Timber! Felling the loblolly pine genome

Conventional short read sequences derived from haploid DNA were extended into long super-reads enabling assembly of the massive 22 Gbp loblolly pine, Pinus taeda, genome.See related research http://genomebiology.com/2014/15/3/R59     

The complex binding of PRDM9

A recent study investigates the in vitro DNA binding behavior of PRDM9, a zinc finger protein involved in the localization of recombination hotspots in mammals.Please see related research article: http://genomebiology.com/2013/14/4/R35     

A database for human Y chromosome protein data

The human Y chromosome is the sex determining chromosome. The number of proteins associated with this chromosome is 196 and 107 of the 196 proteins have yet not been characterised. Here, we describe the analysis of these 107 proteins by computing various physicochemical properties using sequence and predicted structural data to elucidate molecular function. We present the derived data in the form a form a database made freely available for download, review, refinement and update.

Availability

http://puratham.googlepages.com/ or http://puratham.googlepages.com/ftpconnection     

Figure-Associated Text Summarization and Evaluation

Biomedical literature incorporates millions of figures, which are a rich and important knowledge resource for biomedical researchers. Scientists need access to the figures and the knowledge they represent in order to validate research findings and to generate new hypotheses. By themselves, these figures are nearly always incomprehensible to both humans and machines and their associated texts are therefore essential for full comprehension. The associated text of a figure, however, is scattered throughout its full-text article and contains redundant information content. In this paper, we report the continued development and evaluation of several figure summarization systems, the FigSum+ systems, that automatically identify associated texts, remove redundant information, and generate a text summary for every figure in an article. Using a set of 94 annotated figures selected from 19 different journals, we conducted an intrinsic evaluation of FigSum+. We evaluate the performance by precision, recall, F1, and ROUGE scores. The best FigSum+ system is based on an unsupervised method, achieving F1 score of 0.66 and ROUGE-1 score of 0.97. The annotated data is available at figshare.com (http://figshare.com/articles/Figure_Associated_Text_Summarization_and_Evaluation/858903).     

Non-contiguous genome sequence of Mycobacterium simiae strain DSM 44165T

Mycobacterium simiae is a non-tuberculosis mycobacterium causing pulmonary infections in both immunocompetent and imunocompromized patients. We announce the draft genome sequence of M. simiae DSM 44165^T. The 5,782,968-bp long genome with 65.15% GC content (one chromosome, no plasmid) contains 5,727 open reading frames (33% with unknown function and 11 ORFs sizing more than 5000 -bp), three rRNA operons, 52 tRNA, one 66-bp tmRNA matching with tmRNA tags from Mycobacterium avium, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Mycobacterium bovis, Mycobacterium microti, Mycobacterium marinum, and Mycobacterium africanum and 389 DNA repetitive sequences. Comparing ORFs and size distribution between M. simiae and five other Mycobacterium species M. simiae clustered with M. abscessus and M. smegmatis. A 40-kb prophage was predicted in addition to two prophage-like elements, 7-kb and 18-kb in size, but no mycobacteriophage was seen after the observation of 10⁶ M. simiae cells. Fifteen putative CRISPRs were found. Three genes were predicted to encode resistance to aminoglycosides, betalactams and macrolide-lincosamide-streptogramin B. A total of 163 CAZYmes were annotated. M. simiae contains ESX-1 to ESX-5 genes encoding for a type-VII secretion system. Availability of the genome sequence may help depict the unique properties of this environmental, opportunistic pathogen.     

Birds do it,bees do it,worms and ciliates do it too: DNA methylation from unexpected corners of the tree of life

Studies describing intricate patterns of DNA methylation in nematode and ciliate are controversial due to the uncertainty of genomic evolutionary conservation of DNA methylation enzymes.See related research articles http://genomebiology.com/2012/13/10/R99 and http://genomebiology.com/2012/13/10/R100     

Complete genome sequence of Desulfocapsa sulfexigens,a marine deltaproteobacterium specialized in disproportionating inorganic sulfur compounds

Desulfocapsa sulfexigens SB164P1 (DSM 10523) belongs to the deltaproteobacterial family Desulfobulbaceae and is one of two validly described members of its genus. This strain was selected for genome sequencing, because it is the first marine bacterium reported to thrive on the disproportionation of elemental sulfur, a process with a unresolved enzymatic pathway in which elemental sulfur serves both as electron donor and electron acceptor. Furthermore, in contrast to its phylogenetically closest relatives, which are dissimilatory sulfate-reducers, D. sulfexigens is unable to grow by sulfate reduction and appears metabolically specialized in growing by disproportionating elemental sulfur, sulfite or thiosulfate with CO₂ as the sole carbon source. The genome of D. sulfexigens contains the set of genes that is required for nitrogen fixation. In an acetylene assay it could be shown that the strain reduces acetylene to ethylene, which is indicative for N-fixation. The circular chromosome of D. sulfexigens SB164P1 comprises 3,986,761 bp and harbors 3,551 protein-coding genes of which 78% have a predicted function based on auto-annotation. The chromosome furthermore encodes 46 tRNA genes and 3 rRNA operons.     

