NGS PubMed Highlights: Oyster genome sequenced!

The oyster genome has just been published on Nature. Besides adding new information on the evolution of the molluscs and providing useful genetic background for selection and aquaculture, this study also used a peculiar sequencing protocol based on fosmid-pooling  and a self-developed assembly strategy to reconstruct the complete genome (instead of the classical short-read libraries plus long-read ones for scaffold assembly).
The oyster genome revealed enrichment in stress-related genes that make this mollusk resistant to environmental stress, and shed light on the complex biological processes implied in the shell formation.

The peculiar sequencing and assembly strategy adopted in the paper

Stress response pathway enriched in the oyster genome

The oyster genome reveals stress adaptation and complexity of shell formation. 

Nature. 2012 Sep 19

Zhang G, Fang X, Guo X, Li L, Luo R, Xu F, Yang P, Zhang L, Wang X, Qi H, Xiong Z, Que H, Xie Y, Holland PW, Paps J, Zhu Y, Wu F, Chen Y, Wang J, Peng C, Meng J, Yang L, Liu J, Wen B, Zhang N, Huang Z, Zhu Q, Feng Y, Mount A, Hedgecock D, Xu Z, Liu Y, Domazet-Lošo T, Du Y, Sun X, Zhang S, Liu B, Cheng P, Jiang X, Li J, Fan D, Wang W, Fu W, Wang T, Wang B, Zhang J, Peng Z, Li Y, Li N, Wang J, Chen M, He Y, Tan F, Song X, Zheng Q, Huang R, Yang H, Du X, Chen L, Yang M, Gaffney PM, Wang S, Luo L, She Z, Ming Y, Huang W, Zhang S, Huang B, Zhang Y, Qu T, Ni P, Miao G, Wang J, Wang Q, Steinberg CE, Wang H, Li N, Qian L, Zhang G, Li Y, Yang H, Liu X, Wang J, Yin Y, Wang J.

Abstract

The Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas belongs to one of the most species-rich but genomically poorly explored phyla, the Mollusca. Here we report the sequencing and assembly of the oyster genome using short reads and a fosmid-pooling strategy, along with transcriptomes of development and stress response and the proteome of the shell. The oyster genome is highly polymorphic and rich in repetitive sequences, with some transposable elements still actively shaping variation. Transcriptome studies reveal an extensive set of genes responding to environmental stress. The expansion of genes coding for heat shock protein 70 and inhibitors of apoptosis is probably central to the oyster's adaptation to sessile life in the highly stressful intertidal zone. Our analyses also show that shell formation in molluscs is more complex than currently understood and involves extensive participation of cells and their exosomes. The oyster genome sequence fills a void in our understanding of the Lophotrochozoa.