We first operate a rapid inspection of the different BAM files using samtools flagstat. Illumina provided chr21 read mapping obtained with their GA IIx deep sequencing platform <ftp://webdata:webdata@ussd-ftp.illumina.com/Data/SequencingRuns/NA18507_GAIIx_100_chr21.bam>, aligned to the b36/hg18 reference genome)

Address of the bookmark: https://wiki.bits.vib.be/index.php/NGS_Exercise.6#compare_aln_.26_mem_results_with_vcf-compare

https://bmcbioinformatics.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12859-016-1344-7

Address of the bookmark: http://ufmg-simba.sourceforge.net/

https://alitvteam.github.io/AliTV/

Address of the bookmark: https://github.com/AliTVTeam/AliTV

• Step 1. Run mugsy to get multiple sequence alignment results.
• Step 2 & 3. Extraction of the Coordinates of Core Blocks, Construction of Synteny Blocks and Generating Signed Permutations.
• Step 4. Generate pairwise genome rearrangement scenarios and find repeats at the breakpoints of each rearrangement events.

https://github.com/DanwangJessica/GRSR

Address of the bookmark: https://github.com/DanwangJessica/GRSR

https://academic.oup.com/nar/article/47/11/e63/5377471

Address of the bookmark: https://github.com/linzhi2013/MitoZ

To create single-genome plot by aligning genome data along all chromosomes of a single genome, go to the Single-genome plot menu.

To cretae two-genome plot for comparison of data across two genomes, go to the Two-genome plot menu.

For the detail format of input data, check the Input data format submenu of the Help menu.

shinyChromosome is deployed at http://150.109.59.144:3838/shinyChromosome/, http://shinyChromosome.ncpgr.cn, and https://yimingyu.shinyapps.io/shinyChromosome for online use. The source code and manual of shinyChromosome are freely available at https://github.com/venyao/shinyChromosome.

https://yimingyu.shinyapps.io/shinychromosome/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1672022919301883

Address of the bookmark: https://yimingyu.shinyapps.io/shinychromosome/

At present, some people have posted articles about the analysis process of WGD. I searched for the keyword "wgd pipeline" and found the following:

GenoDup: https:// github.com/MaoYafei/GenoDup-Pipeline
https://peerj.com/articles/6303/
WGDdetector: https:// github.com/yongzhiyang2 012/WGDdetector
https://bmcbioinformatics.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12859-019-2670-3
wgd: https:// github.com/arzwa/wgd
https://bmcbioinformatics.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12859-016-1142-2#Sec1
https://bmcbiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12915-017-0399-x
GeNoGAP https://bmcbioinformatics.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12859-016-1142-2
https://bmcbiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12915-017-0399-x
https://github.com/dfguan/purge_dups
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.01.24.917997v1

This article introduces the usage of wgd.

Wgd cannot be installed directly with bioconda at present, so it is a little troublesome to install, because it depends on a lot of software. wgd depends on the following software

BLAST
MCL
MUSCLE/MAFFT/PRANK
PAML
PhyML/FastTree
i-ADHoRe

But the good news is that most of the software it depends on can be installed with bioconda

conda create -n wgd python=3.5 blast mcl muscle mafft prank paml fasttree cmake libpng mpi=1.0=mpich
conda activate wgd

Here mpi=1.0=mpich is selected, because i-adhore depends on mpich. If openmpi is installed, an error will appear while loading shared libraries: libmpi_cxx.so.40: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory

After that, the installation is much simpler

git clone https://github.com/arzwa/wgd.git
cd wgd
pip install .
pip install git+https://github.com/arzwa/wgd.git
For i-ADHoRe, you need to register at http:// bioinformatics.psb.ugent.be /webtools/i-adhore/licensing/Agree to the license to download i-ADHoRe-3.0

Since my miniconda3 installed ~/opt/, the installation path is so~/opt/miniconda3/envs/wgd/

tar -zxvf i-adhore-3.0.01.tar.gz
cd i-adhore-3.0.01
mkdir -p build && cd build
cmake .. -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=~/opt/miniconda3/envs/wgd/
make -j 4
make insatall

Take the sugarcane genome Saccharum spontaneum L as an example. The genome is 8-ploid with 32 chromosomes (2n = 4x8 = 32)

Download the tutorial for CDS and GFF annotation files

mkdir -p wgd_tutorial && cd wgd_tutorial
wget http://www.life.illinois.edu/ming/downloads/Spontaneum_genome/Sspon.v20190103.cds.fasta.gz
wget http://www.life.illinois.edu/ming/downloads/Spontaneum_genome/Sspon.v20190103.gff3.gz
gunzip *.gz

First conda activate wgdstart our analysis environment, and then start the analysis