Ascochyta rabiei: A threat to global chickpea production

The necrotrophic fungus Ascochyta rabiei causes Ascochyta blight (AB) disease in chickpea. A. rabiei infects all aerial parts of the plant, which results in severe yield loss. At present, AB disease occurs in most chickpea‐growing countries. Globally increased incidences of A. rabiei infection and the emergence of new aggressive isolates directed the interest of researchers toward understanding the evolution of pathogenic determinants in this fungus. In this review, we summarize the molecular and genetic studies of the pathogen along with approaches that are helping in combating the disease. Possible areas of future research are also suggested.Taxonomykingdom Mycota, phylum Ascomycota, class Dothideomycetes, subclass Coelomycetes, order Pleosporales, family Didymellaceae, genus Ascochyta, species rabiei. Primary host A. rabiei survives primarily on Cicer species.Disease symptoms A. rabiei infects aboveground parts of the plant including leaves, petioles, stems, pods, and seeds. The disease symptoms first appear as watersoaked lesions on the leaves and stems, which turn brown or dark brown. Early symptoms include small circular necrotic lesions visible on the leaves and oval brown lesions on the stem. At later stages of infection, the lesions may girdle the stem and the region above the girdle falls off. The disease severity increases at the reproductive stage and rounded lesions with concentric rings, due to asexual structures called pycnidia, appear on leaves, stems, and pods. The infected pod becomes blighted and often results in shrivelled and infected seeds.Disease management strategiesCrop failures may be avoided by judicious practices of integrated disease management based on the use of resistant or tolerant cultivars and growing chickpea in areas where conditions are least favourable for AB disease development. Use of healthy seeds free of A. rabiei, seed treatments with fungicides, and proper destruction of diseased stubbles can also reduce the fungal inoculum load. Crop rotation with nonhost crops is critical for controlling the disease. Planting moderately resistant cultivars and prudent application of fungicides is also a way to combat AB disease. However, the scarcity of AB‐resistant accessions and the continuous evolution of the pathogen challenges the disease management process.Useful websites https://www.ndsu.edu/pubweb/pulse‐info/resourcespdf/Ascochyta%20blight%20of%20chickpea.pdf https://saskpulse.com/files/newsletters/180531_ascochyta_in_chickpeas‐compressed.pdf http://www.pulseaus.com.au/growing‐pulses/bmp/chickpea/ascochyta‐blight http://agriculture.vic.gov.au/agriculture/pests‐diseases‐and‐weeds/plant‐diseases/grains‐pulses‐and‐cereals/ascochyta‐blight‐of‐chickpea http://www.croppro.com.au/crop_disease_manual/ch05s02.php https://www.northernpulse.com/uploads/resources/722/handout‐chickpeaascochyta‐nov13‐2011.pdf http://oar.icrisat.org/184/1/24_2010_IB_no_82_Host_Plant https://www.crop.bayer.com.au/find‐crop‐solutions/by‐pest/diseases/ascochyta‐blight     

Genome sequence of the moderately halophilic bacterium Salinicoccus carnicancri type strain CrmT (= DSM 23852T)

Salinicoccus carnicancri Jung et al. 2010 belongs to the genus Salinicoccus in the family Staphylococcaceae. Members of the Salinicoccus are moderately halophilic and originate from various salty environments. The halophilic features of the Salinicoccus suggest their possible uses in biotechnological applications, such as biodegradation and fermented food production. However, the genus Salinicoccus is poorly characterized at the genome level, despite its potential importance. This study presents the draft genome sequence of S. carnicancri strain Crm^T and its annotation. The 2,673,309 base pair genome contained 2,700 protein-coding genes and 78 RNA genes with an average G+C content of 47.93 mol%. It was notable that the strain carried 72 predicted genes associated with osmoregulation, which suggests the presence of beneficial functions that facilitate growth in high-salt environments.     

