Project description:The interaction of animals with microbes relies on the specific recognition of microbial-derived molecules by receptors of the immune system. Sponges (phylum Porifera), as sister group of the Eumetazoa, provide insights into conserved mechanisms for animal-microbe crosstalk, but empirical data is limited. Here we aimed to characterize the immune response of sponges upon microbial stimuli by RNA-Seq. Two sponges species from the Mediterranean Sea, Aplysina aerophoba and Dysidea avara, were challenged with microbial-associated molecular patterns (lipopolysaccharide and peptidoglycan) or sterile artificial seawater (control) in aquarium experiments. Sponge tissue samples were collected 1h, 3h, and 5h after treatment. The response of the sponges to the treatments was assessed by differential gene expression analysis of RNA-Seq data. For each species, we compared the transcriptomic profiles of the samples in MAMP treatment to control within each time point.
Project description:Generation of chromosome level genome assembly of the marine sponge Dysidea avara and exploration of immune receptor NOD-Like structures and expansion
Project description:The naked mole-rat (NMR; Heterocephalus glaber) has recently gained considerable attention in the scientific community for its unique potential to unveil novel insights in the fields of medicine, biochemistry, and evolution. NMRs exhibit unique adaptations that include protracted fertility, cancer resistance, eusociality, and anoxia. This suite of adaptations is not found in other rodent species, suggesting that interrogating conserved and accelerated regions in the NMR genome will find regions of the NMR genome fundamental to their unique adaptations. However, the current NMR genome assembly has limits that make studying structural variations, heterozygosity, and non-coding adaptations challenging. We present a complete diploid naked-mole rat genome assembly by integrating long-read and 10X-linked read genome sequencing of a male NMR and its parents, and Hi-C sequencing in the NMR hypothalamus (N=2). Reads were identified as maternal, paternal or ambiguous (TrioCanu). We then polished genomes with Flye, Racon and Medaka. Assemblies were then scaffolded using the following tools in order: Scaff10X, Salsa2, 3d-DNA, Minimap2-alignment between assemblies, and the Juicebox Assembly Tools. We then subjected the assemblies to another round of polishing, including short-read polishing with Freebayes. We assembled the NMR mitochondrial genome with mitoVGP. Y chromosome contigs were identified by aligning male and female 10X linked reads to the paternal genome and finding male-biased contigs not present in the maternal genome. Contigs were assembled with publicly available male NMR Fibroblast Hi-C-seq data (SRR820318). Both assemblies have their sex chromosome haplotypes merged so that both assemblies have a high-quality X and Y chromosome. Finally, assemblies were evaluated with Quast, BUSCO, and Merqury, which all reported the base-pair quality and contiguity of both assemblies as high-quality. The assembly will next be annotated by Ensembl using public RNA-seq data from multiple tissues (SRP061363). Together, this assembly will provide a high-quality resource to the NMR and comparative genomics communities.
