SNPs). We have assessed whether the highly parallel Illumina GoldenGate® Genotyping Assay is suitable for the screening of a BAC library of the polyploid Brassica napus genome.

Results

A multidimensional screening platform was developed for a Brassica napus BAC library which is composed of almost 83,000 clones. Intragenomic and intergenomic SNPs were included in Illumina’s GoldenGate® Genotyping Assay and both SNP classes were used successfully for screening of the multidimensional BAC pools of the Brassica napus library. An optimized scoring method is proposed which is especially valuable for SNP calling of intergenomic SNPs. Validation of the genotyping results by independent methods revealed a success of approximately 80% for the multiplex PCR-based screening regardless of whether intra- or intergenomic SNPs were evaluated.

Conclusions

Illumina’s GoldenGate® Genotyping Assay can be efficiently used for screening of multidimensional Brassica napus BAC pools. SNP calling was specifically tailored for the evaluation of BAC pool screening data. The developed scoring method can be implemented independently of plant reference samples. It is demonstrated that intergenomic SNPs represent a powerful tool for BAC library screening of a polyploid genome.

A 4-gigabase physical map unlocks the structure and evolution of the complex genome of Aegilops tauschii, the wheat D-genome progenitor

The current limitations in genome sequencing technology require the construction of physical maps for high-quality draft sequences of large plant genomes, such as that of Aegilops tauschii, the wheat D-genome progenitor. To construct a physical map of the Ae. tauschii genome, we fingerprinted 461,706 bacterial artificial chromosome clones, assembled contigs, designed a 10K Ae. tauschii Infinium SNP array, constructed a 7,185-marker genetic map, and anchored on the map contigs totaling 4.03 Gb. Using whole genome shotgun reads, we extended the SNP marker sequences and found 17,093 genes and gene fragments. We showed that collinearity of the Ae. tauschii genes with Brachypodium distachyon, rice, and sorghum decreased with phylogenetic distance and that structural genome evolution rates have been high across all investigated lineages in subfamily Pooideae, including that of Brachypodieae. We obtained additional information about the evolution of the seven Triticeae chromosomes from 12 ancestral chromosomes and uncovered a pattern of centromere inactivation accompanying nested chromosome insertions in grasses. We showed that the density of noncollinear genes along the Ae. tauschii chromosomes positively correlates with recombination rates, suggested a cause, and showed that new genes, exemplified by disease resistance genes, are preferentially located in high-recombination chromosome regions.

Development and evaluation of SoySNP50K, a high-density genotyping array for soybean

The objective of this research was to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and to develop an Illumina Infinium BeadChip that contained over 50,000 SNPs from soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.). A total of 498,921,777 reads 35-45 bp in length were obtained from DNA sequence analysis of reduced representation libraries from several soybean accessions which included six cultivated and two wild soybean (G. soja Sieb. et Zucc.) genotypes. These reads were mapped to the soybean whole genome sequence and 209,903 SNPs were identified. After applying several filters, a total of 146,161 of the 209,903 SNPs were determined to be ideal candidates for Illumina Infinium II BeadChip design. To equalize the distance between selected SNPs, increase assay success rate, and minimize the number of SNPs with low minor allele frequency, an iteration algorithm based on a selection index was developed and used to select 60,800 SNPs for Infinium BeadChip design. Of the 60,800 SNPs, 50,701 were targeted to euchromatic regions and 10,000 to heterochromatic regions of the 20 soybean chromosomes. In addition, 99 SNPs were targeted to unanchored sequence scaffolds. Of the 60,800 SNPs, a total of 52,041 passed Illumina's manufacturing phase to produce the SoySNP50K iSelect BeadChip. Validation of the SoySNP50K chip with 96 landrace genotypes, 96 elite cultivars and 96 wild soybean accessions showed that 47,337 SNPs were polymorphic and generated successful SNP allele calls. In addition, 40,841 of the 47,337 SNPs (86%) had minor allele frequencies ≥ 10% among the landraces, elite cultivars and the wild soybean accessions. A total of 620 and 42 candidate regions which may be associated with domestication and recent selection were identified, respectively. The SoySNP50K iSelect SNP beadchip will be a powerful tool for characterizing soybean genetic diversity and linkage disequilibrium, and for constructing high resolution linkage maps to improve the soybean whole genome sequence assembly.

