Joffrey Fitz

1,135 Genomes Reveal the Global Pattern of Polymorphism in Arabidopsis thaliana

Summary Arabidopsis thaliana serves as a model organism for the study of fundamental physiological, cellular, and molecular processes. It has also greatly advanced our understanding of intraspecific genome variation. We present a detailed map of variation in 1,135 high-quality re-sequenced natural inbred lines representing the native Eurasian and North African range and recently colonized North America. We identify relict populations that continue to inhabit ancestral habitats, primarily in the Iberian Peninsula. They have mixed with a lineage that has spread to northern latitudes from an unknown glacial refugium and is now found in a much broader spectrum of habitats. Insights into the history of the species and the fine-scale distribution of genetic diversity provide the basis for full exploitation of A. thaliana natural variation through integration of genomes and epigenomes with molecular and non-molecular phenotypes.

Reference-guided assembly of four diverse Arabidopsis thaliana genomes

We present whole-genome assemblies of four divergent Arabidopsis thaliana strains that complement the 125-Mb reference genome sequence released a decade ago. Using a newly developed reference-guided approach, we assembled large contigs from 9 to 42 Gb of Illumina short-read data from the Landsberg erecta (Ler-1), C24, Bur-0, and Kro-0 strains, which have been sequenced as part of the 1,001 Genomes Project for this species. Using alignments against the reference sequence, we first reduced the complexity of the de novo assembly and later integrated reads without similarity to the reference sequence. As an example, half of the noncentromeric C24 genome was covered by scaffolds that are longer than 260 kb, with a maximum of 2.2 Mb. Moreover, over 96% of the reference genome was covered by the reference-guided assembly, compared with only 87% with a complete de novo assembly. Comparisons with 2 Mb of dideoxy sequence reveal that the per-base error rate of the reference-guided assemblies was below 1 in 10,000. Our assemblies provide a detailed, genomewide picture of large-scale differences between A. thaliana individuals, most of which are difficult to access with alignment-consensus methods only. We demonstrate their practical relevance in studying the expression differences of polymorphic genes and show how the analysis of sRNA sequencing data can lead to erroneous conclusions if aligned against the reference genome alone. Genome assemblies, raw reads, and further information are accessible through http://1001genomes.org/projects/assemblies.html.

Local-Scale Patterns of Genetic Variability, Outcrossing, and Spatial Structure in Natural Stands of Arabidopsis thaliana

As Arabidopsis thaliana is increasingly employed in evolutionary and ecological studies, it is essential to understand patterns of natural genetic variation and the forces that shape them. Previous work focusing mostly on global and regional scales has demonstrated the importance of historical events such as long-distance migration and colonization. Far less is known about the role of contemporary factors or environmental heterogeneity in generating diversity patterns at local scales. We sampled 1,005 individuals from 77 closely spaced stands in diverse settings around Tübingen, Germany. A set of 436 SNP markers was used to characterize genome-wide patterns of relatedness and recombination. Neighboring genotypes often shared mosaic blocks of alternating marker identity and divergence. We detected recent outcrossing as well as stretches of residual heterozygosity in largely homozygous recombinants. As has been observed for several other selfing species, there was considerable heterogeneity among sites in diversity and outcrossing, with rural stands exhibiting greater diversity and heterozygosity than urban stands. Fine-scale spatial structure was evident as well. Within stands, spatial structure correlated negatively with observed heterozygosity, suggesting that the high homozygosity of natural A. thaliana may be partially attributable to nearest-neighbor mating of related individuals. The large number of markers and extensive local sampling employed here afforded unusual power to characterize local genetic patterns. Contemporary processes such as ongoing outcrossing play an important role in determining distribution of genetic diversity at this scale. Local “outcrossing hotspots” appear to reshuffle genetic information at surprising rates, while other stands contribute comparatively little. Our findings have important implications for sampling and interpreting diversity among A. thaliana accessions.

