1 Annotation of Drosophila PrimerAugust 2017 Wilson Leung and Chris Shaffer
2 Outline Overview of the GEP annotation projectsGEP annotation workflow Practice applying the GEP annotation strategy
3 Start codon Coding region Stop codon Splice donor Splice acceptor UTRAAACAACAATCATAAATAGAGGAAGTTTTCGGAATATACGATAAGTGAAATATCGTTCTTAAAAAAGAGCAAGAACAGTTTAACCATTGAAAACAAGATTATTCCAATAGCCGTAAGAGTTCATTTAATGACAATGACGATGGCGGCAAAGTCGATGAAGGACTAGTCGGAACTGGAAATAGGAATGCGCCAAAAGCTAGTGCAGCTAAACATCAATTGAAACAAGTTTGTACATCGATGCGCGGAGGCGCTTTTCTCTCAGGATGGCTGGGGATGCCAGCACGTTAATCAGGATACCAATTGAGGAGGTGCCCCAGCTCACCTAGAGCCGGCCAATAAGGACCCATCGGGGGGGCCGCTTATGTGGAAGCCAAACATTAAACCATAGGCAACCGATTTGTGGGAATCGAATTTAAGAAACGGCGGTCAGCCACCCGCTCAACAAGTGCCAAAGCCATCTTGGGGGCATACGCCTTCATCAAATTTGGGCGGAACTTGGGGCGAGGACGATGATGGCGCCGATAGCACCAGCGTTTGGACGGGTCAGTCATTCCACATATGCACAACGTCTGGTGTTGCAGTCGGTGCCATAGCGCCTGGCCGTTGGCGCCGCTGCTGGTCCCTAATGGGGACAGGCTGTTGCTGTTGGTGTTGGAGTCGGAGTTGCCTTAAACTCGACTGGAAATAACAATGCGCCGGCAACAGGAGCCCTGCCTGCCGTGGCTCGTCCGAAATGTGGGGACATCATCCTCAGATTGCTCACAATCATCGGCCGGAATGNTAANGAATTAATCAAATTTTGGCGGACATAATGNGCAGATTCAGA ACGTATTAACAAAATGGTCGGCCCCGTTGTTAGTGCAACAGGGTCAAATATCGCAAGCTCAAATATTGGCCCAAGCGGTGTTGGTTCCGTATCCGGTAATGTCGGGGCACAATGGGGAGCCACACAGGCCGCGTTGGGGCCCCAAGGTATTTCCAAGCAAATCACTGGATGGGAGGAACCACAATCAGATTCAGAATATTAACAAAATGGTCGGCCCCGTTGTTATGGATAAAAAATTTGTGTCTTCGTACGGAGATTATGTTGTTAATCAATTTTATTAAGATATTTAAATAAATATGTGTACCTTTCACGAGAAATTTGCTTACCTTTTCGACACACACACTTATACAGACAGGTAATAATTACCTTTTGAGCAATTCGATTTTCATAAAATATACCTAAATCGCATCGTC Start codon Coding region Stop codon Splice donor Splice acceptor UTR
4 GEP Drosophila annotation projectsD. melanogaster D. simulans D. sechellia D. yakuba Reference D. erecta D. ficusphila D. eugracilis Published D. biarmipes D. takahashii TSS projects for Fall 2017 / Spring 2018 D. elegans D. rhopaloa D. kikkawai Annotation projects for Fall 2017 / Spring 2018 D. bipectinata D. eugracilis F element has a higher frequency of consensus errors D. ananassae D. pseudoobscura D. persimilis New species sequenced by modENCODE D. willistoni D. mojavensis D. virilis D. grimshawi Phylogenetic tree produced by Thom Kaufman as part of the modENCODE project
5 Muller element nomenclatureX 2L 2R 3L 3R 4 X 4 5 3 2 6 Schaeffer SW et al, Polytene Chromosomal Maps of 11 Drosophila Species: The Order of Genomic Scaffolds Inferred From Genetic and Physical Maps. Genetics Jul;179(3):
6 Gene structure nomenclaturePrimary mRNA Protein Gene span CDS = coding exons Exons Exon UTR’s UTR CDS’s CDS
7 GEP annotation goals Identify and annotate all genes in your projectFor each gene, identify and precisely map (accurate to the base pair) all Coding DNA Sequences (CDS) Do this for ALL isoforms Annotate the initial transcribed exon and transcription start site (TSS) Optional analyses not submitted to GEP Clustal analysis (proteins, promoter regions) Transposons and other repeats Synteny Non-coding genes
8 Evidence for gene models (in general order of importance)Conservation Sequence similarity to genes in D. melanogaster Sequence similarity to other Drosophila species (Multiz) Expression data RNA-Seq, EST, cDNA Computational predictions Open reading frames; gene and splice site predictions Tie-breakers of last resort See the “Annotation Instruction Sheet” RNA-Seq is more definitive than conservation if it is available
9 Basic annotation workflowIdentify the likely D. melanogaster ortholog Observe the gene structure of the ortholog Map each CDS to the project sequence Determine the exact coordinates of each CDS Verify the model using the Gene Model Checker Repeat steps 2-5 for each additional isoform Annotation workflows available under the “Introducing Genes” section of the GEP web site
10 Four main web sites used by the GEP annotation strategyGEP UCSC Genome Browser (http://gander.wustl.edu) FlyBase (http://flybase.org) Tools Genomic/Map Tools BLAST Jump to Gene Genomic Location GBrowse Gene Record Finder (http://gep.wustl.edu) Projects Annotation Resources NCBI BLAST (https://blast.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Blast.cgi) BLASTX select the checkbox:
11 Annotation workflow: Step 1Identify the likely D. melanogaster ortholog Observe the gene structure of the ortholog Map each CDS to the project sequence Determine the exact coordinates of each CDS Verify the model using the Gene Model Checker Repeat steps 2-5 for each additional isoform
12 Two different versions of the UCSC Genome BrowserOfficial UCSC Version Published data, lots of species, whole genomes; used for “Chimp Chunks” GEP Version GEP projects, parts of genomes; used for annotation of Drosophila species
13 GEP UCSC Genome Browser overviewGenomic sequence Evidence tracks
14 Control how evidence tracks are displayed on the Genome BrowserFive different display modes: Hide: track is hidden Dense: all features appear on a single line Squish: overlapping features appear on separate lines Features are half the height compared to full mode Pack: overlapping features appear on separate lines Features are the same height as full mode Full: each feature is displayed on its own line Set “Base Position” track to “Full” to see the amino acid translations Some evidence tracks (e.g., RepeatMasker) only have a subset of these display modes
15 DEMO: Examine contig10 in the D. biarmipes AugDEMO: Examine contig10 in the D. biarmipes Aug (GEP/Dot) assembly with the GEP UCSC Genome Browser
16 GEP annotation strategyUse D. melanogaster as reference D. melanogaster is very well annotated Use sequence similarity to infer homology Minimize changes compared to the D. melanogaster gene model (parsimony) Coding sequences evolve slowly Exon structure changes very slowly D. melanogaster gene models supported by large amount of experimental data (from modENCODE and other projects) Higher frequency of gene structure changes in D. ficusphila compared to D. biarmipes and D. elegans
17 FlyBase – Database for the Drosophila research communityLots of ancillary data for each gene in D. melanogaster Curation of literature for each gene Reference for D. melanogaster annotations for all other databases Including NCBI, EBI, and DDBJ Fast release cycle (6-8 releases per year)
18 Overview of NCBI BLAST Detect local regions of significant sequence similarity between two sequences Decide which BLAST program to use based on the type of query and subject sequences: Program Query Database (Subject) BLASTN Nucleotide BLASTP Protein BLASTX Nucleotide → Protein TBLASTN TBLASTX See “Basics of BLAST” for a more detailed overview
19 Where can I run BLAST? NCBI BLAST web service EBI BLAST web servicehttps://blast.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Blast.cgi EBI BLAST web service FlyBase BLAST (Drosophila and other insects)
20 Accessing TBLASTX at NCBItblastx is no longer listed on the new NCBI BLAST front page
21 DEMO: Ortholog assignment for the N-SCAN prediction contig10.001.1TODO DEMO: Ortholog assignment for the N-SCAN prediction contig
22 Annotation workflow: Step 2Identify the likely D. melanogaster ortholog Observe the gene structure of the ortholog Map each CDS to the project sequence Determine the exact coordinates of each CDS Verify the model using the Gene Model Checker Repeat steps 2-5 for each additional isoform
23 Gene Record Finder – Observe the structure of D. melanogaster genesRetrieves CDS and exon sequences for each gene in D. melanogaster CDS and exon usage maps for each isoform List of unique CDS Designed for the exon-by-exon annotation strategy Mention that this is based on an older release
24 Nomenclature for Drosophila genesDrosophila gene names are case-sensitive Lowercase initial letter = recessive mutant phenotype Uppercase initial letter = dominant mutant phenotype Every D. melanogaster gene has an annotation symbol Begins with the prefix CG (Computed Gene) Some genes have a different gene symbol (e.g., ey) Suffix after the gene symbol denotes different isoforms mRNA = -R; protein = -P ey-RA = Transcript for the A isoform of ey ey-PA = Protein product for the A isoform of ey Dl = Delta; dl = dorsal ey is the gene symbol, CG1901 is the annotation symbol