SNPs in stress-responsive rice genes: validation, genotyping, functional relevance and population structure

Background

Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) validation and large-scale genotyping are required to maximize the use of DNA sequence variation and determine the functional relevance of candidate genes for complex stress tolerance traits through genetic association in rice. We used the bead array platform-based Illumina GoldenGate assay to validate and genotype SNPs in a select set of stress-responsive genes to understand their functional relevance and study the population structure in rice.

Results

Of the 384 putative SNPs assayed, we successfully validated and genotyped 362 (94.3%). Of these 325 (84.6%) showed polymorphism among the 91 rice genotypes examined. Physical distribution, degree of allele sharing, admixtures and introgression, and amino acid replacement of SNPs in 263 abiotic and 62 biotic stress-responsive genes provided clues for identification and targeted mapping of trait-associated genomic regions. We assessed the functional and adaptive significance of validated SNPs in a set of contrasting drought tolerant upland and sensitive lowland rice genotypes by correlating their allelic variation with amino acid sequence alterations in catalytic domains and three-dimensional secondary protein structure encoded by stress-responsive genes. We found a strong genetic association among SNPs in the nine stress-responsive genes with upland and lowland ecological adaptation. Higher nucleotide diversity was observed in indica accessions compared with other rice sub-populations based on different population genetic parameters. The inferred ancestry of 16% among rice genotypes was derived from admixed populations with the maximum between upland aus and wild Oryza species.

Conclusions

SNPs validated in biotic and abiotic stress-responsive rice genes can be used in association analyses to identify candidate genes and develop functional markers for stress tolerance in rice.

Genome-wide SNP discovery in walnut with an AGSNP pipeline updated for SNP discovery in allogamous organisms

BACKGROUND

A genome-wide set of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) is a valuable resource in genetic research and breeding and is usually developed by re-sequencing a genome. If a genome sequence is not available, an alternative strategy must be used. We previously reported the development of a pipeline (AGSNP) for genome-wide SNP discovery in coding sequences and other single-copy DNA without a complete genome sequence in self-pollinating (autogamous) plants. Here we updated this pipeline for SNP discovery in outcrossing (allogamous) species and demonstrated its efficacy in SNP discovery in walnut (Juglans regia L.).

RESULTS

The first step in the original implementation of the AGSNP pipeline was the construction of a reference sequence and the identification of single-copy sequences in it. To identify single-copy sequences, multiple genome equivalents of short SOLiD reads of another individual were mapped to shallow genome coverage of long Sanger or Roche 454 reads making up the reference sequence. The relative depth of SOLiD reads was used to filter out repeated sequences from single-copy sequences in the reference sequence. The second step was a search for SNPs between SOLiD reads and the reference sequence. Polymorphism within the mapped SOLiD reads would have precluded SNP discovery; hence both individuals had to be homozygous. The AGSNP pipeline was updated here for using SOLiD or other type of short reads of a heterozygous individual for these two principal steps. A total of 32.6X walnut genome equivalents of SOLiD reads of vegetatively propagated walnut scion cultivar 'Chandler' were mapped to 48,661 'Chandler' bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) end sequences (BESs) produced by Sanger sequencing during the construction of a walnut physical map. A total of 22,799 putative SNPs were initially identified. A total of 6,000 Infinium II type SNPs evenly distributed along the walnut physical map were selected for the construction of an Infinium BeadChip, which was used to genotype a walnut mapping population having 'Chandler' as one of the parents. Genotyping results were used to adjust the filtering parameters of the updated AGSNP pipeline. With the adjusted filtering criteria, 69.6% of SNPs discovered with the updated pipeline were real and could be mapped on the walnut genetic map. A total of 13,439 SNPs were discovered by BES re-sequencing. BESs harboring SNPs were in 677 FPC contigs covering 98% of the physical map of the walnut genome.

CONCLUSION

The updated AGSNP pipeline is a versatile SNP discovery tool for a high-throughput, genome-wide SNP discovery in both autogamous and allogamous species. With this pipeline, a large set of SNPs were identified in a single walnut cultivar.

