Showing papers by "Laura L. Forrest published in 2023"
TL;DR: In this article , the authors investigate hybridization across all native flowering plant species in the UK flora, combining floristic and ecological data with a species-level phylogeny, and show that parental genetic distance, phylogenetic position, and parental ploidy are the best predictors of hybrid formation, over and above many ecological factors such as parental range overlap.
Abstract: Significance The importance of natural hybridization in the evolutionary process has intrigued biologists for decades. However, our general understanding of natural hybridization is impeded by the complex and often idiosyncratic outcomes of hybridization. Here, we investigate hybridization across all native flowering plant species in the intensely studied UK flora, combining floristic and ecological data with a species-level phylogeny. We show that parental genetic distance, phylogenetic position, and parental ploidy are the best predictors of hybrid formation, over and above many ecological factors such as parental range overlap. These results highlight the critical role of genetic factors in determining whether hybrids can form and establish in natural environments.
1 citations
TL;DR: A lectotype and epitype for Jungermannia pinguis L. Dumort as discussed by the authors were selected for the first time in the last half of the 1990s.
Abstract: A lectotype and epitype are selected for Jungermannia pinguis L. (Aneura pinguis (L.) Dumort.)
TL;DR: In this paper , a DNA extraction method for PacBio HiFi sequencing for Streptocarpus grandis and S. kentaniensis was developed. But the results obtained here were highly promising, and demonstrated that the DNA extraction algorithm developed here is compatible with PacBio HFI sequencing and suitable for de novo whole genome sequencing projects of plants.
Abstract: Abstract Background PacBio HiFi sequencing provides highly accurate long-read sequencing datasets which are of great advantage for whole genome sequencing projects. One limitation of the method is the requirement for high quality, high molecular weight input DNA. This can be particularly challenging for plants that frequently contain common and species-specific secondary metabolites, which often interfere with downstream processes. Cape Primroses (genus Streptocarpus ), are some of these recalcitrant plants and are selected here as material to develop a high quality, high molecular weight DNA extraction protocol for long read genome sequencing. Results We developed a DNA extraction method for PacBio HiFi sequencing for Streptocarpus grandis and Streptocarpus kentaniensis. A CTAB lysis buffer was employed to avoid guanidine, and the traditional chloroform and phenol purification steps were replaced with pre-lysis sample washes. Best cells/nucleus lysis was achieved with 4 h at 58 °C. The obtained high quality and high molecular weight DNAs were tested in PacBio SMRTBell™ library preparations, which resulted in circular consensus sequencing (CCS) reads from 17 to 27 Gb per cell, and a read length N50 from 14 to 17 kbp. To evaluate the quality of the reads for whole genome sequencing, they were assembled with HiFiasm into draft genomes, with N50 = 49 Mb and 23 Mb, and L50 = 10 and 11. The longest contigs were 95 Mb and 57 Mb respectively, showing good contiguity as these are longer than the theoretical chromosome length (genome size/chromosome number) of 78 Mb and 55 Mb, for S. grandis and S. kentaniensis respectively. Conclusions DNA extraction is a critical step towards obtaining a complete genome assembly. Our DNA extraction method here provided the required high quality, high molecular weight DNA for successful standard-input PacBio HiFi library preparation. The contigs from those reads showed a high contiguity, providing a good starting draft assembly towards obtaining a complete genome. The results obtained here were highly promising, and demonstrated that the DNA extraction method developed here is compatible with PacBio HiFi sequencing and suitable for de novo whole genome sequencing projects of plants.