Now Available from the Chlamydomonas Resource Center: the Chlamydomonas Fosmid Collection

You may have noticed when browsing at the Chlamydomonas site on Phytozome (https://phytozome.jgi.doe.gov/pz/portal.html#!info?alias=Org_Creinhardtii) that almost every part of the genome is covered by multiple fosmid clones, defined by the end sequences (“VTP sequences”). To see these alignments check the “BLASTN-aligned BAC and fosmid end reads” under “alignments” on the left side of the browser. The VTP sequences are sequenced reads from fosmid end sequences of clones that JGI prepared to finish the genomic sequence, by bringing contigs together.

Fosmid clones were prepared as genomic DNA fragments in the fosmid vector pCCIFOS (Epicentre). Fosmids are similar to BACS (also available from the CRC) in that they contain large pieces of genomic DNA, but they offer several advantages for many genetic projects. First of all, there are more than 75,000 clones in the collection, and each region of the genome is covered in almost every case by multiple fosmids. Fosmid inserts are shorter than BACs, often about 40kb or so, so they contain fewer genes. It easy to isolate large quantities of fosmid DNA because the copy number of the fosmids in their bacterial hosts is greatly increased by treating cultures with arabinose.

The CRC thanks Dr. Jane Grimwood of the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology for providing copies of the fosmid library and instructions for identifying clone locations based on VTP numbers.

To order clones send an e-mail to the Chlamy Center (chlamy@umn.edu) with the VTP numbers of the clones you are interested in. The cost will be $50/clone plus shipping.