Dataset Information

Extremotolerant tardigrade genome and improved radiotolerance of human cultured cells by tardigrade-unique protein.

ABSTRACT: Tardigrades, also known as water bears, are small aquatic animals. Some tardigrade species tolerate almost complete dehydration and exhibit extraordinary tolerance to various physical extremes in the dehydrated state. Here we determine a high-quality genome sequence of Ramazzottius varieornatus, one of the most stress-tolerant tardigrade species. Precise gene repertoire analyses reveal the presence of a small proportion (1.2% or less) of putative foreign genes, loss of gene pathways that promote stress damage, expansion of gene families related to ameliorating damage, and evolution and high expression of novel tardigrade-unique proteins. Minor changes in the gene expression profiles during dehydration and rehydration suggest constitutive expression of tolerance-related genes. Using human cultured cells, we demonstrate that a tardigrade-unique DNA-associating protein suppresses X-ray-induced DNA damage by ?40% and improves radiotolerance. These findings indicate the relevance of tardigrade-unique proteins to tolerability and tardigrades could be a bountiful source of new protection genes and mechanisms.

SUBMITTER: Hashimoto T

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5034306 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Extremotolerant tardigrade genome and improved radiotolerance of human cultured cells by tardigrade-unique protein.

Hashimoto Takuma T Horikawa Daiki D DD Saito Yuki Y Kuwahara Hirokazu H Kozuka-Hata Hiroko H Shin-I Tadasu T Minakuchi Yohei Y Ohishi Kazuko K Motoyama Ayuko A Aizu Tomoyuki T Enomoto Atsushi A Kondo Koyuki K Tanaka Sae S Hara Yuichiro Y Koshikawa Shigeyuki S Sagara Hiroshi H Miura Toru T Yokobori Shin-Ichi SI Miyagawa Kiyoshi K Suzuki Yutaka Y Kubo Takeo T Oyama Masaaki M Kohara Yuji Y Fujiyama Asao A Arakawa Kazuharu K Katayama Toshiaki T Toyoda Atsushi A Kunieda Takekazu T

Nature communications 20160920

Tardigrades, also known as water bears, are small aquatic animals. Some tardigrade species tolerate almost complete dehydration and exhibit extraordinary tolerance to various physical extremes in the dehydrated state. Here we determine a high-quality genome sequence of Ramazzottius varieornatus, one of the most stress-tolerant tardigrade species. Precise gene repertoire analyses reveal the presence of a small proportion (1.2% or less) of putative foreign genes, loss of gene pathways that promote ...[more]

PMID: 27649274

Similar Datasets

Project description:BACKGROUND:Tardigrades are renowned for their ability to enter cryptobiosis (latent life) and endure extreme stress, including desiccation and freezing. Increased focus is on revealing molecular mechanisms underlying this tolerance. Here, we provide the first transcriptomes from the heterotardigrade Echiniscoides cf. sigismundi and the eutardigrade Richtersius cf. coronifer, and compare these with data from other tardigrades and six eukaryote models. Investigating 107 genes/gene families, our study provides a thorough analysis of tardigrade gene content with focus on stress tolerance. RESULTS:E. cf. sigismundi, a strong cryptobiont, apparently lacks expression of a number of stress related genes. Most conspicuous is the lack of transcripts from genes involved in classical Non-Homologous End Joining. Our analyses suggest that post-cryptobiotic survival in tardigrades could rely on high fidelity transcription-coupled DNA repair. Tardigrades seem to lack many peroxins, but they all have a comprehensive number of genes encoding proteins involved in antioxidant defense. The "tardigrade unique proteins" (CAHS, SAHS, MAHS, RvLEAM), seem to be missing in the heterotardigrade lineage, revealing that cryptobiosis in general cannot be attributed solely to these proteins. Our investigation further reveals a unique and highly expressed cold shock domain. We hypothesize that the cold shock protein acts as a RNA-chaperone involved in regulation of translation following freezing. CONCLUSIONS:Our results show common gene family contractions and expansions within stress related gene pathways in tardigrades, but also indicate that evolutionary lineages have a high degree of divergence. Different taxa and lineages may exhibit unique physiological adaptations towards stress conditions involving possible unknown functional homologues and/or novel physiological and biochemical mechanisms. To further substantiate the current results genome assemblies coupled with transcriptome data and experimental investigations are needed from tardigrades belonging to different evolutionary lineages.

Dataset Information

Extremotolerant tardigrade genome and improved radiotolerance of human cultured cells by tardigrade-unique protein.

Publications

Extremotolerant tardigrade genome and improved radiotolerance of human cultured cells by tardigrade-unique protein.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets