Gulei Jin

Genome Sequence of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia RR-10, Isolated as an Endophyte from Rice Root

Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is an endophyte which plays important roles in agricultural production as a plant growth-promoting bacterium. Here, we present the draft genome sequence of strain RR-10, which was isolated from a rice root in a rice field of China.

Genome Sequence of the Rice-Pathogenic Bacterium Acidovorax avenae subsp. avenae RS-1

Acidovorax avenae subsp. avenae is a phytobacterium which is the causative agent of several plant diseases with economic significance. Here, we present the draft genome sequence of strain RS-1, which was isolated from rice shoots in a rice field in China. This strain can cause bacterial stripe of rice.

Horizontal gene transfer in silkworm, Bombyx mori

BackgroundThe domesticated silkworm, Bombyx mori, is the model insect for the order Lepidoptera, has economically important values, and has gained some representative behavioral characteristics compared to its wild ancestor. The genome of B. mori has been fully sequenced while function analysis of BmChi-h and BmSuc1 genes revealed that horizontal gene transfer (HGT) maybe bestow a clear selective advantage to B. mori. However, the role of HGT in the evolutionary history of B. mori is largely unexplored. In this study, we compare the whole genome of B. mori with those of 382 prokaryotic and eukaryotic species to investigate the potential HGTs.ResultsTen candidate HGT events were defined in B. mori by comprehensive sequence analysis using Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian method combining with EST checking. Phylogenetic analysis of the candidate HGT genes suggested that one HGT was plant-to- B. mori transfer while nine were bacteria-to- B. mori transfer. Furthermore, functional analysis based on expression, coexpression and related literature searching revealed that several HGT candidate genes have added important characters, such as resistance to pathogen, to B. mori.ConclusionsResults from this study clearly demonstrated that HGTs play an important role in the evolution of B. mori although the number of HGT events in B. mori is in general smaller than those of microbes and other insects. In particular, interdomain HGTs in B. mori may give rise to functional, persistent, and possibly evolutionarily significant new genes.

Genome sequence of the nonpathogenic Listeria monocytogenes serovar 4a strain M7.

This report presents the complete and annotated genome sequence of the naturally nonpathogenic Listeria monocytogenes serovar 4a strain M7, isolated from cows milk in Zhejiang province, China.

Genome Sequence of the Rice Pathogen Pseudomonas fuscovaginae CB98818

Pseudomonas fuscovaginae is a phytopathogenic bacterium causing bacterial sheath brown rot of cereal crops. Here, we present the draft genome sequence of P. fuscovaginae CB98818, originally isolated from a diseased rice plant in China. The draft genome will aid in epidemiological studies, comparative genomics, and quarantine of this broad-host-range pathogen.

Multi-omics analysis of niche specificity provides new insights into ecological adaptation in bacteria

Different lifestyles, ranging from a saprophyte to a pathogen, have been reported in bacteria of one species. Here, we performed genome-wide survey of the ecological adaptation in four Burkholderia seminalis strains, distinguished by their origin as part of the saprophytic microbial community of soil or water but also including human and plant pathogens. The results indicated that each strain is separated from the others by increased fitness in medium simulating its original niche corresponding to the difference between strains in metabolic capacities. Furthermore, strain-specific metabolism and niche survival was generally linked with genomic variants and niche-dependent differential expression of the corresponding genes. In particular, the importance of iron, trehalose and d-arabitol utilization was highlighted by the involvement of DNA-methylation and horizontal gene transfer in niche-adapted regulation of the corresponding operons based on the integrated analysis of our multi-omics data. Overall, our results provided insights of niche-specific adaptation in bacteria.

Interkingdom Gene Transfer May Contribute to the Evolution of Phytopathogenicity in Botrytis Cinerea

The ascomycete Botrytis cinerea is a phytopathogenic fungus infecting and causing significant yield losses in a number of crops. The genome of B. cinerea has been fully sequenced while the importance of horizontal gene transfer (HGT) to extend the host range in plant pathogenic fungi has been recently appreciated. However, recent data confirm that the B. cinerea fungus shares conserved virulence factors with other fungal plant pathogens with narrow host range. Therefore, interkingdom HGT may contribute to the evolution of phytopathogenicity in B. cinerea. In this study, a stringent genome comparison pipeline was used to identify potential genes that have been obtained by B. cinerea but not by other fungi through interkingdom HGT. This search led to the identification of four genes: a UDP-glucosyltransferase (UGT), a lipoprotein and two alpha/beta hydrolase fold proteins. Phylogenetic analysis of the four genes suggests that B. cinerea acquired UGT from plants and the other 3 genes from bacteria. Based on the known gene functions and literature searching, a correlation between gene acquision and the evolution of pathogenicity in B. cinerea can be postulated.

Genome Sequence of the Plant Pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. panici LMG 2367

Pseudomonas syringae pv. panici is a phytopathogenic bacterium causing brown stripe disease in economically important crops worldwide. Here, we announce the draft genome sequence of Pseudomonas syringae pv. panici LMG2367 to provide further valuable insights for comparison of the pathovars among species Pseudomonas syringae.

Characterization and Inference of Gene Gain/Loss Along Burkholderia Evolutionary History

A comparative analysis of 60 complete Burkholderia genomes was conducted to obtain insight in the evolutionary history behind the diversity and pathogenicity at species level. A concatenated multiprotein phyletic pattern and a dataset with Burkholderia clusters of orthologous genes (BuCOGs) were constructed. The extent of horizontal gene transfer (HGT) was assessed using a Markov based probabilistic method. A reconstruction of the gene gains and losses history shows that more than half of the Burkholderia genes families are inferred to have experienced HGT at least once during their evolution. Further analysis revealed that the number of gene gain and loss was correlated with the branch length. Genomic islands (GEIs) analysis based on evolutionary history reconstruction not only revealed that most genes in ancient GEIs were gained but also suggested that the fraction of the genome located in GEIs in the small chromosomes is higher than in the large chromosomes in Burkholderia. The mapping of coexpressed genes onto biological pathway schemes revealed that pathogenicity of Burkholderia strains is probably mainly determined by the gained genes in its ancestor. Taken together, our results strongly support that gene gain and loss especially in ancient evolutionary history play an important role in strain divergence, pathogenicity determinants of Burkholderia and GEIs formation.

Genome Sequence of the Biocontrol Agent Microbacterium barkeri Strain 2011-R4

Microbacterium barkeri strain 2011-R4 is a Gram-positive epiphyte which has been confirmed as a biocontrol agent against several plant pathogens in our previous studies. Here, we present the draft genome sequence of this strain, which was isolated from the rice rhizosphere in Tonglu city, Zhejiang province, China.