The Genome of Reniform Nematode, Rotylenchulus reniformis

Ganji, S., Sanders, W. S., Stokes, J. V., Showmaker, K. C., Bartlett, B., Wang, H, Wubben, M., McCarthy, F.M., Magbanua, Z. V., & Peterson, D. G. (2013). The Genome of Reniform Nematode, Rotylenchulus reniformis. MCBIOS 2013. University of Missouri, Columbia, MO.

The reniform nematode (RN; Rotylenchulus reniformis) is a pest that causes considerable damage to cotton. For example, in 2011 yield losses of approximately 279,000 bales (total estimated value >$90 million) were attributed to RN damage. Ostensibly, sequencing the genome of R.reniformis represents a key step in identifying genes underlying RN’s ability to infect host plants. Ultimately, knowledge of the RN genome may suggest means of minimizing R. reniformis damage through targeted disruption of RN-specific gene pathways. Towards this end, we determined the RN genome size and initiated whole genome sequencing of the nematode. Our flow cytometric analysis indicates that the genome size of R.reniformis to be about 190 Mb, almost twice the size of the genome of C. elegans (about 100 Mb) and 3-4 times the size of the root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne incognita) genome (about 50 Mb). Reniform nematode genome sequencing was performed using Illumina and Roche 454 technologies, and sequence reads were assembled using Newbler and ABySS. Here we present the current status of the R.reniformis genome sequencing project and discuss the present state of our draft assembly and its annotation.