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The sea cucumber genome provides insights into morphological evolution and visceral regeneration.

Authors :
Xiaojun Zhang
Lina Sun
Jianbo Yuan
Yamin Sun
Yi Gao
Libin Zhang
Shihao Li
Hui Dai
Jean-François Hamel
Chengzhang Liu
Yang Yu
Shilin Liu
Wenchao Lin
Kaimin Guo
Songjun Jin
Peng Xu
Kenneth B Storey
Pin Huan
Tao Zhang
Yi Zhou
Jiquan Zhang
Chenggang Lin
Xiaoni Li
Lili Xing
Da Huo
Mingzhe Sun
Lei Wang
Annie Mercier
Fuhua Li
Hongsheng Yang
Jianhai Xiang
Source :
PLoS Biology, Vol 15, Iss 10, p e2003790 (2017)
Publication Year :
2017
Publisher :
Public Library of Science (PLoS), 2017.

Abstract

Apart from sharing common ancestry with chordates, sea cucumbers exhibit a unique morphology and exceptional regenerative capacity. Here we present the complete genome sequence of an economically important sea cucumber, A. japonicus, generated using Illumina and PacBio platforms, to achieve an assembly of approximately 805 Mb (contig N50 of 190 Kb and scaffold N50 of 486 Kb), with 30,350 protein-coding genes and high continuity. We used this resource to explore key genetic mechanisms behind the unique biological characters of sea cucumbers. Phylogenetic and comparative genomic analyses revealed the presence of marker genes associated with notochord and gill slits, suggesting that these chordate features were present in ancestral echinoderms. The unique shape and weak mineralization of the sea cucumber adult body were also preliminarily explained by the contraction of biomineralization genes. Genome, transcriptome, and proteome analyses of organ regrowth after induced evisceration provided insight into the molecular underpinnings of visceral regeneration, including a specific tandem-duplicated prostatic secretory protein of 94 amino acids (PSP94)-like gene family and a significantly expanded fibrinogen-related protein (FREP) gene family. This high-quality genome resource will provide a useful framework for future research into biological processes and evolution in deuterostomes, including remarkable regenerative abilities that could have medical applications. Moreover, the multiomics data will be of prime value for commercial sea cucumber breeding programs.

Subjects

Subjects :
Biology (General)
QH301-705.5

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
15449173 and 15457885
Volume :
15
Issue :
10
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
PLoS Biology
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.48a1eec76ee24f74bc33889df620b1a8
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.2003790