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Title: Genome analysis of Plectus murrayi , a nematode from continental Antarctica
Abstract Plectus murrayi is one of the most common and locally abundant invertebrates of continental Antarctic ecosystems. Because it is readily cultured on artificial medium in the laboratory and highly tolerant to an extremely harsh environment, P. murrayi is emerging as a model organism for understanding the evolutionary origin and maintenance of adaptive responses to multiple environmental stressors, including freezing and desiccation. The de novo assembled genome of P. murrayi contains 225.741 million base pairs and a total of 14,689 predicted genes. Compared to Caenorhabditis elegans, the architectural components of P. murrayi are characterized by a lower number of protein-coding genes, fewer transposable elements, but more exons, than closely related taxa from less harsh environments. We compared the transcriptomes of lab-reared P. murrayi with wild-caught P. murrayi and found genes involved in growth and cellular processing were up-regulated in lab-cultured P. murrayi, while a few genes associated with cellular metabolism and freeze tolerance were expressed at relatively lower levels. Preliminary comparative genomic and transcriptomic analyses suggest that the observed constraints on P. murrayi genome architecture and functional gene expression, including genome decay and intron retention, may be an adaptive response to persisting in a biotically simplified, yet consistently physically harsh environment.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1637708
NSF-PAR ID:
10231868
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ;
Editor(s):
Félix, M -A
Date Published:
Journal Name:
G3 Genes|Genomes|Genetics
Volume:
11
Issue:
1
ISSN:
2160-1836
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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