Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Evolutionary Relationships through Genome Comparisons

Evolutionary Relationships through Genome Comparisons

Genome comparison is one of the excellent ways to interpret the evolutionary relationships between organisms. The basic principle of genome comparison is that if two species share a common feature, it is likely encoded by the DNA sequence conserved between both species. The advent of genome sequencing technologies in the late 20th century enabled scientists to understand the concept of conservation of domains between species and helped them to deduce evolutionary relationships across diverse...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Centromeric satellite expansion drives genome evolution in the snowy owl.

Genome biology·2026

Same author

Chromosome-level genome assembly of a Norwegian threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) improves mapping for ancient DNA and QTL associated with parallel loss of pelvic spines.

The Journal of heredity·2026

Same author

Selection Against Hybrids Maintains Genetic Divergence Between Populations of a Coastal Cleaner Fish Translocated Across a Genetic Break.

Evolutionary applications·2026

Same author

Rapid genome modifications including chromosomal fusions and large-scale inversions are key features in Arctic codfish species.

Genome biology·2026

Same author

Sequencing and Analysis of mtDNA Genomes from the Teeth of Early Medieval Horses in Poland.

Genes·2026

Same author

Pangenomes as a framework for adaptive radiation, speciation, and adaptation.

American journal of botany·2025

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Oct 13, 2025

Rare Event Detection Using Error-corrected DNA and RNA Sequencing

Rare Event Detection Using Error-corrected DNA and RNA Sequencing

Published on: August 3, 2018

An accurate assignment test for extremely low-coverage whole-genome sequence data.

Giada Ferrari¹, Lane M Atmore¹, Sissel Jentoft¹

¹Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.

Molecular Ecology Resources

|November 15, 2021

Summary

This study introduces a new method for genomic assignment using extremely low-coverage sequence data. This approach enables the recovery of crucial biological information from limited samples in molecular ecology and ancient DNA research.

Keywords:

chromosomal inversion ecotype genome skimming haplotype population assignment

More Related Videos

Validating Whole Genome Nanopore Sequencing, using Usutu Virus as an Example

Validating Whole Genome Nanopore Sequencing, using Usutu Virus as an Example

Published on: March 11, 2020

Targeted DNA Methylation Analysis by Next-generation Sequencing

Targeted DNA Methylation Analysis by Next-generation Sequencing

Published on: February 24, 2015

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Oct 13, 2025

Rare Event Detection Using Error-corrected DNA and RNA Sequencing

Rare Event Detection Using Error-corrected DNA and RNA Sequencing

Published on: August 3, 2018

Validating Whole Genome Nanopore Sequencing, using Usutu Virus as an Example

Validating Whole Genome Nanopore Sequencing, using Usutu Virus as an Example

Published on: March 11, 2020

Targeted DNA Methylation Analysis by Next-generation Sequencing

Targeted DNA Methylation Analysis by Next-generation Sequencing

Published on: February 24, 2015

Area of Science:

Genomics
Molecular Ecology
Ancient DNA Research
Population Genetics

Background:

Genomic assignment tests are vital for determining biological characteristics like population origin and ecotype.
Traditional assignment tests require moderate- to high-coverage sequence data, limiting their application in molecular ecology and ancient DNA studies.
Obtaining sufficient sequence data can be challenging and costly, hindering research progress in these fields.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop a novel, efficient method for assigning biological information from extremely low-coverage sequence data.
To enable the recovery of population identity and structural variants (e.g., inversions) using minimal genomic data.
To expand the utility of genomic assignment tests in fields with limited sample availability.

Main Methods:

Generation of reference databases using diagnostic single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) linked to specific biological characteristics.
Comparison of low-coverage alignment files against these databases to determine allelic states.
Calculation of joint probabilities for associations between genetic data and biological characteristics.

Main Results:

Successful assignment of population identity and haplotypes in Heliconius butterflies, Atlantic herring, and Atlantic cod using the novel method.
Accurate classification using genome-wide SNPs even with extremely low-coverage data (down to 0.0001x).
Demonstrated efficacy on both modern and ancient specimens, including novel whole-genome data from ancient Atlantic herring.

Conclusions:

The developed approach efficiently extracts biologically relevant information from extremely low-coverage genomic data.
This method significantly broadens the scope of samples available for evolutionary, ecological, and archaeological research.
It overcomes previous limitations associated with data quantity, making genomic assignment more accessible.