The oyster genome reveals stress adaptation and complexity…

发布日期：2012-09-21 10:19 来源：网络作者：网络浏览次数：

The Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas belongs to one of the most species-rich but genomically poorly explored phyla, the Mollusca. Here we report the sequencing and assembly of the oyster genome using short reads and a fosmid-pooling strategy, along with transcriptomes of development and stress response and the proteome of the shell. The oyster genome is highly polymorphic and rich in repetitive sequences, with some transposable elements still actively shaping variation. Transcriptome studies reveal an extensive set of genes responding to environmental stress. The expansion of genes coding for heat shock protein 70 and inhibitors of apoptosis is probably central to the oyster’s adaptation to sessile life in the highly stressful intertidal zone. Our analyses also show that shell formation in molluscs is more complex than currently understood and involves extensive participation of cells and their exosomes. The oyster genome sequence fills a void in our understanding of the Lophotrochozoa.

Figure 1: Fosmid-pooling strategy for oyster genome assembly.

Fosmid-pooling strategy for oyster genome assembly.

Figure 2: Clustering of Hox genes in Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas, polychaete annelid Capitella teleta, fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster, lancelet Branchiostoma floridae and Homo sapiens.