Advances in BAC-based physical mapping and map integration strategies in plants

In the advent of next-generation sequencing (NGS) platforms, map-based sequencing strategy has been recently suppressed being too expensive and laborious. The detailed studies on NGS drafts alone indicated these assemblies remain far from gold standard reference quality, especially when applied on complex genomes. In this context the conventional BAC-based physical mapping has been identified as an important intermediate layer in current hybrid sequencing strategy. BAC-based physical map construction and its integration with high-density genetic maps have benefited from NGS and high-throughput array platforms. This paper addresses the current advancements of BAC-based physical mapping and high-throughput map integration strategies to obtain densely anchored well-ordered physical maps. The resulted maps are of immediate utility while providing a template to harness the maximum benefits of the current NGS platforms.

Highly parallel gene-to-BAC addressing using microarrays

Second-generation sequencing now provides the potential for low-cost generation of whole-genome sequences. However, for large-genome organisms with high repetitive DNA content, genome-wide short read sequence assembly is currently impossible, with accurate ordering and localization of genes still relying heavily on integration with physical and genetic maps. To facilitate this process, we have used Agilent microarrays to simultaneously address thousands of gene sequences to individual BAC clones and contiguous sequences that form part of an emerging physical map of the large and currently unsequenced 5.3-Gb barley genome. The approach represents a cost-effective, highly parallel alternative to traditional addressing methods. By coupling the gene-to-BAC address data with gene-based molecular markers, thousands of BACs can be anchored directly to the genetic map, thereby generating a framework for orientating and ordering genes, and providing direct links to phenotypic traits.

A new implementation of high-throughput five-dimensional clone pooling strategy for BAC library screening

Background

A five-dimensional (5-D) clone pooling strategy for screening of bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) clones with molecular markers utilizing highly-parallel Illumina GoldenGate assays and PCR facilitates high-throughput BAC clone and BAC contig anchoring on a genetic map. However, this strategy occasionally needs manual PCR to deconvolute pools and identify truly positive clones.

Results

A new implementation is reported here for our previously reported clone pooling strategy. Row and column pools of BAC clones are divided into sub-pools with 1~2× genome coverage. All BAC pools are screened with Illumina's GoldenGate assay and the BAC pools are deconvoluted to identify individual positive clones. Putative positive BAC clones are then further analyzed to find positive clones on the basis of them being neighbours in a contig. An exhaustive search or brute force algorithm was designed for this deconvolution and integrated into a newly developed software tool, FPCBrowser, for analyzing clone pooling data. This algorithm was used with empirical data for 55 Illumina GoldenGate SNP assays detecting SNP markers mapped on Aegilops tauschii chromosome 2D and Ae. tauschii contig maps. Clones in single contigs were successfully assigned to 48 (87%) specific SNP markers on the map with 91% precision.

Conclusion

A new implementation of 5-D BAC clone pooling strategy employing both GoldenGate assay screening and assembled BAC contigs is shown here to be a high-throughput, low cost, rapid, and feasible approach to screening BAC libraries and anchoring BAC clones and contigs on genetic maps. The software FPCBrowser with the integrated clone deconvolution algorithm has been developed and is downloadable at http://avena.pw.usda.gov/wheatD/fpcbrowser.shtml.

Feasibility of physical map construction from fingerprinted bacterial artificial chromosome libraries of polyploid plant species

BACKGROUND

The presence of closely related genomes in polyploid species makes the assembly of total genomic sequence from shotgun sequence reads produced by the current sequencing platforms exceedingly difficult, if not impossible. Genomes of polyploid species could be sequenced following the ordered-clone sequencing approach employing contigs of bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) clones and BAC-based physical maps. Although BAC contigs can currently be constructed for virtually any diploid organism with the SNaPshot high-information-content-fingerprinting (HICF) technology, it is currently unknown if this is also true for polyploid species. It is possible that BAC clones from orthologous regions of homoeologous chromosomes would share numerous restriction fragments and be therefore included into common contigs. Because of this and other concerns, physical mapping utilizing the SNaPshot HICF of BAC libraries of polyploid species has not been pursued and the possibility of doing so has not been assessed. The sole exception has been in common wheat, an allohexaploid in which it is possible to construct single-chromosome or single-chromosome-arm BAC libraries from DNA of flow-sorted chromosomes and bypass the obstacles created by polyploidy.

