Hundreds of new genome sequences fill gaps in the fruit fly tree of life

Jul 19. () –

A host of new genome sequence data fill important gaps in the fruit fly tree of lifeas reported by Bernard Kim of Stanford University, USA, and his team in the journal ‘PLOS Biology’.

Fruit flies are classic model organisms in biological research and were among the first species to have their entire genome sequenced. With more than 4,400 species, the diversity of the fruit fly family could offer insights into evolutionary patterns and processes. But only a fraction of these species have their genome sequenced, and most published fruit fly genome sequences belong to a very limited set of species with representative laboratory inbred strains.

To address this problem, the researchers sequenced the genomes of 179 species of flies in the family Drosophilidae, including wild-caught flies, preserved museum specimens, and laboratory-bred strains.

Using a hybrid sequencing approach combining newer short- and long-read sequencing technologies, they were able to produce high-quality, low-cost genome sequences from limited material. They used the new genome sequences and previously published data to produce a phylogenetic tree for 360 species in the family Drosophilidae, which refined our understanding of the evolutionary relationships of these species.

They also aligned nearly 300 fruit fly genomes as an open-source tool for future comparative genomics research.as a whole genome alignment.

While large-scale sequencing efforts for larger organisms, such as mammals, are underway, this study demonstrates that it is now possible to sequence the genomes of small organisms, such as individual flies (even those preserved in museums for up to two decades).

The authors add: “It is now entirely feasible to think of assembling genomes from hundreds or thousands of species, even within the research budget of a single laboratory. This kind of large-scale sampling at the clade level will provide us with an unprecedented level of resolution to study the genomic sequences of diverse groups, such as fruit flies and others, which will undoubtedly improve our understanding of the evolutionary process.”