A Real-Time All-Atom Structural Search Engine for Proteins

Protein designers use a wide variety of software tools for de novo design, yet their repertoire still lacks a fast and interactive all-atom search engine. To solve this, we have built the Suns program: a real-time, atomic search engine integrated into the PyMOL molecular visualization system. Users build atomic-level structural search queries within PyMOL and receive a stream of search results aligned to their query within a few seconds. This instant feedback cycle enables a new “designability”-inspired approach to protein design where the designer searches for and interactively incorporates native-like fragments from proven protein structures. We demonstrate the use of Suns to interactively build protein motifs, tertiary interactions, and to identify scaffolds compatible with hot-spot residues. The official web site and installer are located at http://www.degradolab.org/suns/ and the source code is hosted at https://github.com/godotgildor/Suns (PyMOL plugin, BSD license), https://github.com/Gabriel439/suns-cmd (command line client, BSD license), and https://github.com/Gabriel439/suns-search (search engine server, GPLv2 license).

This is a PLOS Computational Biology Software Article

     

High quality draft genome sequence of Olivibacter sitiensis type strain (AW-6T), a diphenol degrader with genes involved in the catechol pathway

Olivibacter sitiensis Ntougias et al. 2007 is a member of the family Sphingobacteriaceae, phylum Bacteroidetes. Members of the genus Olivibacter are phylogenetically diverse and of significant interest. They occur in diverse habitats, such as rhizosphere and contaminated soils, viscous wastes, composts, biofilter clean-up facilities on contaminated sites and cave environments, and they are involved in the degradation of complex and toxic compounds. Here we describe the features of O. sitiensis AW-6^T, together with the permanent-draft genome sequence and annotation. The organism was sequenced under the Genomic Encyclopedia for Bacteria and Archaea (GEBA) project at the DOE Joint Genome Institute and is the first genome sequence of a species within the genus Olivibacter. The genome is 5,053,571 bp long and is comprised of 110 scaffolds with an average GC content of 44.61%. Of the 4,565 genes predicted, 4,501 were protein-coding genes and 64 were RNA genes. Most protein-coding genes (68.52%) were assigned to a putative function. The identification of 2-keto-4-pentenoate hydratase/2-oxohepta-3-ene-1,7-dioic acid hydratase-coding genes indicates involvement of this organism in the catechol catabolic pathway. In addition, genes encoding for β-1,4-xylanases and β-1,4-xylosidases reveal the xylanolytic action of O. sitiensis.     

Integrity and Function of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Spindle Pole Body Depends on Connections Between the Membrane Proteins Ndc1, Rtn1, and Yop1

The nuclear envelope in Saccharomyces cerevisiae harbors two essential macromolecular protein assemblies: the nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) that enable nucleocytoplasmic transport, and the spindle pole bodies (SPBs) that mediate chromosome segregation. Previously, based on metazoan and budding yeast studies, we reported that reticulons and Yop1/DP1 play a role in the early steps of de novo NPC assembly. Here, we examined if Rtn1 and Yop1 are required for SPB function in S. cerevisiae. Electron microscopy of rtn1Δ yop1Δ cells revealed lobular abnormalities in SPB structure. Using an assay that monitors lateral expansion of the SPB central layer, we found that rtn1Δ yop1Δ SPBs had decreased connections to the NE compared to wild type, suggesting that SPBs are less stable in the NE. Furthermore, large budded rtn1Δ yop1Δ cells exhibited a high incidence of short mitotic spindles, which were frequently misoriented with respect to the mother–daughter axis. This correlated with cytoplasmic microtubule defects. We found that overexpression of the SPB insertion factors NDC1, MPS2, or BBP1 rescued the SPB defects observed in rtn1Δ yop1Δ cells. However, only overexpression of NDC1, which is also required for NPC biogenesis, rescued both the SPB and NPC associated defects. Rtn1 and Yop1 also physically interacted with Ndc1 and other NPC membrane proteins. We propose that NPC and SPB biogenesis are altered in cells lacking Rtn1 and Yop1 due to competition between these complexes for Ndc1, an essential common component of both NPCs and SPBs.     

Genome sequence of Phaeobacter caeruleus type strain (DSM 24564T), a surface-associated member of the marine Roseobacter clade

In 2009 Phaeobacter caeruleus was described as a novel species affiliated with the marine Roseobacter clade, which, in turn, belongs to the class Alphaproteobacteria. The genus Phaeobacter is well known for members that produce various secondary metabolites. Here we report of putative quorum sensing systems, based on the finding of six N-acyl-homoserine lactone synthetases, and show that the blue color of P. caeruleus is probably due to the production of the secondary metabolite indigoidine. Therefore, P. caeruleus might have inhibitory effects on other bacteria. In this study the genome of the type strain DSM 24564^T was sequenced, annotated and characterized. The 5,344,419 bp long genome with its seven plasmids contains 5,227 protein-coding genes (3,904 with a predicted function) and 108 RNA genes.     

