The Genome Sequence of Caenorhabditis briggsae: A Platform for Comparative Genomics

• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.0000045
• Publication Date: 2003-11-14T21:04:25Z
• Authors: Lincoln D Stein; Zhirong Bao; Darin Blasiar; Thomas Blumenthal; Michael R Brent; Nansheng Chen; Asif Chinwalla; Laura Clarke; Chris Clee; Avril Coghlan; Alan Coulson; Peter D'Eustachio; David H. A Fitch; Lucinda A Fulton; Robert E Fulton; Sam Griffiths-Jones; Todd W Harris; LaDeana W Hillier; Ravi Kamath; Patricia E Kuwabara; Elaine R Mardis; Marco A Marra; Tracie L Miner; Patrick Minx; James C Mullikin; Robert W Plumb; Jane Rogers; Jacqueline E Schein; Marc Sohrmann; John Spieth; Jason E Stajich; Chaochun Wei; David Willey; Richard K Wilson; Richard Durbin; Robert H Waterston
• Keywords: Caenorhabditis; Comparative Genomics

The soil nematodes Caenorhabditis briggsae and elegans diverged from a common ancestor roughly 100 million years ago yet are almost indistinguishable by eye. They have the same chromosome number genome sizes, they occupy ecological niche. To explore basis for this striking conservation of structure function, we sequenced C. to high-quality draft stage compared it finished sequence. We predict approximately 19,500 protein-coding genes in genome, as elegans. Of these, 12,200 clear orthologs, further 6,500 one or more clearly detectable homologs, 800 no matches Almost all noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) known shared between two species. genomes exhibit extensive colinearity, rate divergence appears be higher chromosomal arms than centers. Operons, distinctive feature elegans, highly conserved briggsae, with arrangement being preserved 96% cases. difference size (estimated at 104 Mbp) (100.3 is entirely due repetitive sequence, which accounts 22.4% contrast 16.5% genome. Few, if any, repeat families shared, suggesting that most were acquired after species undergoing rapid evolution. Coclustering proteins reveals 2,169 protein members. Most these species, but some appear expanding contracting, there seem many several hundred novel gene families. sequence will greatly improve annotation Based on similarity found strong evidence 1,300 new genes. In addition, comparisons help understand evolutionary forces mold nematode genomes.