The genome of the Wollemi pine, a critically endangered "living fossil" unchanged since the Cretaceous, reveals extensive ancient transposon activity

Stevenson, Dennis Wm, Ramakrishnan, Srividya, Alves, Cristiane de Santis, Coelho, Laís Araujo, Kramer, Melissa, Goodwin, Sara, Ramos, Olivia Mendevil, Eshel, Gil, Sondervan, Veronica M, Frangos, Samantha, Zumajo-Cardona, Cecilia, Jenike, Katherine, Ou, Shujun, Wang, Xiaojin, Lee, Yin Peng, Loke, Stella, Rossetto, Maurizio, McPherson, Hannah, Nigris, Sebastiano, Moschin, Silvia, Little, Damon P, Katari, Manpreet S, Varala, Kranthi, Kolokotronis, Sergios-Orestis, Ambrose, Barbara, Croft, Larry J, Coruzzi, Gloria M, Schatz, Michael, McCombie, W Richard, Martienssen, Robert A (August 2023) The genome of the Wollemi pine, a critically endangered "living fossil" unchanged since the Cretaceous, reveals extensive ancient transposon activity. bioRxiv. (Public Dataset) (Submitted)

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Abstract

We present the genome of the living fossil, Wollemia nobilis , a southern hemisphere conifer morphologically unchanged since the Cretaceous. Presumed extinct until rediscovery in 1994, the Wollemi pine is critically endangered with less than 60 wild adults threatened by intensifying bushfires in the Blue Mountains of Australia. The 12 Gb genome is among the most contiguous large plant genomes assembled, with extremely low heterozygosity and unusual abundance of DNA transposons. Reduced representation and genome re-sequencing of individuals confirms a relictual population since the last major glacial/drying period in Australia, 120 ky BP. Small RNA and methylome sequencing reveal conservation of ancient silencing mechanisms despite the presence of thousands of active and abundant transposons, including some transferred horizontally to conifers from arthropods in the Jurassic. A retrotransposon burst 8-6 my BP coincided with population decline, possibly as an adaptation enhancing epigenetic diversity. Wollemia , like other conifers, is susceptible to Phytophthora , and a suite of defense genes, similar to those in loblolly pine, are targeted for silencing by sRNAs in leaves. The genome provides insight into the earliest seed plants, while enabling conservation efforts.

Item Type: Paper
Subjects: bioinformatics
bioinformatics > genomics and proteomics > genetics & nucleic acid processing > DNA, RNA structure, function, modification
bioinformatics > genomics and proteomics > genetics & nucleic acid processing
bioinformatics > genomics and proteomics
bioinformatics > genomics and proteomics > genetics & nucleic acid processing > DNA, RNA structure, function, modification > transposons
CSHL Authors:
Communities: CSHL labs > Martienssen lab
CSHL labs > McCombie lab
CSHL labs > Schatz lab
SWORD Depositor: CSHL Elements
Depositing User: CSHL Elements
Date: 24 August 2023
Date Deposited: 21 Sep 2023 15:16
Last Modified: 11 Jan 2024 14:23
PMCID: PMC10473749
Related URLs:
Dataset ID:
URI: https://repository.cshl.edu/id/eprint/40939

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