An effective strategy for assembling the sex-limited chromosome
Xiao-Bo Wang, Hong-Wei Lu, Qing-You Liu, A-Lun Li, Hong-Ling Zhou, Yong Zhang, Tian-Qi Zhu, Jue Ruan- Computer Science Applications
- Health Informatics
Abstract
Background
Most currently available reference genomes lack the sequence map of sex-limited (such as Y and W) chromosomes, which results in incomplete assemblies that hinder further research on sex chromosomes. Recent advancements in long-read sequencing and population sequencing have provided the opportunity to assemble sex-limited chromosomes without the traditional complicated experimental efforts.
Findings
We introduce the first computational method, Sorting long Reads of Y or other sex-limited chromosome (SRY), which achieves improved assembly results compared to flow sorting. Specifically, SRY outperforms in the heterochromatic region and demonstrates comparable performance in other regions. Furthermore, SRY enhances the capabilities of the hybrid assembly software, resulting in improved continuity and accuracy.
Conclusions
Our method enables true complete genome assembly and facilitates downstream research of sex-limited chromosomes.