Project description:Spiders are renowned for their efficient capture of flying insects using intricate aerial webs. How the spider nervous systems evolved to cope with this specialized hunting strategy and various environmental clues in an aerial space remains unknown. Here, we report a brain cell atlas of >30,000 single-cell transcriptomes from a web-building spider (Hylyphantes graminicola). Our analysis revealed the preservation of ancestral neuron types in spiders, including the potential coexistence of noradrenergic and octopaminergic neurons, and many peptidergic neuronal types that are lost in insects. By comparing the genome of two newly sequenced plesiomorphic burrowing spiders with three aerial web-building spiders, we found that the positively selected genes in the ancestral branch of web-building spiders were preferentially expressed (42%) in the brain, especially in the three mushroom body-like neuronal types. By gene enrichment analysis and RNAi experiments, these genes were suggested to be involved in the learning and memory pathway and may influence the spiders’ web-building and hunting behavior. Our results provide key sources for understanding the evolution of behavior in spiders and reveal how molecular evolution drives neuron innovation and the diversification of associated complex behaviors.
Project description:Sequence capture phylogenomics of eyeless Cicurina spiders (Araneae, Hahniidae) from Texas caves, with emphasis on US federally endangered species from Bexar County
Project description:This dataset comprises bulk RNA sequencing of 45 samples isolated from adult female L. sclopetarius spiders. The samples include spider abdomen (5 replicates), head (5), major ampullate glands (5), minor ampullate glands (5), aggregate glands (5), tubuliform glands (3), and major ampullate gland cut into three parts, i.e., tail (6), sac (6) and duct (5).
Project description:The goal of this study was to lay the groundwork for comparative transcriptomics of sex differences in the brain of wolf spiders, a non-model organism of the pyhlum Euarthropoda, by generating transcriptomes and analyzing gene expression. To examine differences in sex-differential gene expression, short read transcript sequencing and de novo transcriptome assembly were performed. Messenger RNA (mRNA) was isolated from dissected brain tissue of male and female subadult and mature wolf spiders (Schizocosa ocreata). The data consist of short read sequences for the two different life stages in each sex. Computational analyses on these data include de novo transcriptome assembly, using Trinity and CAP3 assembly suites, and differential expression analysis using the edgeR package. Sample-specific and combined transcriptomes, gene annotations, and differential expression results are described in this data note and are available from associated database submissions.
Project description:Phylogenomic reclassification of the world's most venomous spiders (Mygalomorphae, Atracinae), with implications for venom evolution
