Selecting Hypomethylated Genomic Regions Using MRE-Seq.

Here, we describe a method capable of filtering the hypomethylated part of plant genomes, the so-called hypomethylome. The principle of the method is based on the filtration and sequence analysis of small DNA fragments generated by methylation-sensitive four-cutter restriction endonucleases, possessing ((5me))CpG motifs in their recognition sites. The majority of these fragments represent genes and their flanking regions containing also regulatory elements-the gene space of the genome. Besides the enrichment of the gene space, another advantage of the method is the simultaneous depletion of repetitive elements due to their methylated nature and its easy application on complex and large plant genomes. Additionally to the wet lab procedure, we describe how to analyze the data using bioinformatics methods and how to apply the method to comparative studies.

Identification of adaptation-specific differences in mRNA expression of sessile and pedunculate oak based on osmotic-stress-induced genes.

Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl. and Q. robur L. hybridize frequently and occupy similar, though distinct, ecological niches. So far, genetic discrimination between these species at the molecular level has been based mainly on neutral markers. Because such markers often exhibit low species differentiation because of high genetic compatibility and exchange between Q. robur and Q. petraea at these loci, we used adaptation-related expressed genes as markers. Accordingly, we identified osmotic-stress-induced genes in a Q. petraea cell line grown under moderate osmotic stress conditions. Two subtraction libraries were established from callus cells cultured under hyperosmotic stress for 1 or 48 h. Thirty-three differentially expressed sequence tags (ESTs) (from 70 originally isolated) were classified according to their putative functions. At least five of these gene products may contribute to osmotic-stress tolerance in oak: betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase, two trans-acting transcription factors (one abscsic acid (ABA)-responsive, the other ABA-independent), a glutathione-S- transferase and a heat-shock cognate protein. Seven genes were selected based on their putative function and their expression monitored in vivo. Leaf tissue from Q. petraea and Q. robur plantlets grown hydroponically under hyperosmotic conditions was harvested after 0, 1, 6, 24 or 72 h and analyzed by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). We found indications of osmotic stress adaptation in Q. petraea based on up-regulation of genes related to protective functions, whereas down-regulation of these genes was evident in Q. robur. Thus, genetic markers related to adaptive traits may be useful for differentiating Q. petraea and Q. robur genotypes.

How to Isolate a Plant's Hypomethylome in One Shot.

Genome assembly remains a challenge for large and/or complex plant genomes due to their abundant repetitive regions resulting in studies focusing on gene space instead of the whole genome. Thus, DNA enrichment strategies facilitate the assembly by increasing the coverage and simultaneously reducing the complexity of the whole genome. In this paper we provide an easy, fast, and cost-effective variant of MRE-seq to obtain a plant's hypomethylome by an optimized methyl filtration protocol followed by next generation sequencing. The method is demonstrated on three plant species with knowingly large and/or complex (polyploid) genomes: Oryza sativa, Picea abies, and Crocus sativus. The identified hypomethylomes show clear enrichment for genes and their flanking regions and clear reduction of transposable elements. Additionally, genomic sequences around genes are captured including regulatory elements in introns and up- and downstream flanks. High similarity of the results obtained by a de novo assembly approach with a reference based mapping in rice supports the applicability for studying and understanding the genomes of nonmodel organisms. Hence we show the high potential of MRE-seq in a wide range of scenarios for the direct analysis of methylation differences, for example, between ecotypes, individuals, within or across species harbouring large, and complex genomes.

Allele discovery of ten candidate drought-response genes in Austrian oak using a systematically informatics approach based on 454 amplicon sequencing.

BACKGROUND: Rise of temperatures and shortening of available water as result of predicted climate change will impose significant pressure on long-lived forest tree species. Discovering allelic variation present in drought related genes of two Austrian oak species can be the key to understand mechanisms of natural selection and provide forestry with key tools to cope with future challenges. RESULTS: In the present study we have used Roche 454 sequencing and developed a bioinformatic pipeline to process multiplexed tagged amplicons in order to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms and allelic sequences of ten candidate genes related to drought/osmotic stress from sessile oak (Quercus robur) and sessile oak (Q. petraea) individuals. Out of these, eight genes of 336 oak individuals growing in Austria have been detected with a total number of 158 polymorphic sites. Allele numbers ranged from ten to 52 with observed heterozygosity ranging from 0.115 to 0.640. All loci deviated from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and linkage disequilibrium was found among six combinations of loci. CONCLUSIONS: We have characterized 183 alleles of drought related genes from oak species and detected first evidences of natural selection. Beside the potential for marker development, we have created an expandable bioinformatic pipeline for the analysis of next generation sequencing data.

