title: The genome sequence of the colonial chordate, Botryllus schlosseri.
abstract: Botryllus schlosseri is a colonial urochordate that follows the chordate plan of development following sexual reproduction, but invokes a stem cell-mediated budding program during subsequent rounds of asexual reproduction. As urochordates are considered to be the closest living invertebrate relatives of vertebrates, they are ideal subjects for whole genome sequence analyses. Using a novel method for high-throughput sequencing of eukaryotic genomes, we sequenced and assembled 580 Mbp of the B. schlosseri genome. The genome assembly is comprised of nearly 14,000 intron-containing predicted genes, and 13,500 intron-less predicted genes, 40% of which could be confidently parceled into 13 (of 16 haploid) chromosomes. A comparison of homologous genes between B. schlosseri and other diverse taxonomic groups revealed genomic events underlying the evolution of vertebrates and lymphoid-mediated immunity. The B. schlosseri genome is a community resource for studying alternative modes of reproduction, natural transplantation reactions, and stem cell-mediated regeneration. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.00569.001.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology , Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Stanford University , Stanford , United States ; Hopkins Marine Station , Stanford University , Pacific Grove , United States.
authors.forename: Ayelet
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Voskoboynik
authors.forename: Norma F
authors.initials: NF
authors.lastname: Neff
authors.forename: Debashis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sahoo
authors.forename: Aaron M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Newman
authors.forename: Dmitry
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pushkarev
authors.forename: Winston
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Koh
authors.forename: Benedetto
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Passarelli
authors.forename: H Christina
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.forename: Gary L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Mantalas
authors.forename: Karla J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Palmeri
authors.forename: Katherine J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Ishizuka
authors.forename: Carmela
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gissi
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Griggio
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ben-Shlomo
authors.forename: Daniel M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Corey
authors.forename: Lolita
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Penland
authors.forename: Richard A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: White
authors.forename: Irving L
authors.initials: IL
authors.lastname: Weissman
authors.forename: Stephen R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Quake
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D043344:Chordata / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D016678:Genome; D059014:High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing; D010802:Phylogeny; D012098:Reproduction
keywords: Botryllus schlosseri; Other; genome; hematopoiesis; stem cell; tunicates; vertebrate evolution