Step 1 : Use to wgd mclidentify homologous genes in the genome

wgd mcl -n 20 --cds --mcl -s Sspon.v20190103.cds.fasta -o Sspon_cds.out

Step 2 : Use to wgd ksdbuild Ks distribution

wgd ksd --n_threads 80 Sspon_cds.out/Sspon.v20190103.cds.fasta.blast.tsv.mcl Sspon.v20190103.cds.fasta

Step 3 : If the quality of the genome is good, then wgd syncollinearity analysis can be used . It can help us find the collinearity block in the genome and the corresponding anchor point

wgd syn --feature gene --gene_attribute ID \
-ks wgd_ksd/Sspon.v20190103.cds.fasta.ks.tsv \
Sspon.v20190103.gff3 Sspon_cds.out/Sspon.v20190103.cds.fasta.blast.tsv.mcl

 For more reading - There are 9 sub-modules in WGD

• kde: KDE fitting to the Ks distribution
• ksd: Ks distribution construction
• mcl: BLASP comparison of All-vs-ALl + MCL classification analysis.
• mix: Hybrid modeling of Ks distribution.
• pre: preprocess the CDS file
• syn: Call I-ADHoRe 3.0 to use GFF files for collinearity analysis
• viz: draw histogram and density plot
• wf1: Ks standard analysis procedure of the whole genome paranome (paranome), call mcl, ksd and syn
• wf2: Ks standard analysis procedure of one-vs-one homologous gene (ortholog), call wcl and kSD

Address of the bookmark: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abj6987

What Are Chromosome Rearrangements?

Chromosome rearrangements are structural changes that alter the normal configuration of chromosomes. These changes can involve large segments of DNA — from thousands to millions of base pairs — and can occur spontaneously, be inherited, or result from exposure to mutagens (like radiation or chemicals).

Common Types of Rearrangements:

1. Deletions – Loss of a chromosome segment

2. Duplications – Repetition of a segment

3. Inversions – A segment breaks off, flips, and reattaches

4. Translocations – Segments exchange places between non-homologous chromosomes

5. Insertions – A segment is inserted into another part of the genome

These changes can disrupt genes directly or affect gene regulation, leading to disease.

How Do Chromosome Rearrangements Cause Disease?

The impact of a rearrangement depends on which genes are involved, how much DNA is affected, and when the rearrangement occurs (in development vs. adulthood). Here are some key mechanisms:

• Gene disruption: Breaking a gene can lead to loss of function or the creation of a non-functional protein.

• Gene fusion: Joining parts of two genes may form a novel hybrid gene with new functions (common in cancer).

• Dosage effects: Extra or missing gene copies can disturb the balance of gene expression.

• Position effects: Moving a gene to a new regulatory environment may silence or over-activate it.

Chromosome Rearrangements in Human Disease

1. Developmental Disorders

• Cri-du-chat syndrome: Caused by a deletion on chromosome 5p. Affected infants often have a high-pitched cry and intellectual disability.

• Williams syndrome: Results from a microdeletion on chromosome 7q, affecting genes related to cardiovascular and cognitive function.

2. Cancer

Cancer is perhaps the most striking example of disease caused by chromosome rearrangements.

• Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML): Caused by a translocation between chromosomes 9 and 22, forming the Philadelphia chromosome. This creates the BCR-ABL fusion gene, which drives uncontrolled cell growth.

• Burkitt lymphoma: Involves translocation of the MYC gene, leading to excessive cell division.

• Ewing sarcoma: A fusion of EWSR1 and FLI1 genes through translocation promotes tumor development.

3. Infertility and Miscarriages

Balanced rearrangements (like inversions or translocations) in carriers may not cause disease directly but can result in:

• Recurrent miscarriages

• Infertility

• Birth defects in offspring

Detecting Rearrangements

Thanks to modern genomics, chromosome rearrangements can now be detected with high precision using:

• Karyotyping – Classic method for detecting large rearrangements

• FISH (Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization) – Uses fluorescent probes to target specific DNA sequences

• Array CGH (Comparative Genomic Hybridization) – Detects copy number changes across the genome

• Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) – Identifies even small or complex rearrangements at base-pair resolution

Looking Forward: The Future of Chromosome Medicine

Understanding chromosome rearrangements is now central to:

• Personalized medicine

• Genetic counseling

• Targeted therapies, especially in cancer (e.g., tyrosine kinase inhibitors for BCR-ABL fusion)

With the rise of long-read sequencing and single-cell genomics, even previously “invisible” rearrangements are being uncovered, offering new insights into both rare diseases and common conditions.

Final Thoughts

Chromosome rearrangements remind us that genetics isn't just about which genes we have — but where they are, how they're arranged, and when they're active. As our tools grow sharper, so does our ability to diagnose, understand, and treat diseases rooted in genomic architecture.

In a way, the genome is like a book not just defined by its words, but also by how the chapters are ordered. Rearranging them can create a new story — sometimes harmful, sometimes insightful — and understanding these changes is key to writing a healthier future.