Chromosome-Scale Selective Sweeps and Genomic Diversity in C. elegans
Andersen, Gerke et al., Nature Genetics
Researchers at Princeton University and elsewhere discuss the effects of chromosome-scale selective sweeps on genomic diversity in Caenorhabditis elegans. Taking a high-throughput selective sequencing approach on a collection of 200 wild C. elegans strains, the team found that the nematode's "genome variation is dominated by a set of commonly shared haplotypes on four of its six chromosomes, each spanning many megabases." Further, the team reports on its population genetic modeling experiments, which showed that "this pattern was generated by chromosome-scale selective sweeps that have reduced variation worldwide; at least one of these sweeps probably occurred in the last few hundred years," it writes.
Leerink Report: About 900 Next-Gen Sequencers Deployed to Date; Market Poised for Growth
The reports note that Illumina's Genome Analyzer currently accounts for about two-thirds of next-gen sequencing systems housed at 15 international genome centers, though smaller labs tend to have a "far more equitable" split between Illumina's GA, Applied Biosystems' SOLiD, and 454 Life Sciences's GS FLX.
New to GenomeWeb? Register quickly here.