Genome-Wide Comparison of Nucleotide-Binding Site-Leucine-Rich Repeat-Encoding Genes in Arabidopsis

Plants, like animals, use several lines of defense against pathogen attack. Prominent among genes that confer disease resistance are those encoding nucleotide-binding site-leucine-rich repeat (NB-LRR) proteins. Likely due to selection pressures caused by pathogens, NB-LRR genes are the most variable gene family in plants, but there appear to be species-specific limits to the number of NB-LRR genes in a genome. Allelic diversity within an individual is also increased by obligatory outcrossing, which leads to genome-wide heterozygosity. In this study, we compared the NB-LRR gene complement of the selfer Arabidopsis thaliana and its outcrossing close relative Arabidopsis lyrata. We then complemented and contrasted the interspecific patterns with studies of NB-LRR diversity within A. thaliana. Three important insights are as follows: (1) that both species have similar numbers of NB-LRR genes; (2) that loci with single NB-LRR genes are less variable than tandem arrays; and (3) that presence-absence polymorphisms within A. thaliana are not strongly correlated with the presence or absence of orthologs in A. lyrata. Although A. thaliana individuals are mostly homozygous and thus potentially less likely to suffer from aberrant interaction of NB-LRR proteins with newly introduced alleles, the number of NB-LRR genes is similar to that in A. lyrata. In intraspecific and interspecific comparisons, NB-LRR genes are also more variable than receptor-like protein genes. Finally, in contrast to Drosophila, there is a clearly positive relationship between interspecific divergence and intraspecific polymorphisms.

The recombination landscape in Arabidopsis thaliana F 2 populations

Recombination during meiosis shapes the complement of alleles segregating in the progeny of hybrids, and has important consequences for phenotypic variation. We examined allele frequencies, as well as crossover (XO) locations and frequencies in over 7000 plants from 17 F2 populations derived from crosses between 18 Arabidopsis thaliana accessions. We observed segregation distortion between parental alleles in over half of our populations. The potential causes of distortion include variation in seed dormancy and lethal epistatic interactions. Such a high occurrence of distortion was only detected here because of the large sample size of each population and the number of populations characterized. Most plants carry only one or two XOs per chromosome pair, and therefore inherit very large, non-recombined genomic fragments from each parent. Recombination frequencies vary between populations but consistently increase adjacent to the centromeres. Importantly, recombination rates do not correlate with whole-genome sequence differences between parental accessions, suggesting that sequence diversity within A. thaliana does not normally reach levels that are high enough to exert a major influence on the formation of XOs. A global knowledge of the patterns of recombination in F2 populations is crucial to better understand the segregation of phenotypic traits in hybrids, in the laboratory or in the wild.

Century-scale Methylome Stability in a Recently Diverged Arabidopsis thaliana Lineage

There has been much excitement about the possibility that exposure to specific environments can induce an ecological memory in the form of whole-sale, genome-wide epigenetic changes that are maintained over many generations. In the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, numerous heritable DNA methylation differences have been identified in greenhouse-grown isogenic lines, but it remains unknown how natural, highly variable environments affect the rate and spectrum of such changes. Here we present detailed methylome analyses in a geographically dispersed A. thaliana population that constitutes a collection of near-isogenic lines, diverged for at least a century from a common ancestor. Methylome variation largely reflected genetic distance, and was in many aspects similar to that of lines raised in uniform conditions. Thus, even when plants are grown in varying and diverse natural sites, genome-wide epigenetic variation accumulates mostly in a clock-like manner, and epigenetic divergence thus parallels the pattern of genome-wide DNA sequence divergence.

MSQT for choosing SNP assays from multiple DNA alignments

MOTIVATION One challenging aspect of genotyping and association mapping projects is often the identification of markers that are informative between groups of individuals and to convert these into genotyping assays. RESULTS The Multiple SNP Query Tool (MSQT) extracts SNP information from multiple sequence alignments, stores it in a database, provides a web interface to query the database and outputs SNP information in a format directly applicable for SNP-assay design. MSQT was applied to Arabidopsis thaliana sequence data to develop SNP genotyping assays that distinguish a recurrent parent (Col-0) from five other strains. SNPs with intermediate allele frequencies were also identified and developed into markers suitable for efficient genetic mapping among random pairs of wild strains. AVAILABILITY The source code for MSQT is available at http://msqt.weigelworld.org, together with an online instance of MSQT containing data on 1214 sequenced fragments from 96 ecotypes (wild inbred strains) of the reference plant A. thaliana. All SNP genotyping assays are available in several formats for broad community use. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

