De novo transcriptome assembly of an Antarctic nematode for the study of thermal adaptation in marine parasites

• Published in: Scientific Data
• Main Authors: Marialetizia Palomba, Pietro Libro, Jessica Di Martino, Xavier Roca-Geronès, Armando Macali, Tiziana Castrignanò, Daniele Canestrelli, Simonetta Mattiucci
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Nature Portfolio 2023
• Subjects: Science; Q; Antarc*; Antarctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-023-02591-4; https://doaj.org/article/4d28a669bc0f46f880dd55e933f4589c

Abstract Understanding the genomic underpinnings of thermal adaptation is a hot topic in eco-evolutionary studies of parasites. Marine heteroxenous parasites have complex life cycles encompassing a free-living larval stage, an ectothermic intermediate host and a homeothermic definitive host, thus representing compelling systems for the study of thermal adaptation. The Antarctic anisakid Contracaecum osculatum sp. D is a marine parasite able to survive and thrive both at very cold and warm temperatures within the environment and its hosts. Here, a de novo transcriptome of C. osculatum sp. D was generated for the first time, by performing RNA-Seq experiments on a set of individuals exposed to temperatures experienced by the nematode during its life cycle. The analysis generated 425,954,724 reads, which were assembled and then annotated. The high-quality assembly was validated, achieving over 88% mapping against the transcriptome. The transcriptome of this parasite will represent a valuable genomic resource for future studies aimed at disentangling the genomic architecture of thermal tolerance and metabolic pathways related to temperature stress.