Sequence composition and gene content of the short arm of rye (Secale cereale) chromosome 1.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of the study is to elucidate the sequence composition of the short arm of rye chromosome 1 (Secale cereale) with special focus on its gene content, because this portion of the rye genome is an integrated part of several hundreds of bread wheat varieties worldwide. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Multiple Displacement Amplification of 1RS DNA, obtained from flow sorted 1RS chromosomes, using 1RS ditelosomic wheat-rye addition line, and subsequent Roche 454FLX sequencing of this DNA yielded 195,313,589 bp sequence information. This quantity of sequence information resulted in 0.43× sequence coverage of the 1RS chromosome arm, permitting the identification of genes with estimated probability of 95%. A detailed analysis revealed that more than 5% of the 1RS sequence consisted of gene space, identifying at least 3,121 gene loci representing 1,882 different gene functions. Repetitive elements comprised about 72% of the 1RS sequence, Gypsy/Sabrina (13.3%) being the most abundant. More than four thousand simple sequence repeat (SSR) sites mostly located in gene related sequence reads were identified for possible marker development. The existence of chloroplast insertions in 1RS has been verified by identifying chimeric chloroplast-genomic sequence reads. Synteny analysis of 1RS to the full genomes of Oryza sativa and Brachypodium distachyon revealed that about half of the genes of 1RS correspond to the distal end of the short arm of rice chromosome 5 and the proximal region of the long arm of Brachypodium distachyon chromosome 2. Comparison of the gene content of 1RS to 1HS barley chromosome arm revealed high conservation of genes related to chromosome 5 of rice. CONCLUSIONS: The present study revealed the gene content and potential gene functions on this chromosome arm and demonstrated numerous sequence elements like SSRs and gene-related sequences, which can be utilised for future research as well as in breeding of wheat and rye.

Microsatellite markers in the tree peony, Paeonia suffruticosa (Paeoniaceae).

PREMISE OF THE STUDY: Microsatellite primers were developed in the tree peony, Paeonia suffruticosa, to perform paternity tests as well as assignment to variety in special Austrian collections. • METHODS AND RESULTS: Using SSR-enriched libraries and EST-mining, 8 polymorphic primer sets were identified in Austrian collections of Paeonia sect. Moutan DC. The primers amplified di- and trinucleotide repeats with 2-6 alleles per locus. All primers also amplified in P. ostii, P. pontaninii var. trolloides, P. delavayi, and P. lutea, and in the herbaceous species P. peregrina and P. tenuifolia (Paeonia sect. Paeon). • CONCLUSIONS: These results show the usefulness of primers in P. suffruticosa for population genetic studies and their ability to cross amplify in related taxa across the genus.

Development of microsatellite markers specific for the short arm of rye (Secale cereale L.) chromosome 1.

We developed 74 microsatellite marker primer pairs yielding 76 polymorphic loci, specific for the short arm of rye chromosome 1R (1RS) in wheat background. Four libraries enriched for microsatellite motifs AG, AAG, AC and AAC were constructed from DNA of flow-sorted 1RS chromosomes and 1,290 clones were sequenced. Additionally, 2,778 BAC-end-sequences from a 1RS specific BAC library were used for microsatellite screening and marker development. From 724 designed primer pairs, 119 produced 1RS specific bands and 74 of them showed polymorphism in a set of ten rye genotypes. We show that this high attrition rate was due to the highly repetitive nature of the rye genome consisting of a large number of transposable elements. We mapped the 76 polymorphic loci physically into three regions (bins) on 1RS; 29, 30 and 17 loci were assigned to the distal, intercalary and proximal regions of the 1RS arm, respectively. The average polymorphism information content increases with distance from the centromere, which could be due to an increased recombination rate along the chromosome arm toward's the telomere. Additionally, we demonstrate, using the data of the whole rice genome, that the intra-genomic length variation of microsatellites correlates (r = 0.87) with microsatellite polymorphism. Based on these results we suggest that an analysis of the microsatellite length variation is conducted for each species prior to microsatellite development, provided that sufficient sequence information is available. This will allow to selectively design microsatellite markers for motifs likely to yield a high level of polymorphism.