SIGAR: Inferring features of genome architecture and DNA rearrangements by split read mapping

Abstract

Ciliates are microbial eukaryotes with distinct somatic and germline genomes. Post-zygotic development involves extensive remodeling of the germline genome to form somatic chromosomes. Ciliates therefore offer a valuable model for studying the architecture and evolution of programmed genome rearrangements. Current studies usually focus on a few model species, where rearrangement features are annotated by aligning reference germline and somatic genomes. While many high-quality somatic genomes have been assembled, a high quality germline genome assembly is difficult to obtain due to its smaller DNA content and abundance of repetitive sequences. To overcome these hurdles, we propose a new pipeline SIGAR (Splitread Inference of Genome Architecture and Rearrangements) to infer germline genome architecture and rearrangement features without a germline genome assembly, requiring only short germline DNA sequencing reads. As a proof of principle, 93% of rearrangement junctions identified by SIGAR in the ciliate Oxytricha trifallax were validated by the existing germline assembly. We then applied SIGAR to six diverse ciliate species without germline genome assemblies, including Ichthyophthirius multifilii, a fish pathogen. Despite the high level of somatic DNA contamination in each sample, SIGAR successfully inferred rearrangement junctions, short eliminated sequences and potential scrambled genes in each species. This pipeline enables pilot surveys or exploration of DNA rearrangements in species with limited DNA material access, thereby providing new insights into the evolution of chromosome rearrangements.