scholarly journals Nepenthes × ventrata Transcriptome Profiling Reveals a Similarity Between the Evolutionary Origins of Carnivorous Traps and Floral Organs

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna V. Shchennikova ◽  
Alexey V. Beletsky ◽  
Mikhail A. Filyushin ◽  
Maria A. Slugina ◽  
Eugeny V. Gruzdev ◽  
...  

The emergence of the carnivory syndrome and traps in plants is one of the most intriguing questions in evolutionary biology. In the present study, we addressed it by comparative transcriptomics analysis of leaves and leaf-derived pitcher traps from a predatory plant Nepenthes ventricosa × Nepenthes alata. Pitchers were collected at three stages of development and a total of 12 transcriptomes were sequenced and assembled de novo. In comparison with leaves, pitchers at all developmental stages were found to be highly enriched with upregulated genes involved in stress response, specification of shoot apical meristem, biosynthesis of sucrose, wax/cutin, anthocyanins, and alkaloids, genes encoding digestive enzymes (proteases and oligosaccharide hydrolases), and flowering-related MADS-box genes. At the same time, photosynthesis-related genes in pitchers were transcriptionally downregulated. As the MADS-box genes are thought to be associated with the origin of flower organs from leaves, we suggest that Nepenthes species could have employed a similar pathway involving highly conserved MADS-domain transcription factors to develop a novel structure, pitcher-like trap, for capture and digestion of animal prey during the evolutionary transition to carnivory. The data obtained should clarify the molecular mechanisms of trap initiation and development and may contribute to solving the problem of its emergence in plants.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Shi ◽  
Yuan Shen ◽  
Yuhao Chi

Abstract Background Lonicera Japonica Thunb. is a perennial, semi-evergreen and twining vine in the family of Caprifoliaceae, which is widely cultivated in Asia. Thus far, L. japonica is often used to treat some human diseases including COVID-19, H1N1 influenza and hand-foot-and-mouth diseases, however, the regulatory mechanism of intrinsic physiological processes during different floral developmental stages of L. japonica remain largely unknown. Results The complete transcriptome of L. japonica was de novo-assembled and annotated, generating a total of 195850 unigenes, of which 84657 could be functionally annotated. 70 candidate genes involved in flowering transition were identified and the flowering regulatory network of five pathways was constructed in L. japonica. The mRNA transcripts of AGL24 and SOC1 exhibited a downward trend during flowering transition and followed by a gradual increase during the flower development. The transcripts of AP1 was only detected during the floral development, whereas the transcript level of FLC was high during the vegetative stages. The expression profiles of AGL24, SOC1, AP1 and FLC genes indicate that these key integrators might play the essential and evolutionarily conserved roles in control of flowering switch across the plant kingdom. We also identified 54 L. japonica genes encoding enzymes involved in terpenoid biosynthesis pathway. Most highly expressed genes centered on the MEP pathway, suggesting that this plastid pathway might represent the major pathway for terpenoid biosynthesis in L. japonica. In addition, 33 and 31 key genes encoding enzymes involved in the carotenogenesis and anthocyanin biosynthesis pathway were identified, respectively. PSY transcripts gradually increased during the flower development, supporting its role as the first rate-limiting enzyme in carotenoid skeleton production. The expression level of most anthocyanin biosynthetic genes was dramatically decreased during the flower developmental stages, consistent with the decline in the contents of anthocyanin. Conclusion These results identified a large number of potential key regulators controlling flowering time, flower color and floral scent formation in L. japonica, which improves our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the flower traits and flower metabolism, as well as sets the groundwork for quality improvement and molecular breeding of L. japonica.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liangbin Zeng ◽  
Airong Shen ◽  
Jia Chen ◽  
Zhun Yan ◽  
Touming Liu ◽  
...  

The ramie mothCocytodes coeruleaGuenée (RM) is an economically important pest that seriously impairs the yield of ramie, an important natural fiber crop. The molecular mechanisms that underlie the ramie-pest interactions are unclear up to date. Therefore, a transcriptome profiling analysis would aid in understanding the ramie defense mechanisms against RM. In this study, we first constructed two cDNA libraries derived from RM-challenged (CH) and unchallenged (CK) ramie leaves. The subsequent sequencing of the CH and CK libraries yielded 40.2 and 62.8 million reads, respectively. Furthermore,de novoassembling of these reads generated 26,759 and 29,988 unigenes, respectively. An integrated assembly of data from these two libraries resulted in 46,533 unigenes, with an average length of 845 bp per unigene. Among these genes, 24,327 (52.28%) were functionally annotated by predicted protein function. A comparative analysis of the CK and CH transcriptome profiles revealed 1,980 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), of which 750 were upregulated and 1,230 were downregulated. A quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis of 13 random selected genes confirmed the gene expression patterns that were determined by Illumina sequencing. Among the DEGs, the expression patterns of transcription factors, protease inhibitors, and antioxidant enzymes were studied. Overall, these results provide useful insights into the defense mechanism of ramie against RM.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiuxing Lu ◽  
Yun Zheng ◽  
Haoning Wang ◽  
Zheng Wang ◽  
Yonghua Li ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Tree peony (Paeonia suffruticasa) is an economically, medicinally ornamentally important woody flowering woody plants in East Asia and is a common also ornamental shrub in Europe and North America. It is well known and prized for their beautiful flowers in many different forms. Samen petalody has been shown to be the most effective way to modify flower forms. However, there is limited information on the molecular mechanisms of stamen petalody and flower form formation in tree peony.Results: In this study, RNA sequencing was used to assemble and annotate the unigenes in the tree peony to identify the critical genes related to flower parts formation and verify the key genes in different flower forms of tree peony cultivar. A total of 76,007 high quality unigenes were assembled and 30,505 were successfully annotated. A total of 1,833 TFs were identified in our study, among them 16 MADS-box genes were found and characterized. Six key genes were selected to verity their functions in stamen petalody. AG and SEP showed high expression level in carpals and sepals separately both in stamen petalody group and non-stamen petalody groups. PI and AP3 showed high expression levels in inter-petals in stamen petalody groups than in staments in non-stamen petalody.Conclusion: Sixteen MADS-box genes were identified for the first time in tree peony through RNA-seq method. We identified six key genes based on their differential expression levels in different flower parts. These six key genes represented all categories in the ABCDE model to verify the functions in stamen petalody. PI and AP3 were verified to likely play important roles in regulating stamen petalody in tree peony. Our study has helped establish the flower development model in tree peony, identified key molecular mechanisms in the development of different flower forms, and provided valuable information in improving genetic diversity of tree peony and many other woody plants.


2006 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 1933-1944 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wen-Chieh Tsai ◽  
Hong-Hwa Chen

Orchids are known for both their floral diversity and ecological strategies. The versatility and specialization in orchid floral morphology, structure, and physiological properties have fascinated botanists for centuries. In floral studies, MADS-box genes contributing to the now famous ABCDE model of floral organ identity control have dominated conceptual thinking. The sophisticated orchid floral organization offers an opportunity to discover new variant genes and different levels of complexity to the ABCDE model. Recently, several remarkable research studies done on orchid MADS-box genes have revealed the important roles on orchid floral development. Knowledge about MADS-box genes’' encoding ABCDE functions in orchids will give insights into the highly evolved floral morphogenetic networks of orchids.


2020 ◽  
Vol 37 (5) ◽  
pp. 1295-1305 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean P Mullen ◽  
Nicholas W VanKuren ◽  
Wei Zhang ◽  
Sumitha Nallu ◽  
Evan B Kristiansen ◽  
...  

Abstract Understanding the origin and maintenance of adaptive phenotypic novelty is a central goal of evolutionary biology. However, both hybridization and incomplete lineage sorting can lead to genealogical discordance between the regions of the genome underlying adaptive traits and the remainder of the genome, decoupling inferences about character evolution from population history. Here, to disentangle these effects, we investigated the evolutionary origins and maintenance of Batesian mimicry between North American admiral butterflies (Limenitis arthemis) and their chemically defended model (Battus philenor) using a combination of de novo genome sequencing, whole-genome resequencing, and statistical introgression mapping. Our results suggest that balancing selection, arising from geographic variation in the presence or absence of the unpalatable model, has maintained two deeply divergent color patterning haplotypes that have been repeatedly sieved among distinct mimetic and nonmimetic lineages of Limenitis via introgressive hybridization.


Insects ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 101
Author(s):  
Miao Wang ◽  
Hanyu Li ◽  
Huoqing Zheng ◽  
Liuwei Zhao ◽  
Xiaofeng Xue ◽  
...  

The invasion of Vespa velutina presents a great threat to the agriculture economy, the ecological environment, and human health. An effective strategy for this hornet control is urgently required, but the limited genome information of Vespa velutina restricts the application of molecular-genomic tools for targeted hornet management. Therefore, we conducted large-scale transcriptome profiling of the hornet brain to obtain functional target genes and molecular markers. Using an Illumina HiSeq platform, more than 41 million clean reads were obtained and de novo assembled into 182,087 meaningful unigenes. A total of 56,400 unigenes were annotated against publicly available protein sequence databases and a set of reliable Simple Sequence Repeats (SSRs) and Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNP) markers were developed. The homologous genes encoding crucial behavior regulation factors, odorant binding proteins (OBPs), and vitellogenin, were also identified from highly expressed transcripts. This study provides abundant molecular targets and markers for invasive hornet control and further promotes the genetic and molecular study of Vespa velutina.


2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Ma ◽  
Rongyan Wang ◽  
Xiuhua Li ◽  
Bo Gao ◽  
Shulong Chen

Abstract The sweet potato weevil, Cylas formicarius (F.) (Coleoptera: Brentidae), is an important pest of sweet potato worldwide. However, there is limited knowledge on the molecular mechanisms underlying growth and differentiation of C. formicarius. The transcriptomes of the eggs, second instar larvae, third instar larvae (L3), pupae, females, and males of C. formicarius were sequenced using Illumina sequencing technology for obtaining global insights into developing transcriptome characteristics and elucidating the relative functional genes. A total of 54,255,544 high-quality reads were produced, trimmed, and de novo assembled into 115,281 contigs. 61,686 unigenes were obtained, with an average length of 1,009 nt. Among these unigenes, 17,348 were annotated into 59 Gene Ontology (GO) terms and 12,660 were assigned to 25 Cluster of Orthologous Groups classes, whereas 24,796 unigenes were mapped to 258 pathways. Differentially expressed unigenes between various developmental stages of C. formicarius were detected. Higher numbers of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were recorded in the eggs versus L3 and eggs versus male samples (2,141 and 2,058 unigenes, respectively) than the others. Genes preferentially expressed in each stage were also identified. GO and pathway-based enrichment analysis were used to further investigate the functions of the DEGs. In addition, the expression profiles of ten DEGs were validated by quantitative real-time PCR. The transcriptome profiles presented in this study and these DEGs detected by comparative analysis of different developed stages of C. formicarius will facilitate the understanding of the molecular mechanism of various living process and will contribute to further genome-wide research.


2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shinichi Morita ◽  
Tomoko F. Shibata ◽  
Tomoaki Nishiyama ◽  
Yuuki Kobayashi ◽  
Katsushi Yamaguchi ◽  
...  

Beetles are the largest insect order and one of the most successful animal groups in terms of number of species. The Japanese rhinoceros beetle Trypoxylus dichotomus (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Dynastini) is a giant beetle with distinctive exaggerated horns present on the head and prothoracic regions of the male. T. dichotomus has been used as research model in various fields such as evolutionary developmental biology, ecology, ethology, biomimetics, and drug discovery. In this study, de novo assembly of 615 Mb, representing 80% of the genome estimated by flow cytometry, was obtained using the 10x Chromium platform. The scaffold N50 length of the genome assembly was 8.02 Mb, with repetitive elements predicted to comprise 49.5% of the assembly. In total, 23,987 protein-coding genes were predicted in the genome. In addition, de novo assembly of the mitochondrial genome yielded a contig of 20,217 bp. We also analyzed the transcriptome by generating 16 RNA-seq libraries from a variety of tissues of both sexes and developmental stages, which allowed us to identify 13 co-expressed gene modules. The detailed genomic and transcriptomic information of T. dichotomus is the most comprehensive among those reported for any species of Dynastinae. This genomic information will be an excellent resource for further functional and evolutionary analyses, including the evolutionary origin and genetic regulation of beetle horns and the molecular mechanisms underlying sexual dimorphism.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masahiro Uesaka ◽  
Shigeru Kuratani ◽  
Hiroyuki Takeda ◽  
Naoki Irie

The relationship between development and evolution is a central topic in evolutionary biology1,2. Recent transcriptome-based studies support the developmental hourglass model, which predicts that the animal embryogenetic program is most strongly conserved at mid-embryonic stages3-9. This model does not necessarily contradict the classical hypothesis10,11 that animal development recapitulates its evolutionary history after the mid-embryonic stages2,12. However, to date there is no molecular evidence supporting the hypothesis that gene-expression profiles that are more evolutionarily derived appear sequentially in late development. Here, by estimating activated genomic regions and their evolutionary origins, we show that the recapitulative pattern appears during late embryonic stages. We made a genome-wide assessment of accessible chromatin regions throughout embryogenesis in three vertebrate species (mouse, chicken, and medaka) and determined the phylogenetic range at which these regions were shared. In all three species, sequential activation of putative regulatory regions that were more derived occurred later in embryogenesis, whereas ancestral ones tended to be activated early. Our results clarify the chronologic changes in accessible chromatin landscapes and reveal a phylogenetic hierarchy in the evolutionary origins of putative regulatory regions that parallels developmental stages of activation. This relationship may explain, at least in part, the background for morphological observations of recapitulative events during embryogenesis.


DNA Research ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pingping Liu ◽  
Jie Luo ◽  
Qingxia Zheng ◽  
Qiansi Chen ◽  
Niu Zhai ◽  
...  

Abstract Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) is one of the most widely cultivated commercial non-food crops with significant social and economic impacts. Here we profiled transcriptome and metabolome from 54 tobacco samples (2–3 replicates; n = 151 in total) collected from three varieties (i.e. genetic factor), three locations (i.e. environmental factor), and six developmental stages (i.e. developmental process). We identified 3,405 differentially expressed (DE) genes (DEGs) and 371 DE metabolites, respectively. We used quantitative real-time PCR to validate 20 DEGs, and confirmed 18/20 (90%) DEGs between three locations and 16/20 (80%) with the same trend across developmental stages. We then constructed nine co-expression gene modules and four co-expression metabolite modules , and defined seven de novo regulatory networks, including nicotine- and carotenoid-related regulatory networks. A novel two-way Pearson correlation approach was further proposed to integrate co-expression gene and metabolite modules to identify joint gene–metabolite relations. Finally, we further integrated DE and network results to prioritize genes by its functional importance and identified a top-ranked novel gene, LOC107773232, as a potential regulator involved in the carotenoid metabolism pathway. Thus, the results and systems-biology approaches provide a new avenue to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying complex genetic and environmental perturbations in tobacco.


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