Chromosome-scale pearl millet genomes reveal CLAMT1b as key determinant of strigolactone pattern and Striga susceptibility.

The yield of pearl millet, a resilient cereal crop crucial for African food security, is severely impacted by the root parasitic weed Striga hermonthica, which requires host-released hormones, called strigolactones (SLs), for seed germination. Herein, we identify four SLs present in the Striga-susceptible line SOSAT-C88-P10 (P10) but absent in the resistant 29Aw (Aw). We generate chromosome-scale genome assemblies, including four gapless chromosomes for each line.

An NLR paralog Pit2 generated from tandem duplication of Pit1 fine-tunes Pit1 localization and function.

NLR family proteins act as intracellular receptors. Gene duplication amplifies the number of NLR genes, and subsequent mutations occasionally provide modifications to the second gene that benefits immunity. However, evolutionary processes after gene duplication and functional relationships between duplicated NLRs remain largely unclear.

Multitrait engineering of Hassawi red rice for sustainable cultivation.

Sustainable agriculture requires locally adapted varieties that produce nutritious food with limited agricultural inputs. Genome engineering represents a viable approach to develop cultivars that fulfill these criteria. For example, the red Hassawi rice, a native landrace of Saudi Arabia, tolerates local drought and high-salinity conditions and produces grain with diverse health-promoting phytochemicals.

A high-performance computational workflow to accelerate GATK SNP detection across a 25-genome dataset.

Background: Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are the most widely used form of molecular genetic variation studies. As reference genomes and resequencing data sets expand exponentially, tools must be in place to call SNPs at a similar pace. The genome analysis toolkit (GATK) is one of the most widely used SNP calling software tools publicly available, but unfortunately, high-performance computing versions of this tool have yet to become widely available and affordable.

High-Quality Genome Assemblies Reveal Evolutionary Dynamics of Repetitive DNA and Structural Rearrangements in the Drosophila virilis Subgroup.

High-quality genome assemblies across a range of nontraditional model organisms can accelerate the discovery of novel aspects of genome evolution. The Drosophila virilis group has several attributes that distinguish it from more highly studied species in the Drosophila genus, such as an unusual abundance of repetitive elements and extensive karyotype evolution, in addition to being an attractive model for speciation genetics. Here, we used long-read sequencing to assemble five genomes of three virilis group species and characterized sequence and structural divergence and repetitive DNA evolution.

Oryza glumaepatula: A wild relative to improve drought tolerance in cultivated rice.

Developing drought-resistant rice (Oryza sativa, L.) is essential for improving field productivity, especially in rain-fed areas affected by climate change. Wild relatives of rice are potential sources for drought-resistant traits.

High quality genome assemblies reveal evolutionary dynamics of repetitive DNA and structural rearrangements in the sub-group.

High-quality genome assemblies across a range of non-traditional model organisms can accelerate the discovery of novel aspects of genome evolution. The group has several attributes that distinguish it from more highly studied species in the genus, such as an unusual abundance of repetitive elements and extensive karyotype evolution, in addition to being an attractive model for speciation genetics. Here we used long-read sequencing to assemble five genomes of three virilis group species and characterized sequence and structural divergence and repetitive DNA evolution.

Genome-wide association analysis identifies natural allelic variants associated with panicle architecture variation in African rice, Oryza glaberrima Steud.

African rice (Oryza glaberrima Steud), a short-day cereal crop closely related to Asian rice (Oryza sativa L.), has been cultivated in Sub-Saharan Africa for ∼ 3,000 years. Although less cultivated globally, it is a valuable genetic resource in creating high-yielding cultivars that are better adapted to diverse biotic and abiotic stresses.

Multi-omics resources for targeted agronomic improvement of pigmented rice.

Pigmented rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a rich source of nutrients, but pigmented lines typically have long life cycles and limited productivity. Here we generated genome assemblies of 5 pigmented rice varieties and evaluated the genetic variation among 51 pigmented rice varieties by resequencing an additional 46 varieties.

Pan-genome inversion index reveals evolutionary insights into the subpopulation structure of Asian rice.

Understanding and exploiting genetic diversity is a key factor for the productive and stable production of rice. Here, we utilize 73 high-quality genomes that encompass the subpopulation structure of Asian rice (Oryza sativa), plus the genomes of two wild relatives (O. rufipogon and O.

Prediction of crossover recombination using parental genomes.

Meiotic recombination is a crucial cellular process, being one of the major drivers of evolution and adaptation of species. In plant breeding, crossing is used to introduce genetic variation among individuals and populations. While different approaches to predict recombination rates for different species have been developed, they fail to estimate the outcome of crossings between two specific accessions.

The gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus) genome.

High-quality genome assemblies are characterized by high-sequence contiguity, completeness, and a low error rate, thus providing the basis for a wide array of studies focusing on natural species ecology, conservation, evolution, and population genomics. To provide this valuable resource for conservation projects and comparative genomics studies on gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus), we sequenced and assembled the genome of this species using third-generation sequencing strategies and optical maps. Here, we describe a highly contiguous and complete genome assembly comprising 20 scaffolds and 13 contigs with a total size of 1.

The International Oryza Map Alignment Project (IOMAP): the Americas-past achievements and future directions.

The wild relatives of rice hold unexplored genetic diversity that can be employed to feed an estimated population of 10 billion by 2050. The Oryza Map Alignment Project (OMAP) initiated in 2003 has provided comprehensive genomic resources for comparative, evolutionary, and functional characterization of the wild relatives of rice, facilitating the cloning of >600 rice genes, including those for grain width (GW5) and submergence tolerance (SUB1A). Following in the footsteps of the original project, the goal of 'IOMAP: the Americas' is to investigate the present and historic genetic diversity of wild Oryza species endemic to the Americas through the sequencing of herbaria and in situ specimens.

Full-Length Transcriptome Sequencing Reveals Alternative Splicing and lncRNA Regulation during Nodule Development in .

Alternative splicing (AS) is a ubiquitous phenomenon among eukaryotic intron-containing genes, which greatly contributes to transcriptome and proteome diversity. Here we performed the isoform sequencing (Iso-Seq) of soybean underground tissues inoculated and uninoculated with Rhizobium and obtained 200,681 full-length transcripts covering 26,183 gene loci. It was found that 80.

Gene fusion as an important mechanism to generate new genes in the genus Oryza.

Background: Events of gene fusion have been reported in several organisms. However, the general role of gene fusion as part of new gene origination remains unknown.

Results: We conduct genome-wide interrogations of four Oryza genomes by designing and implementing novel pipelines to detect fusion genes.

Long-read genome sequencing of bread wheat facilitates disease resistance gene cloning.

The cloning of agronomically important genes from large, complex crop genomes remains challenging. Here we generate a 14.7 gigabase chromosome-scale assembly of the South African bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) cultivar Kariega by combining high-fidelity long reads, optical mapping and chromosome conformation capture.

Genome assembly of the JD17 soybean provides a new reference genome for comparative genomics.

Cultivated soybean (Glycine max) is an important source for protein and oil. Many elite cultivars with different traits have been developed for different conditions. Each soybean strain has its own genetic diversity, and the availability of more high-quality soybean genomes can enhance comparative genomic analysis for identifying genetic underpinnings for its unique traits.

Rice domestication.

Rice is a staple food crop for more than one-third of the global population (http://www.sustainablerice.org/), of which 90% live at or near the poverty line.

The chromosome-scale reference genome of safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) provides insights into linoleic acid and flavonoid biosynthesis.

Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.), a member of the Asteraceae, is a popular crop due to its high linoleic acid (LA) and flavonoid (such as hydroxysafflor yellow A) contents. Here, we report the first high-quality genome assembly (contig N50 of 21.

A route to de novo domestication of wild allotetraploid rice.

Cultivated rice varieties are all diploid, and polyploidization of rice has long been desired because of its advantages in genome buffering, vigorousness, and environmental robustness. However, a workable route remains elusive. Here, we describe a practical strategy, namely de novo domestication of wild allotetraploid rice.