Metagenomics approach for Polymyxa betae genome assembly enables comparative analysis towards deciphering the intracellular parasitic lifestyle of the plasmodiophorids
Li, Jun-MinState Key Laboratory for Managing Biotic and Chemical Threats to the Quality and Safety of Agro-products, Key Laboratory of Biotechnology in Plant Protection of Ministry of Agriculture and Zhejiang Province, Institute of Plant Virology, Ningbo University, 315211 Ningbo, China
Author
Richardson, LornaEuropean Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, UK
Author
Mutasa-Gottgens, EuphemiaEuropean Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, UK
Genomic knowledge of the tree of life is biased to specific groups of organisms. For example, only six full genomes are currently available in the rhizaria clade. Here, we have applied metagenomic techniques enabling the assembly of the genome of Polymyxa betae (Rhizaria, Plasmodiophorida) RES F41 isolate from unpurified zoospore holobiont and comparison with the A26–41 isolate. Furthermore, the first P. betae mitochondrial genome was assembled. The two P. betae nuclear genomes were highly similar, each with just ~10.2 k predicted protein coding genes, ~3% of which were unique to each isolate. Extending genomic comparisons revealed a greater overlap with Spongospora subterranea than with Plasmodiophora brassicae, including orthologs of the mammalian cation channel sperm-associated proteins, raising some intriguing questions about zoospore physiology. This work validates our metagenomics pipeline for eukaryote genome assembly from unpurified samples and enriches plasmodiophorid genomics; providing the first full annotation of the P. betae genome.
Decroës, A., Li, J.-M., Richardson, L., Mutasa-Gottgens, E., Lima Mendez, G., Mahillon, M., Bragard, C., Finn, R. D., & Legrève, A. (2022). Metagenomics approach for Polymyxa betae genome assembly enables comparative analysis towards deciphering the intracellular parasitic lifestyle of the plasmodiophorids. Genomics, 114(1), 9-22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ygeno.2021.11.018 (Original work published 2022)