"Specifically, we interrogated a large set of whole-genome shotgun (WGS) sequence reads representing approximately 25% of the sunflower genome, as well as the sequences of 21 unique bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) clones. The random sequence reads allowed us to generate an unbiased and accurate estimate of sunflower genome composition, whereas the BAC sequences allowed for a detailed analysis of full-length TEs."
Can you please explain me this paragraph? How accurate is generating data from 25% of the total genome of the organism? Is it necessary to conduct whole genome sequencing & BAC clone generation vis-à-vis? Is generation of 21 unique BAC clones sufficient? How can these methods lead to "unbaised and accurate estimate" of a particular genome?"
The study is making a fairly narrow claim, that low-coverage genome sequencing plus some BAC clones is sufficient data to characterize the transposable element content of this genome. There are definitely many interesting things one cannot study with such limited data, but I would guess that for the sole purpose of characterizing TEs this data is appropriate.
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