Genome sequence of the free-living aerobic spirochete Turneriella parva type strain (HT), and emendation of the species Turneriella parva

Turneriella parva Levett et al. 2005 is the only species of the genus Turneriella which was established as a result of the reclassification of Leptospira parva Hovind-Hougen et al. 1982. Together with Leptonema and Leptospira, Turneriella constitutes the family Leptospiraceae, within the order Spirochaetales. Here we describe the features of this free-living aerobic spirochete together with the complete genome sequence and annotation. This is the first complete genome sequence of a member of the genus Turneriella and the 13^th member of the family Leptospiraceae for which a complete or draft genome sequence is now available. The 4,409,302 bp long genome with its 4,169 protein-coding and 45 RNA genes is part of the Genomic Encyclopedia of Bacteria and Archaea project.     

PathVisio 3: An Extendable Pathway Analysis Toolbox

PathVisio is a commonly used pathway editor, visualization and analysis software. Biological pathways have been used by biologists for many years to describe the detailed steps in biological processes. Those powerful, visual representations help researchers to better understand, share and discuss knowledge. Since the first publication of PathVisio in 2008, the original paper was cited more than 170 times and PathVisio was used in many different biological studies. As an online editor PathVisio is also integrated in the community curated pathway database WikiPathways.Here we present the third version of PathVisio with the newest additions and improvements of the application. The core features of PathVisio are pathway drawing, advanced data visualization and pathway statistics. Additionally, PathVisio 3 introduces a new powerful extension systems that allows other developers to contribute additional functionality in form of plugins without changing the core application.PathVisio can be downloaded from http://www.pathvisio.org and in 2014 PathVisio 3 has been downloaded over 5,500 times. There are already more than 15 plugins available in the central plugin repository. PathVisio is a freely available, open-source tool published under the Apache 2.0 license (http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0). It is implemented in Java and thus runs on all major operating systems. The code repository is available at http://svn.bigcat.unimaas.nl/pathvisio. The support mailing list for users is available on https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/wikipathways-discuss and for developers on https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/wikipathways-devel.

This is a PLOS Computational Biology software article.

     

Non-contiguous finished genome sequence of plant-growth promoting Serratia proteamaculans S4

Serratia proteamaculans S4 (previously Serratia sp. S4), isolated from the rhizosphere of wild Equisetum sp., has the ability to stimulate plant growth and to suppress the growth of several soil-borne fungal pathogens of economically important crops. Here we present the non-contiguous, finished genome sequence of S. proteamaculans S4, which consists of a 5,324,944 bp circular chromosome and a 129,797 bp circular plasmid. The chromosome contains 5,008 predicted genes while the plasmid comprises 134 predicted genes. In total, 4,993 genes are assigned as protein-coding genes. The genome consists of 22 rRNA genes, 82 tRNA genes and 58 pseudogenes. This genome is a part of the project “Genomics of four rapeseed plant growth-promoting bacteria with antagonistic effect on plant pathogens” awarded through the 2010 DOE-JGI’s Community Sequencing Program.     

High quality draft genome sequence of the slightly halophilic bacterium Halomonas zhanjiangensis type strain JSM 078169T (DSM 21076T) from a sea urchin in southern China

Halomonas zhanjiangensis Chen et al. 2009 is a member of the genus Halomonas, family Halomonadaceae, class Gammaproteobacteria. Representatives of the genus Halomonas are a group of halophilic bacteria often isolated from salty environments. The type strain H. zhanjiangensis JSM 078169^T was isolated from a sea urchin (Hemicentrotus pulcherrimus) collected from the South China Sea. The genome of strain JSM 078169^T is the fourteenth sequenced genome in the genus Halomonas and the fifteenth in the family Halomonadaceae. The other thirteen genomes from the genus Halomonas are H. halocynthiae, H. venusta, H. alkaliphila, H. lutea, H. anticariensis, H. jeotgali, H. titanicae, H. desiderata, H. smyrnensis, H. salifodinae, H. boliviensis, H. elongata and H stevensii. Here, we describe the features of strain JSM 078169^T, together with the complete genome sequence and annotation from a culture of DSM 21076^T. The 4,060,520 bp long draft genome consists of 17 scaffolds with the 3,659 protein-coding and 80 RNA genes and is a part of Genomic Encyclopedia of Type Strains, Phase I: the one thousand microbial genomes (KMG) project.