Publications by authors named "Shengjun Tan"

Next-generation sequencing (NGS), represented by Illumina platforms, has been an essential cornerstone of basic and applied research. However, the sequencing error rate of 1 per 1000 bp (10-3) represents a serious hurdle for research areas focusing on rare mutations, such as somatic mosaicism or microbe heterogeneity. By examining the high-fidelity sequencing methods developed in the past decade, we summarized three major factors underlying errors and the corresponding 12 strategies mitigating these errors.

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Article Synopsis
  • Long-read sequencing with PacBio is a game-changer in genomics, effectively managing repetitive sequences but traditionally requiring a lot of DNA, which is a challenge for small organisms.
  • Researchers developed a new method called LILAP, which allows for low-input (100 ng) and cost-effective PacBio library preparation using a one-tube process that doesn’t require DNA amplification.
  • Testing LILAP on Drosophila melanogaster resulted in almost complete genomes and new insights into mutation processes, suggesting potential for broader applications in studying small organisms and their symbionts.
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Experimental studies on DNA transposable elements (TEs) have been limited in scale, leading to a lack of understanding of the factors influencing transposition activity, evolutionary dynamics, and application potential as genome engineering tools. We predicted 130 active DNA TEs from 102 metazoan genomes and evaluated their activity in human cells. We identified 40 active (integration-competent) TEs, surpassing the cumulative number (20) of TEs found previously.

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Background: Acute ischemic stroke (AIS) and acute myocardial infarction (AMI) share several features on multiple levels. These two events may occur in conjunction or in rapid succession, and the occurrence of one event may increase the risk of the other. Owing to their similar pathophysiologies, we aimed to identify immune-related biomarkers common to AIS and AMI as potential therapeutic targets.

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Since the discovery of the first transposon by Dr. Barbara McClintock, the prevalence and diversity of transposable elements (TEs) have been gradually recognized. As fundamental genetic components, TEs drive organismal evolution not only by contributing functional sequences (e.

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Whether and how certain transposable elements with viral origins, such as endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) dormant in our genomes, can become awakened and contribute to the aging process is largely unknown. In human senescent cells, we found that HERVK (HML-2), the most recently integrated human ERVs, are unlocked to transcribe viral genes and produce retrovirus-like particles (RVLPs). These HERVK RVLPs constitute a transmissible message to elicit senescence phenotypes in young cells, which can be blocked by neutralizing antibodies.

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Despite long being considered as "junk", transposable elements (TEs) are now accepted as catalysts of evolution. One example is Mutator-like elements (MULEs, one type of terminal inverted repeat DNA TEs, or TIR TEs) capturing sequences as Pack-MULEs in plants. However, their origination mechanism remains perplexing, and whether TIR TEs mediate duplication in animals is almost unexplored.

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In a broad range of taxa, genes can duplicate through an RNA intermediate in a process mediated by retrotransposons (retroposition). In mammals, L1 retrotransposons drive retroposition, but the elements responsible for retroposition in other animals have yet to be identified. Here, we examined young retrocopies from various animals that still retain the sequence features indicative of the underlying retroposition mechanism.

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RNA-based duplicated genes or functional retrocopies (retrogenes) are known to drive phenotypic evolution. Retrogenes emerge via retroposition, which is mainly mediated by long interspersed nuclear element 1 (LINE-1 or L1) retrotransposons in mammals. By contrast, long terminal repeat (LTR) retrotransposons appear to be the major player in plants, although an L1-like mechanism has also been hypothesized to be involved in retroposition.

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Plant resistance genes (R genes) harbor tremendous allelic diversity, constituting a robust immune system effective against microbial pathogens. Nevertheless, few functional R genes have been identified for even the best-studied pathosystems. Does this limited repertoire reflect specificity, with most R genes having been defeated by former pests, or do plants harbor a rich diversity of functional R genes, the composite behavior of which is yet to be characterized? Here, we survey 332 NBS-LRR genes cloned from five resistant Oryza sativa (rice) cultivars for their ability to confer recognition of 12 rice blast isolates when transformed into susceptible cultivars.

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Amino acid usage varies from species to species. A previous study has found a universal trend in amino acid gain and loss in many taxa and a one-way model of amino acid evolution in which the number of new amino acids increases as the number of old amino acids decreases was proposed. Later studies showed that this pattern of amino acid gain and loss is likely to be compatible with the neutral theory.

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Trypsin participates in many fundamental biological processes, the most notably in digesting food. The 12 species of Drosophila provide a great opportunity to analyze the duplication pattern of trypsins and their association with dietary changes. Here, we find that the trypsin family expands dramatically after speciation.

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Background: Gene presence/absence (P/A) polymorphisms are commonly observed in plants and are important in individual adaptation and species differentiation. Detecting their abundance, distribution and variation among individuals would help to understand the role played by these polymorphisms in a given species. The recently sequenced 80 Arabidopsis genomes provide an opportunity to address these questions.

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The XA21 protein has broad spectrum resistance against Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae. Although Xa21-mediated immunity is well characterized, little is known about the origin and evolutionary history of this gene in grasses.

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How the structure and base composition of genes changed with the evolution of vertebrates remains a puzzling question. Here we analyzed 895 orthologous protein-coding genes in six multicellular animals: human, chicken, zebrafish, sea squirt, fruit fly, and worm. Our analyses reveal that many gene regions, particularly intron and 3' UTR, gradually expanded throughout the evolution of vertebrates from their invertebrate ancestors, and that the number of exons per gene increased.

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NBS-LRR (nucleotide-binding site-leucine-rich repeat), LRR-RLK (LRR-receptor-like kinase), and LRR-only are the three major LRR-encoding genes. Owing to the crucial role played by them in plant resistance, development, and growth, extensive studies have been performed on the NBS-LRR and LRR-RLK genes. However, few studies have focused on these genes collectively; they may co-vary as all of them contain LRR motifs.

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Protein is an essential component for life, and its synthesis is mediated by codons in any organisms on earth. While some codons encode the same amino acid, their usage is often highly biased. There are many factors that can cause the bias, but a potential effect of mononucleotide repeats, which are known to be highly mutable, on codon usage and codon pair preference is largely unknown.

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