Project description:Background:The genus Potentilla is closely related to that of Fragaria, the economically important strawberry genus. Potentilla micrantha is a species that does not develop berries but shares numerous morphological and ecological characteristics with Fragaria vesca. These similarities make P. micrantha an attractive choice for comparative genomics studies with F. vesca. Findings:In this study, the P. micrantha genome was sequenced and annotated, and RNA-Seq data from the different developmental stages of flowering and fruiting were used to develop a set of gene predictions. A 327 Mbp sequence and annotation of the genome of P. micrantha, spanning 2674 sequence contigs, with an N50 size of 335,712, estimated to cover 80% of the total genome size of the species was developed. The genus Potentilla has a characteristically larger genome size than Fragaria, but the recovered sequence scaffolds were remarkably collinear at the micro-syntenic level with the genome of F. vesca, its closest sequenced relative. A total of 33,602 genes were predicted, and 95.1% of bench-marking universal single-copy orthologous genes were complete within the presented sequence. Thus, we argue that the majority of the gene-rich regions of the genome have been sequenced. Conclusions:Comparisons of RNA-Seq data from the stages of floral and fruit development revealed genes differentially expressed between P. micrantha and F. vesca.The data presented are a valuable resource for future studies of berry development in Fragaria and the Rosaceae and they also shed light on the evolution of genome size and organization in this family.
Project description:Mikania micrantha is a noxious invasive plant causing enormous economic losses and ecological damage. Soil microbiome plays an important role in the invasion process of M. micrantha, while little is known about its rhizosphere microbiome composition and function. In this study, we identified the distinct rhizosphere microbial communities of M. micrantha, by comparing them with those of two coexisting native plants (Polygonum chinense and Paederia scandens) and the bulk soils, using metagenomics data from field sampling and pot experiment. As a result, the enrichment of phosphorus-solubilizing bacteria Pseudomonas and Enterobacter was consistent with the increased soil available phosphorus in M. micrantha rhizosphere. Furthermore, the pathogens of Fusarium oxysporum and Ralstonia solanacearum and pathogenic genes of type III secretion system (T3SS) were observed to be less abundant in M. micrantha rhizosphere, which might be attributed to the enrichment of biocontrol bacteria Catenulispora, Pseudomonas, and Candidatus Entotheonella and polyketide synthase (PKS) genes involved in synthesizing antibiotics and polyketides to inhibit pathogens. These findings collectively suggested that the enrichment of microbes involved in nutrient acquisition and pathogen suppression in the rhizosphere of M. micrantha largely enhances its adaptation and invasion to various environments.