Taxonomic Sampling and Rare Genomic Changes Overcome Long-Branch Attraction in the Phylogenetic Placement of Pseudoscorpions.

Long-branch attraction is a systematic artifact that results in erroneous groupings of fast-evolving taxa. The combination of short, deep internodes in tandem with long-branch attraction artifacts has produced empirically intractable parts of the Tree of Life. One such group is the arthropod subphylum Chelicerata, whose backbone phylogeny has remained unstable despite improvements in phylogenetic methods and genome-scale data sets.

Discovery of Novel Biosynthetic Gene Cluster Diversity From a Soil Metagenomic Library.

Soil microorganisms historically have been a rich resource for natural product discovery, yet the majority of these microbes remain uncultivated and their biosynthetic capacity is left underexplored. To identify the biosynthetic potential of soil microorganisms using a culture-independent approach, we constructed a large-insert metagenomic library in from a topsoil sampled from the Cullars Rotation (Auburn, AL, United States), a long-term crop rotation experiment. Library clones were screened for biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) using either PCR or a NGS (next generation sequencing) multiplexed pooling strategy, coupled with bioinformatic analysis to identify contigs associated with each metagenomic clone.

Diversity and Distribution of a Novel Genus of Hyperthermophilic Viruses Encoding a Proof-Reading Family-A DNA Polymerase.

Despite the high abundance of in many geothermal systems, these bacteria are difficult to culture and no viruses infecting members of this phylum have been isolated. Here, we describe the complete, circular dsDNA Uncultivated Virus Genome (UViG) of Octopus Spring virus (TOSV), derived from metagenomic data, along with eight related UViGs representing three additional viral species. Despite low overall similarity among viruses from different hot springs, the genomes shared a high degree of synteny, and encoded numerous genes for nucleotide metabolism, including a PolA-type DNA polymerase polyprotein with likely accessory functions, a DNA Pol III sliding clamp, a thymidylate kinase, a DNA gyrase, a helicase, and a DNA methylase.

De novo sequencing and initial annotation of the Mongolian gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus) genome.

The Mongolian gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus) is a member of the rodent family that displays several features not found in mice or rats, including sensory specializations and social patterns more similar to those in humans. These features have made gerbils a valuable animal for research studies of auditory and visual processing, brain development, learning and memory, and neurological disorders. Here, we report the whole gerbil annotated genome sequence, and identify important similarities and differences to the human and mouse genomes.

Complete genome of Staphylococcus aureus Tager 104 provides evidence of its relation to modern systemic hospital-acquired strains.

Background: Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) infections range in severity due to expression of certain virulence factors encoded on mobile genetic elements (MGE). As such, characterization of these MGE, as well as single nucleotide polymorphisms, is of high clinical and microbiological importance.

Complete Genome Sequence of Thermus aquaticus Y51MC23.

Thermus aquaticus Y51MC23 was isolated from a boiling spring in the Lower Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park. Remarkably, this T. aquaticus strain is able to grow anaerobically and produces multiple morphological forms.