1
|
Senevirathna JDM, Yonezawa R, Saka T, Igarashi Y, Funasaka N, Yoshitake K, Kinoshita S, Asakawa S. Selection of a reference gene for studies on lipid-related aquatic adaptations of toothed whales ( Grampus griseus). Ecol Evol 2021; 11:17142-17159. [PMID: 34938499 PMCID: PMC8668803 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8354] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2021] [Revised: 10/24/2021] [Accepted: 10/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Toothed whales are one group of marine mammals that has developed special adaptations, such as echolocation for predation, to successfully live in a dynamic aquatic environment. Their fat metabolism may differ from that of other mammals because toothed whales have acoustic fats. Gene expression in the metabolic pathways of animals can change with respect to their evolution and environment. A real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) is a reliable technique for studying the relative expressions of genes. However, since the accuracy of RT-qPCR data is totally dependent on the reference gene, the selection of the reference gene is an essential step. In this study, 10 candidate reference genes (ZC3H10, FTL, LGALS1, RPL27, GAPDH, FTH1, DCN, TCTP, NDUS5, and UBIM) were initially tested for amplification efficiency using RT-qPCR. After excluding DCN, the remaining nine genes, which are nearly 100% efficient, were selected for the gene stability analysis. Stable reference genes across eight different fat tissue, liver, and muscle samples from Grampus griseus were identified by four algorithms, which were provided in Genorm, NormFinder, BestKeeper, and Delta CT. Finally, a RefFinder comprehensive ranking was performed based on the stability values, and the nine genes were ranked as follows: LGALS1 > FTL > GAPDH > ZC3H10 > FTH1 > NDUS5 > TCTP > RPL27 > UBIM. The LGALS1 and FTL genes were identified as the most stable novel reference genes. The third-ranked gene, GAPDH, is a well-known housekeeping gene for mammals. Ultimately, we suggest the use of LGALS1 as a reliable novel reference gene for genomics studies on the lipid-related aquatic adaptations of toothed whales.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jayan D. M. Senevirathna
- Laboratory of Aquatic Molecular Biology and BiotechnologyDepartment of Aquatic BioscienceGraduate School of Agricultural and Life SciencesThe University of TokyoTokyoJapan
- Department of Animal ScienceFaculty of Animal Science and Export AgricultureUva Wellassa UniversityBadullaSri Lanka
| | - Ryo Yonezawa
- Laboratory of Aquatic Molecular Biology and BiotechnologyDepartment of Aquatic BioscienceGraduate School of Agricultural and Life SciencesThe University of TokyoTokyoJapan
| | - Taiki Saka
- Laboratory of Aquatic Molecular Biology and BiotechnologyDepartment of Aquatic BioscienceGraduate School of Agricultural and Life SciencesThe University of TokyoTokyoJapan
| | - Yoji Igarashi
- Department of Life Sciences and ChemistryGraduate School of BioresourcesMie UniversityMieJapan
| | - Noriko Funasaka
- Department of Life SciencesGraduate School of BioresourcesMie UniversityMieJapan
| | - Kazutoshi Yoshitake
- Laboratory of Aquatic Molecular Biology and BiotechnologyDepartment of Aquatic BioscienceGraduate School of Agricultural and Life SciencesThe University of TokyoTokyoJapan
| | - Shigeharu Kinoshita
- Laboratory of Aquatic Molecular Biology and BiotechnologyDepartment of Aquatic BioscienceGraduate School of Agricultural and Life SciencesThe University of TokyoTokyoJapan
| | - Shuichi Asakawa
- Laboratory of Aquatic Molecular Biology and BiotechnologyDepartment of Aquatic BioscienceGraduate School of Agricultural and Life SciencesThe University of TokyoTokyoJapan
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Gene duplications and gene loss in the epidermal differentiation complex during the evolutionary land-to-water transition of cetaceans. Sci Rep 2021; 11:12334. [PMID: 34112911 PMCID: PMC8192740 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-91863-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2021] [Accepted: 05/26/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Major protein components of the mammalian skin barrier are encoded by genes clustered in the Epidermal Differentiation Complex (EDC). The skin of cetaceans, i.e. whales, porpoises and dolphins, differs histologically from that of terrestrial mammals. However, the genetic regulation of their epidermal barrier is only incompletely known. Here, we investigated the EDC of cetaceans by comparative genomics. We found that important epidermal cornification proteins, such as loricrin and involucrin are conserved and subtypes of small proline-rich proteins (SPRRs) are even expanded in numbers in cetaceans. By contrast, keratinocyte proline rich protein (KPRP), skin-specific protein 32 (XP32) and late-cornified envelope (LCE) genes with the notable exception of LCE7A have been lost in cetaceans. Genes encoding proline rich 9 (PRR9) and late cornified envelope like proline rich 1 (LELP1) have degenerated in subgroups of cetaceans. These data suggest that the evolution of an aquatic lifestyle was accompanied by amplification of SPRR genes and loss of specific other epidermal differentiation genes in the phylogenetic lineage leading to cetaceans.
