What Is in Umbilicaria pustulata? A Metagenomic Approach to Reconstruct the Holo-Genome of a Lichen.

ABSTRACT: Lichens are valuable models in symbiosis research and promising sources of biosynthetic genes for biotechnological applications. Most lichenized fungi grow slowly, resist aposymbiotic cultivation, and are poor candidates for experimentation. Obtaining contiguous, high-quality genomes for such symbiotic communities is technically challenging. Here, we present the first assembly of a lichen holo-genome from metagenomic whole-genome shotgun data comprising both PacBio long reads and Illumina short reads. The nuclear genomes of the two primary components of the lichen symbiosis-the fungus Umbilicaria pustulata (33 Mb) and the green alga Trebouxia sp. (53 Mb)-were assembled at contiguities comparable to single-species assemblies. The analysis of the read coverage pattern revealed a relative abu

SUBMITTER: Greshake Tzovaras B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7186782 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature