Salpa genome and developmental transcriptome analyses reveal molecular flexibility enabling reproductive success in a rapidly changing environment
Abstract Ocean warming favors pelagic tunicates, such as salps, that exhibit increasingly frequent and rapid population blooms, impacting trophic dynamics and composition and human marine-dependent activities. Salp blooms are a result of their successful reproductive life history, alternating season...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:d535b866e2c445e2a5ee22e591eae53a 2024-01-07T09:45:10+01:00 Salpa genome and developmental transcriptome analyses reveal molecular flexibility enabling reproductive success in a rapidly changing environment Kate R. Castellano Paola Batta-Lona Ann Bucklin Rachel J. O’Neill 2023-11-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-47429-6 https://doaj.org/article/d535b866e2c445e2a5ee22e591eae53a EN eng Nature Portfolio https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-47429-6 https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322 doi:10.1038/s41598-023-47429-6 2045-2322 https://doaj.org/article/d535b866e2c445e2a5ee22e591eae53a Scientific Reports, Vol 13, Iss 1, Pp 1-16 (2023) Medicine R Science Q article 2023 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-47429-6 2023-12-10T01:48:03Z Abstract Ocean warming favors pelagic tunicates, such as salps, that exhibit increasingly frequent and rapid population blooms, impacting trophic dynamics and composition and human marine-dependent activities. Salp blooms are a result of their successful reproductive life history, alternating seasonally between asexual and sexual protogynous (i.e. sequential) hermaphroditic stages. While predicting future salp bloom frequency and intensity relies on an understanding of the transitions during the sexual stage from female through parturition and subsequent sex change to male, these transitions have not been explored at the molecular level. Here we report the development of the first complete genome of S. thompsoni and the North Atlantic sister species S. aspera. Genome and comparative analyses reveal an abundance of repeats and G-quadruplex (G4) motifs, a highly stable secondary structure, distributed throughout both salp genomes, a feature shared with other tunicates that perform alternating sexual-asexual reproductive strategies. Transcriptional analyses across sexual reproductive stages for S. thompsoni revealed genes associated with male sex differentiation and spermatogenesis are expressed as early as birth and before parturition, inconsistent with previous descriptions of sequential sexual differentiation in salps. Our findings suggest salp are poised for reproductive success at birth, increasing the potential for bloom formation as ocean temperatures rise. Article in Journal/Newspaper North Atlantic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Scientific Reports 13 1 |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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English |
topic |
Medicine R Science Q |
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Medicine R Science Q Kate R. Castellano Paola Batta-Lona Ann Bucklin Rachel J. O’Neill Salpa genome and developmental transcriptome analyses reveal molecular flexibility enabling reproductive success in a rapidly changing environment |
topic_facet |
Medicine R Science Q |
description |
Abstract Ocean warming favors pelagic tunicates, such as salps, that exhibit increasingly frequent and rapid population blooms, impacting trophic dynamics and composition and human marine-dependent activities. Salp blooms are a result of their successful reproductive life history, alternating seasonally between asexual and sexual protogynous (i.e. sequential) hermaphroditic stages. While predicting future salp bloom frequency and intensity relies on an understanding of the transitions during the sexual stage from female through parturition and subsequent sex change to male, these transitions have not been explored at the molecular level. Here we report the development of the first complete genome of S. thompsoni and the North Atlantic sister species S. aspera. Genome and comparative analyses reveal an abundance of repeats and G-quadruplex (G4) motifs, a highly stable secondary structure, distributed throughout both salp genomes, a feature shared with other tunicates that perform alternating sexual-asexual reproductive strategies. Transcriptional analyses across sexual reproductive stages for S. thompsoni revealed genes associated with male sex differentiation and spermatogenesis are expressed as early as birth and before parturition, inconsistent with previous descriptions of sequential sexual differentiation in salps. Our findings suggest salp are poised for reproductive success at birth, increasing the potential for bloom formation as ocean temperatures rise. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Kate R. Castellano Paola Batta-Lona Ann Bucklin Rachel J. O’Neill |
author_facet |
Kate R. Castellano Paola Batta-Lona Ann Bucklin Rachel J. O’Neill |
author_sort |
Kate R. Castellano |
title |
Salpa genome and developmental transcriptome analyses reveal molecular flexibility enabling reproductive success in a rapidly changing environment |
title_short |
Salpa genome and developmental transcriptome analyses reveal molecular flexibility enabling reproductive success in a rapidly changing environment |
title_full |
Salpa genome and developmental transcriptome analyses reveal molecular flexibility enabling reproductive success in a rapidly changing environment |
title_fullStr |
Salpa genome and developmental transcriptome analyses reveal molecular flexibility enabling reproductive success in a rapidly changing environment |
title_full_unstemmed |
Salpa genome and developmental transcriptome analyses reveal molecular flexibility enabling reproductive success in a rapidly changing environment |
title_sort |
salpa genome and developmental transcriptome analyses reveal molecular flexibility enabling reproductive success in a rapidly changing environment |
publisher |
Nature Portfolio |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-47429-6 https://doaj.org/article/d535b866e2c445e2a5ee22e591eae53a |
genre |
North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic |
op_source |
Scientific Reports, Vol 13, Iss 1, Pp 1-16 (2023) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-47429-6 https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322 doi:10.1038/s41598-023-47429-6 2045-2322 https://doaj.org/article/d535b866e2c445e2a5ee22e591eae53a |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-47429-6 |
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Scientific Reports |
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13 |
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1 |
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1787426642135613440 |