RESULTS

The potential of the SNaPshot HICF technology for physical mapping of polyploid plants utilizing global BAC libraries was evaluated by assembling contigs of fingerprinted clones in an in silico merged BAC library composed of single-chromosome libraries of two wheat homoeologous chromosome arms, 3AS and 3DS, and complete chromosome 3B. Because the chromosome arm origin of each clone was known, it was possible to estimate the fidelity of contig assembly. On average 97.78% or more clones, depending on the library, were from a single chromosome arm. A large portion of the remaining clones was shown to be library contamination from other chromosomes, a feature that is unavoidable during the construction of single-chromosome BAC libraries.

CONCLUSIONS

The negligibly low level of incorporation of clones from homoeologous chromosome arms into a contig during contig assembly suggested that it is feasible to construct contigs and physical maps using global BAC libraries of wheat and almost certainly also of other plant polyploid species with genome sizes comparable to that of wheat. Because of the high purity of the resulting assembled contigs, they can be directly used for genome sequencing. It is currently unknown but possible that equally good BAC contigs can be also constructed for polyploid species containing smaller, more gene-rich genomes.

Insertion site-based polymorphism markers open new perspectives for genome saturation and marker-assisted selection in wheat

In wheat, the deployment of marker-assisted selection has long been hampered by the lack of markers compatible with high-throughput cost-effective genotyping techniques. Recently, insertion site-based polymorphism (ISBP) markers have appeared as very powerful new tools for genomics and genetic studies in hexaploid wheat. To demonstrate their possible use in wheat breeding programmes, we assessed their potential to meet the five main requirements for utilization in MAS: flexible and high-throughput detection methods, low quantity and quality of DNA required, low cost per assay, tight link to target loci and high level of polymorphism in breeding material. Toward this aim, we developed a programme, IsbpFinder, for the automated design of ISBP markers and adapted three detection methods (melting curve analysis, SNaPshot Multiplex System and Illumina BeadArray technology) for high throughput and flexible detection of ISBP or ISBP-derived SNP markers. We demonstrate that the high level of polymorphism of the ISBPs combined with cost-effective genotyping methods can be used to efficiently saturate genetic maps, discriminate between elite cultivars, and design tightly linked diagnostic markers for virtually all target loci in the wheat genome. All together, our results suggest that ISBP markers have the potential to lead to a breakthrough in wheat marker-assisted selection.

A BAC-based physical map of Brachypodium distachyon and its comparative analysis with rice and wheat

Background

Brachypodium distachyon (Brachypodium) has been recognized as a new model species for comparative and functional genomics of cereal and bioenergy crops because it possesses many biological attributes desirable in a model, such as a small genome size, short stature, self-pollinating habit, and short generation cycle. To maximize the utility of Brachypodium as a model for basic and applied research it is necessary to develop genomic resources for it. A BAC-based physical map is one of them. A physical map will facilitate analysis of genome structure, comparative genomics, and assembly of the entire genome sequence.

Results

A total of 67,151 Brachypodium BAC clones were fingerprinted with the SNaPshot HICF fingerprinting method and a genome-wide physical map of the Brachypodium genome was constructed. The map consisted of 671 contigs and 2,161 clones remained as singletons. The contigs and singletons spanned 414 Mb. A total of 13,970 gene-related sequences were detected in the BAC end sequences (BES). These gene tags aligned 345 contigs with 336 Mb of rice genome sequence, showing that Brachypodium and rice genomes are generally highly colinear. Divergent regions were mainly in the rice centromeric regions. A dot-plot of Brachypodium contigs against the rice genome sequences revealed remnants of the whole-genome duplication caused by paleotetraploidy, which were previously found in rice and sorghum. Brachypodium contigs were anchored to the wheat deletion bin maps with the BES gene-tags, opening the door to Brachypodium-Triticeae comparative genomics.

Conclusion

The construction of the Brachypodium physical map, and its comparison with the rice genome sequence demonstrated the utility of the SNaPshot-HICF method in the construction of BAC-based physical maps. The map represents an important genomic resource for the completion of Brachypodium genome sequence and grass comparative genomics. A draft of the physical map and its comparisons with rice and wheat are available at .