Collapse
|
3
|
Bellinger MR, Paudel R, Starnes S, Kambic L, Kantar MB, Wolfgruber T, Lamour K, Geib S, Sim S, Miyasaka SC, Helmkampf M, Shintaku M. Taro Genome Assembly and Linkage Map Reveal QTLs for Resistance to Taro Leaf Blight. G3 (BETHESDA, MD.) 2020; 10:2763-2775. [PMID: 32546503 PMCID: PMC7407455 DOI: 10.1534/g3.120.401367] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2020] [Accepted: 06/08/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Taro (Colocasia esculenta) is a food staple widely cultivated in the humid tropics of Asia, Africa, Pacific and the Caribbean. One of the greatest threats to taro production is Taro Leaf Blight caused by the oomycete pathogen Phytophthora colocasiae Here we describe a de novo taro genome assembly and use it to analyze sequence data from a Taro Leaf Blight resistant mapping population. The genome was assembled from linked-read sequences (10x Genomics; ∼60x coverage) and gap-filled and scaffolded with contigs assembled from Oxford Nanopore Technology long-reads and linkage map results. The haploid assembly was 2.45 Gb total, with a maximum contig length of 38 Mb and scaffold N50 of 317,420 bp. A comparison of family-level (Araceae) genome features reveals the repeat content of taro to be 82%, >3.5x greater than in great duckweed (Spirodela polyrhiza), 23%. Both genomes recovered a similar percent of Benchmarking Universal Single-copy Orthologs, 80% and 84%, based on a 3,236 gene database for monocot plants. A greater number of nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat disease resistance genes were present in genomes of taro than the duckweed, ∼391 vs. ∼70 (∼182 and ∼46 complete). The mapping population data revealed 16 major linkage groups with 520 markers, and 10 quantitative trait loci (QTL) significantly associated with Taro Leaf Blight disease resistance. The genome sequence of taro enhances our understanding of resistance to TLB, and provides markers that may accelerate breeding programs. This genome project may provide a template for developing genomic resources in other understudied plant species.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Roshan Paudel
- University of Hawaii at Manoa, Department of Tropical Plant and Soil Sciences, Honolulu, Hawaii
| | - Steven Starnes
- University of Hawaii at Hilo, College of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resource Management, Hilo, Hawaii
| | - Lukas Kambic
- University of Hawaii at Hilo, College of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resource Management, Hilo, Hawaii
| | - Michael B Kantar
- University of Hawaii at Manoa, Department of Tropical Plant and Soil Sciences, Honolulu, Hawaii
| | - Thomas Wolfgruber
- University of Hawaii at Manoa, Department of Tropical Plant and Soil Sciences, Honolulu, Hawaii
| | - Kurt Lamour
- University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Knoxville, Tennessee
| | - Scott Geib
- United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, Hilo, Hawaii
| | - Sheina Sim
- United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, Hilo, Hawaii
| | - Susan C Miyasaka
- University of Hawaii at Manoa, Department of Tropical Plant and Soil Sciences, Honolulu, Hawaii
| | - Martin Helmkampf
- University of Hawaii at Hilo, Department of Biology, Hilo, Hawaii
| | - Michael Shintaku
- University of Hawaii at Hilo, College of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resource Management, Hilo, Hawaii,
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Levy T, Rosen O, Manor R, Dotan S, Azulay D, Abramov A, Sklarz MY, Chalifa-Caspi V, Baruch K, Shechter A, Sagi A. Production of WW males lacking the masculine Z chromosome and mining the Macrobrachium rosenbergii genome for sex-chromosomes. Sci Rep 2019; 9:12408. [PMID: 31455815 PMCID: PMC6712010 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-47509-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2019] [Accepted: 07/09/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The cultivation of monosex populations is common in animal husbandry. However, preselecting the desired gender remains a major biotechnological and ethical challenge. To achieve an efficient biotechnology for all-female aquaculture in the economically important prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii), we achieved – for the first time – WW males using androgenic gland cells transplantation which caused full sex-reversal of WW females to functional males. Crossing the WW males with WW females yielded all-female progeny lacking the Z chromosome. We now have the ability to manipulate – by non-genomic means – all possible genotype combinations (ZZ, WZ and WW) to retain either male or female phenotypes and hence to produce monosex populations of either gender. This calls for a study of the genomic basis underlying this striking sexual plasticity, questioning the content of the W and Z chromosomes. Here, we report on the sequencing of a high-quality genome exhibiting distinguishable paternal and maternal sequences. This assembly covers ~ 87.5% of the genome and yielded a remarkable N50 value of ~ 20 × 106 bp. Genomic sex markers were used to initiate the identification and validation of parts of the W and Z chromosomes for the first time in arthropods.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tom Levy
- Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O. Box 653, Beer Sheva, 8410501, Israel
| | - Ohad Rosen
- Enzootic HK, Ltd., Unit 1109, 11/F, Kowloon Centre, 33 Ashley Road, Tsimshatsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong
| | - Rivka Manor
- Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O. Box 653, Beer Sheva, 8410501, Israel
| | - Shahar Dotan
- Enzootic HK, Ltd., Unit 1109, 11/F, Kowloon Centre, 33 Ashley Road, Tsimshatsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong
| | - Dudu Azulay
- Enzootic HK, Ltd., Unit 1109, 11/F, Kowloon Centre, 33 Ashley Road, Tsimshatsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong
| | - Anna Abramov
- Enzootic HK, Ltd., Unit 1109, 11/F, Kowloon Centre, 33 Ashley Road, Tsimshatsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong
| | - Menachem Y Sklarz
- The National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O. Box 653, Beer Sheva, 8410501, Israel
| | - Vered Chalifa-Caspi
- The National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O. Box 653, Beer Sheva, 8410501, Israel
| | | | - Assaf Shechter
- Enzootic HK, Ltd., Unit 1109, 11/F, Kowloon Centre, 33 Ashley Road, Tsimshatsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong
| | - Amir Sagi
- Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O. Box 653, Beer Sheva, 8410501, Israel. .,The National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O. Box 653, Beer Sheva, 8410501, Israel.
| |
Collapse
|