A Genomic-Scale Artificial MicroRNA Library as a Tool to Investigate the Functionally Redundant Gene Space in Arabidopsis

Functional overlap between homologous genes in plants is considered a substantial limitation for identifying gene functions. A large online searchable collection of gene families targeting artificial microRNAs (amiRNAs) and 10 functionally pooled amiRNA libraries for large and targeted small scale screens are resources developed here as tools to explore novel overlapping gene functions. Traditional forward genetic screens are limited in the identification of homologous genes with overlapping functions. Here, we report the analyses and assembly of genome-wide protein family definitions that comprise the largest estimate for the potentially redundant gene space in Arabidopsis thaliana. On this basis, a computational design of genome-wide family-specific artificial microRNAs (amiRNAs) was performed using high-performance computing resources. The amiRNA designs are searchable online (http://phantomdb.ucsd.edu). A computationally derived library of 22,000 amiRNAs was synthesized in 10 sublibraries of 1505 to 4082 amiRNAs, each targeting defined functional protein classes. For example, 2964 amiRNAs target annotated DNA and RNA binding protein families and 1777 target transporter proteins, and another sublibrary targets proteins of unknown function. To evaluate the potential of an amiRNA-based screen, we tested 122 amiRNAs targeting transcription factor, protein kinase, and protein phosphatase families. Several amiRNA lines showed morphological phenotypes, either comparable to known phenotypes of single and double/triple mutants or caused by overexpression of microRNAs. Moreover, novel morphological and abscisic acid–insensitive seed germination mutants were identified for amiRNAs targeting zinc finger homeodomain transcription factors and mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinases, respectively. These resources provide an approach for genome-wide genetic screens of the functionally redundant gene space in Arabidopsis.

Rapid divergence and high diversity of miRNAs and miRNA targets in the Camelineae

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short RNAs involved in gene regulation through translational inhibition and transcript cleavage. After processing from imperfect fold-back structures, miRNAs are incorporated into RNA-induced silencing complexes (RISCs) before targeting transcripts with varying degrees of complementarity. Some miRNAs are evolutionarily deep-rooted, and sequence complementarity with their targets is maintained through purifying selection. Both Arabidopsis and Capsella belong to the tribe Camelineae in the Brassicaceae, with Capsella rubella serving as an outgroup to the genus Arabidopsis. The genome sequence of C. rubella has recently been released, which allows characterization of its miRNA complement in comparison with Arabidopsis thaliana and Arabidopsis lyrata. Through next-generation sequencing, we identify high-confidence miRNA candidates specific to the C. rubella lineage. Only a few lineage-specific miRNAs have been studied for evolutionary constraints, and there have been no systematic studies of miRNA target diversity within or divergence between closely related plant species. Therefore we contrast sequence variation in miRNAs and their targets within A. thaliana, and between A. thaliana, A. lyrata and C. rubella. We document a surprising amount of small-scale variation in miRNA-target pairs, where many miRNAs are predicted to have species-specific targets in addition to ones that are shared between species. Our results emphasize that the transitive nature of many miRNA-target pairs can be observed even on a relatively short evolutionary time-scale, with non-random occurrences of differences in miRNAs and their complements in the miRNA precursors, the miRNA* sequences.

AraPheno: a public database for Arabidopsis thaliana phenotypes

Natural genetic variation makes it possible to discover evolutionary changes that have been maintained in a population because they are advantageous. To understand genotype–phenotype relationships and to investigate trait architecture, the existence of both high-resolution genotypic and phenotypic data is necessary. Arabidopsis thaliana is a prime model for these purposes. This herb naturally occurs across much of the Eurasian continent and North America. Thus, it is exposed to a wide range of environmental factors and has been subject to natural selection under distinct conditions. Full genome sequencing data for more than 1000 different natural inbred lines are available, and this has encouraged the distributed generation of many types of phenotypic data. To leverage these data for meta analyses, AraPheno (https://arapheno.1001genomes.org) provide a central repository of population-scale phenotypes for A. thaliana inbred lines. AraPheno includes various features to easily access, download and visualize the phenotypic data. This will facilitate a comparative analysis of the many different types of phenotypic data, which is the base to further enhance our understanding of the genotype–phenotype map.