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Genetic maps order genetic markers along chromosomes. They are, for instance, extensively used in marker-assisted selection to accelerate breeding programs. Even for the same species, people often have to deal with several alternative maps obtained using different ordering methods or different datasets, e.g. resulting from different segregating populations. Having efficient tools to identify the consistency and discrepancy of alternative maps is thus essential to facilitate genetic map comparisons. We propose to encode genetic maps by bucket order, a kind of order, which takes into account the blurred parts of the marker order while being an efficient data structure to achieve low complexity algorithms. The main result of this paper is an O(n log(n)) procedure to identify the largest agreements between two bucket orders of n elements, their Longest Common Subsequence (LCS), providing an efficient solution to highlight discrepancies between two genetic maps. The LCS of two maps, being the largest set of their collinear markers, is used as a building block to compute pairwise map congruence, to visually emphasize maker collinearity and in some scaffolding methods relying on genetic maps to improve genome assembly. As the LCS computation is a key subroutine of all these genetic map related tools, replacing the current LCS subroutine of those methods by ours –to do the exact same work but faster– could significantly speed up those methods without changing their accuracy. To ease such transition we provide all required algorithmic details in this self contained paper as well as an R package implementing them, named LCSLCIS, which is freely available at: . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our understanding of how chromosomes structurally organize and dynamically interact has been revolutionized through the lens of long-chain polymer physics. Major protein contributors to chromosome structure and dynamics are condensin and cohesin that stochastically generate loops within and between chains, and entrap proximal strands of sister chromatids. In this paper, we explore the ability of transient, protein-mediated, gene-gene crosslinks to induce clusters of genes, thereby dynamic architecture, within the highly repeated ribosomal DNA that comprises the nucleolus of budding yeast. We implement three approaches: live cell microscopy; computational modeling of the full genome during G1 in budding yeast, exploring four decades of timescales for transient crosslinks between 5kbp domains (genes) in the nucleolus on Chromosome XII; and, temporal network models with automated community (cluster) detection algorithms applied to the full range of 4D modeling datasets. The data analysis tools detect and track gene clusters, their size, number, persistence time, and their plasticity (deformation). Of biological significance, our analysis reveals an optimal mean crosslink lifetime that promotes pairwise and cluster gene interactions through “flexible” clustering. In this state, large gene clusters self-assemble yet frequently interact (merge and separate), marked by gene exchanges between clusters, which in turn maximizes global gene interactions in the nucleolus. This regime stands between two limiting cases each with far less global gene interactions: with shorter crosslink lifetimes, “rigid” clustering emerges with clusters that interact infrequently; with longer crosslink lifetimes, there is a dissolution of clusters. These observations are compared with imaging experiments on a normal yeast strain and two condensin-modified mutant cell strains. We apply the same image analysis pipeline to the experimental and simulated datasets, providing support for the modeling predictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shortening rye stems to improve lodging resistance is among the major tasks awaiting breeders of this cereal. The most straightforward way to achieve this goal is the implementation of a dominant dwarfing gene into high yielding cultivars. The choice of dominant dwarfing genes in rye is limited to Ddw1 and Ddw3 loci, which are well characterized with respect to map position and tightly linked molecular markers on the long arms of chromosomes 5RL and 1RL, respectively. This paper reports on the identification and preliminary characterization of a novel dominant dwarfing gene, Ddw4, from line S44. This was mapped within the centromeric region of chromosome 3R. The Ddw4 gene is sensitive to exogenous gibberellin. Its introduction into the rye populational cultivar Dańkowskie Amber decreased plant height by c. 54% without any negative effects on spike length and number of kernels per spike. Further genetic studies are needed to determine the perspectives for application of the newly detected dwarfing gene into breeding programs for short-stem rye. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]