Cromosomal genomes assemblies of twelve sheep breeds
The sheep research community benefits from a genome assembly that has been refined over the last 15 years. However, the rich diversity of sheep breeds suggests that a single individual genome is not enough to represent the species full genomic content. Third-generation sequencing technologies have recently made it possible to generate high quality assemblies that should enable to elucidate unique…
The genome assembly of twelve sheep breeds has been refined over the past 15 years, enabling scientists to better understand the diverse genetic makeup of the species. By leveraging third-generation sequencing technologies, researchers have been able to generate high-quality assemblies that reveal unique and complex phenotypic traits driven by genetic structural variations.
The SeqOccin project focused on twelve breeds, chosen to represent most of the French sheep genetic diversity. These breeds include Basco-Bearnaise, Black Belly, Blanche du Massif Central, Corse, Ile de France, Lacaune, Manech Tete Noire, Noire du Velay, Ouessant, Rambouillet, Vendeen, and Soay. High-molecular-weight DNA was extracted from blood samples of these sheep and subjected to long-read whole-genome sequencing.
Researchers employed two sequencing methods, PacBio HiFi and parental Illumina reads, to generate precise assemblies for the Lacaune breed, while other breeds utilized PacBio raw (CLR) or ONT reads. The alignment of sequencing reads onto the public reference genome facilitated the identification and annotation of structural variants.
This study demonstrates that it is possible to assemble genomes using a relatively small amount of data and efficient software packages. The resulting high-quality assembly of one breed and eleven standard sheep assemblies provide a foundation for future pangenome construction and the functional analysis of structural variants, ultimately contributing to the understanding of sheep genetics and breed characteristics.
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