Introgression browser: high‐throughput whole‐genome SNP visualization. (April 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Aflitos, Saulo Alves; Sanchez‐Perez, Gabino; de Ridder, Dick; Fransz, Paul; Schranz, Michael E.; de Jong, Hans; Peters, Sander A.
• Is Part Of: Plant journal. Volume 82:Number 1(2015:Apr.)
• Page Start: 174
• Page End: 182
• Publication Date: 2015-04
• Subjects: phylogenomics -- SNP -- Variant Call Format -- introgression -- Arabidopsis -- tomato -- technical advance; Plant molecular biology -- Periodicals; Plant cells and tissues -- Periodicals; Botany -- Periodicals; 580
• DOI: 10.1111/tpj.12800
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0960-7412

Abstract

Summary: Breeding by introgressive hybridization is a pivotal strategy to broaden the genetic basis of crops. Usually, the desired traits are monitored in consecutive crossing generations by marker‐assisted selection, but their analyses fail in chromosome regions where crossover recombinants are rare or not viable. Here, we present the Introgression Browser (iBrowser ), a bioinformatics tool aimed at visualizing introgressions at nucleotide or SNP (Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms) accuracy. The software selects homozygous SNPs from Variant Call Format (VCF) information and filters out heterozygous SNPs, multi‐nucleotide polymorphisms (MNPs) and insertion–deletions (InDels). For data analysisiBrowser makes use of sliding windows, but if needed it can generate any desired fragmentation pattern through General Feature Format (GFF) information. In an example of tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum ) accessions we visualize SNP patterns and elucidate both position and boundaries of the introgressions. We also show that our tool is capable of identifying alien DNA in a panel of the closely related S. pimpinellifolium by examining phylogenetic relationships of the introgressed segments in tomato. In a third example, we demonstrate the power of theiBrowser in a panel of 597 Arabidopsis accessions, detecting the boundaries of a SNP‐free region around a polymorphic 1.17 Mbp inverted segment on the short arm of chromosome 4. The architecture and functionality ofiBrowser makes the software appropriate for a broad set of analyses including SNP mining, genome structure analysis, and pedigree analysis. Its functionality, together with the capability to process large data sets and efficient visualization of sequence variation, makesiBrowser a valuable breeding tool. Significance Statement: The architecture and functionality of IBROWSER makes the software appropriate for a broad set of analyses including SNP mining, genome structure analysis, and pedigree analysis. Its functionality, together with the capability to process large data sets and efficient visualization of sequence variation, makes IBROWSER a valuable breeding tool.