Single nucleotide polymorphism genotypes and ploidy estimates for ploidy
variable species generated with massively parallel amplicon sequencing
Abstract
Polyploidization has played a critical role in the evolution of several
major organism groups, including vertebrates, but much of our knowledge
of the evolution of polyploids comes from allopolyploid and often
rediploidized lineages, which partly reflects the difficulty of
obtaining genotype data from polysomic genomes. We combined several
contemporary methods to develop markers for single nucleotide
polymorphisms compatible with simultaneous ploidy estimation and high
throughput genotyping, and analyzed these data with recent software
developments that accept polysomic data. We demonstrate the utility of
this combination to develop genetic resources for polysomic species by
applying it to the ploidy-variable and polysomic white sturgeon
(Acipenser transmontanus), an imperiled species under
conservation management in the Pacific Northwest. We introduce a primer
and probe set for 325 SNP markers for use with the
‘Genotyping-by-thousands’ (GT-seq) method, and provide updated scripts
that incorporate a function to estimate ploidy from each individual
using read count data. We examine the reliability of tetrasomic
inheritance in a large sample of paleo-octoploid individuals and the
expected Mendelian inheritance patterns in known cross families. We then
demonstrate our ability to use these data to infer parentage,
relatedness, and other population genetic parameters. Our combined
process thus improves the accessibility of genetic information to
facilitate future investigations of white sturgeon and is expected to be
widely applicable to other polyploid species.