25 Be aware of different annotation releasesD. melanogaster Release 6 genome assembly First change of the assembly since late 2006 Most modENCODE analysis used the Release 5 assembly Gene annotations change much more frequently Use FlyBase as the canonical reference GEP data freeze GEP materials are updated before the start of semester Potential discrepancies in results and screenshots See the archived BLAST results in the exercise package Let us know about major errors or discrepancies Lifted release 5 datasets required by the GEP to release 6
26 DEMO: Determine the gene structure of the D. melanogaster gene CG31997
27 Annotation workflow: Step 3Identify the likely D. melanogaster ortholog Observe the gene structure of the ortholog Map each CDS to the project sequence Determine the exact coordinates of each CDS Verify the model using the Gene Model Checker Repeat steps 2-5 for each additional isoform
28 BLAST parameters for CDS mappingSelect the “Align two or more sequences” checkbox Settings in the “Algorithm parameters” section Verify the Word size is set to 3 Turn off compositional adjustments Turn off the low complexity filter Default word size for database searches = 6, bl2seq searches = 3
29 Strategies for CDS mappingStart by mapping the largest CDS The first and last CDS tend to be smaller than internal CDS in Drosophila Continue mapping CDS by size in descending order Defer mapping small or weakly conserved CDS Use placements of adjacent CDS to define the search region Use the splice donor and acceptor phases of adjacent CDS as additional constraints In most cases, avoid mapping CDS from 5’ to 3’ of the gene because they tend to be smaller
30 Strategies for finding small CDSExamine RNA-Seq coverage and TopHat junctions Small CDS is typically part of a larger transcribed exon Use Query subrange to restrict the search region Increase the Expect threshold and try again Keep increasing the Expect threshold until you get matches Also try decreasing the word size Use the Small Exon Finder Minimize changes in CDS size Available under Projects Annotation Resources See the “Annotation Instruction Sheet” for details
31 DEMO: Map CDS 3_10803_1 of CG31997 against contig10 with BLASTX
32 EXERCISE: Map each CDS to the project sequenceUse BLASTX to determine the approximate locations for the three CDS of CG31997 on contig10 Consult with each other The “Annotation of a Drosophila Gene” document provides a step-by-step walkthrough
33 Discussions and coffee breakCarolina Ponce: https://flic.kr/p/otHbqV duncan c: https://flic.kr/p/nSfe14
34 Annotation workflow: Step 4Identify the likely D. melanogaster ortholog Observe the gene structure of the ortholog Map each CDS to the project sequence Determine the exact coordinates of each CDS Verify the model using the Gene Model Checker Repeat steps 2-5 for each additional isoform
35 Basic biological constraints (inviolate rules*)Coding regions start with a methionine Coding regions end with a stop codon Gene should be on only one strand of DNA Exons appear in order along the DNA (collinear) Intron sequences should be at least 40 bp Intron starts with a GT (or rarely GC) Intron ends with an AG Only break these rules if they are found in D. melanogaster or supported by experimental evidence ~1% of the genes in D. melanogaster have a GC donor site * There are known exceptions to each rule
36 modENCODE RNA-Seq dataRNA-Seq evidence tracks: RNA-Seq coverage (read depth) TopHat splice junction predictions Assembled transcripts (Cufflinks, Oases) Positive results very helpful Negative results less informative Lack of transcription ≠ no gene GEP curriculum: RNA-Seq Primer Browser-Based Annotation and RNA-Seq Data modENCODE RNA-Seq data: mixed embryos, adult males, adult females
37 Overview of RNA-Seq (Illumina)5’ cap Poly-A tail Processed mRNA AAAAAA RNA fragments (~250bp) Library with adapters 5’ 3’ Paired end sequencing 5’ 3’ ~125bp RNA-Seq reads Reverse Forward Wang Z et al. (2009) RNA-Seq: a revolutionary tool for transcriptomics. Nat Rev Genet. 10(1):57-63.
38 DEMO: Use RNA-Seq coverage to support the placement of the start codon
39 EXERCISE: Confirm the placement of the stop codon for CDS 3_10803_1
40 Can use the TopHat splice junction predictions to identify splice sites5’ cap M * Poly-A tail Processed mRNA AAAAAA RNA-Seq reads Contig Intron TopHat junctions
41 A genomic sequence has 6 different reading frames3 1 2 2 Frames Place start codon at 25673 Frame: Base to begin translation relative to the start of the sequence
42 A codon could be derived from nucleotides in adjacent exonsTTT CCG GT AG … … … CTG AGA GA T G AT TTT CCG GT AG … … … CTG AGA GT AG … … … CTG AGA GAT TTT CCG CTG AGA GAT GAT TTT CCG Spliced mRNA Phase 0 Phase 1 Phase 2 move label intron Phase 2 Phase 1 Donor Acceptor Intron
43 Splice donor and acceptor phasesPhase: Number of bases between the complete codon and the splice site Donor phase: Number of bases between the end of the last complete codon and the splice donor site (GT/GC) Acceptor phase: Number of bases between the splice acceptor site (AG) and the start of the first complete codon Phase depends on the reading frame of the CDS
44 Phase depends on the reading frameSplice donor CDS 1_10803_0 ends at with a phase 1 donor site Phase of donor site: Phase 2 relative to frame +1 Phase 1 relative to frame +2 Phase 0 relative to frame +3
45 Phase of the donor and acceptor sites must be compatibleExtra nucleotides from donor and acceptor phases form an additional codon Donor phase + acceptor phase = 0 or 3 CTG AGA G CTG AGA G GT … … … AG TTT CCG AT TTT CCG AT By definition, blastx cannot detect the additional codon that results from donor and acceptor phases TTT CCG GAT CTG AGA L R D F P Translation:
46 Incompatible donor and acceptor phases result in a frame shiftCTG AGA G GT GT … … AG AT TTT CCG CTG AGA TTC CG GGT ATT L R G I F Translation: Phase 0 donor is incompatible with phase 2 acceptor
47 DEMO: Use RNA-Seq to annotate the intron between CDS 1_10803_0 and 2_10803_2 of the CG31997 ortholog
48 EXERCISE: Determine the coordinates for CDS 2_10803_2 and 3_10803_1 of the CG31997 ortholog
49 Annotation workflow: Step 5Identify the likely D. melanogaster ortholog Observe the gene structure of the ortholog Map each CDS to the project sequence Determine the exact coordinates of each CDS Verify the model using the Gene Model Checker Repeat steps 2-5 for each additional isoform
50 Verify the final gene model using the Gene Model CheckerGene model should satisfy biological constraints Explain errors or warnings in the GEP Annotation Report Compare model against the D. melanogaster ortholog Dot plot and protein alignment See “Quick check of student annotations” View your gene model as a custom track in the genome browser Generate files require for project submission
51 DEMO: Verify the proposed gene model for the ortholog of CG31997
52 Annotation workflow: Step 6Identify the likely D. melanogaster ortholog Observe the gene structure of the ortholog Map each CDS to the project sequence Determine the exact coordinates of each CDS Verify the model using the Gene Model Checker Repeat steps 2-5 for each additional isoform In this case, isoform A and B of CG31997 have the same set of coding exons
53 Next step: practice annotation D. biarmipes AugNext step: practice annotation D. biarmipes Aug (GEP/Dot) assembly Annotation of a Drosophila Gene onecut on contig35 ey on contig40 CG1909 on contig35 Arl4 and CG33978 on contig10 D. biarmipes (Aug GEP/Dot assembly) onecut – Similar to CG31997 but the feature is on the minus strand; partial alignment for CDS 3, acceptor placement based on RNA-Seq and TopHat ey – member of a gene family but with large difference in E-value, alternative splicing in multiple isoforms CG1909 – Change in gene structure: split CDS 4_9560_0; consists of 9 CDS, gene with conserved domains Arl4 – B isoform does not exist in D. biarmipes CG33978 – Partial gene missing 5’ end; missing isoforms C and E; consensus error within CDS 6_11558_0 Difficulty
54 Questions?