Building a model: developing genomic resources for common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) with low coverage genome sequencing

Abstract

Milkweeds (Asclepias L.) have been extensively investigated in diverse areas of evolutionary biology and ecology; however, there are few genetic resources available to facilitate and compliment these studies. This study explored how low coverage genome sequencing of the common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca L.) could be useful in characterizing the genome of a plant without prior genomic information and for development of genomic resources as a step toward further developing A. syriaca as a model in ecology and evolution. The results highlight the promise of next generation sequencing for development of genomic resources for any organism. Low coverage genome sequencing allows characterization of the high copy fraction of the genome and exploration of the low copy fraction of the genome, which facilitate the development of molecular tools for further study of a target species and its relatives. This study represents a first step in the development of a community resource for further study of plant-insect co-evolution, anti-herbivore defense, floral developmental genetics, reproductive biology, chemical evolution, population genetics, and comparative genomics using milkweeds, and A. syriaca in particular, as ecological and evolutionary models.

Citation

Straub, Shannon C.K.; Fishbein, Mark; Livshult, Tatyana; Foster, Zachary; Parks, Matthew; Weitemier, Kevin; Cronn, Richard C.; Liston, Aaron. 2011. Building a model: developing genomic resources for common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) with low coverage genome sequencing. BMC Genomics. 12. http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2164/12/211.