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Opsin Repertoire and Expression Patterns in Horseshoe Crabs: Evidence from the Genome of Limulus polyphemus (Arthropoda: Chelicerata)
Genome Biology and Evolution
  • Barbara-Anne Battelle, Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience, Departments of Neuroscience and Biology, University of Florida
  • Joseph F. Ryan, Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience, Department of Biology, University of Florida
  • Karen E. Kempler, Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience, Departments of Neuroscience and Biology, University of Florida
  • Spencer R. Saraf, Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience, Departments of Neuroscience and Biology, University of Florida
  • Catherine E. Marten, Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience, Departments of Neuroscience and Biology, University of Florida
  • Wesley C. Warren, McDonnell Genome Institute, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis
  • Patrick J. Minx, McDonnell Genome Institute, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis
  • Michael J. Montague, McDonnell Genome Institute, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis
  • Pamela J. Green, Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, School of Marine Science and Policy, Delaware Biotechnology Institute, University of Delaware
  • Skye A. Schmidt, Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, School of Marine Science and Policy, Delaware Biotechnology Institute, University of Delaware
  • Lucinda Fulton, McDonnell Genome Institute, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis
  • Nipam H. Patel, Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Center for Integrative Genomics, University of California, Berkley
  • Meredith E. Protas, Department of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Dominican University of California
  • Richard K. Wilson, McDonnell Genome Institute, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis
  • Megan L. Porter, Department of Biology, University of Hawaii, Manoa
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
4-29-2016
Department
Natural Sciences and Mathematics
Abstract

Horseshoe crabs are xiphosuran chelicerates, the sister groupto arachnids. As such, they are important for understandingthemost recent common ancestor of Euchelicerata and the evolution and diversification of Arthropoda. Limulus polyphemus is the most investigated of the four extant species of horseshoe crabs, and the structure and function of its visual system have long been a major focus of studies critical for understanding the evolution of visual systems in arthropods. Likewise, studies of genes encoding Limulus opsins, the protein component of the visual pigments, are critical for understanding opsin evolution and diversification among chelicerates, where knowledge of opsins is limited, and more broadly among arthropods. In the present study, we sequenced and assembled a high quality nuclear genomic sequence of L. polyphemus and used these data to annotate the full repertoire of Limulus opsins.Weconducted a detailed phylogenetic analysis of Limulus opsins, including using gene structure and synteny information to identify relationships among different opsin classes.We used our phylogeny to identify significant genomic events that shaped opsin evolution and therefore the visual systemof Limulus.We also describe the tissue expression patterns of the 18 opsins identified and show that transcripts encoding a number, including a peropsin, are present throughout the central nervous system. In additionto significantly extending our understanding of photosensitivity in Limulus and providing critical insight into the genomic evolution of horseshoe crab opsins, this work provides a valuable genomic resource for addressing myriad questions related to xiphosuran physiology and arthropod evolution.

Rights

Copyright The Author 2016

Publisher Statement
This article has been accepted for publication in Genome Biology and Evolution Published by Oxford University Press.
PubMed ID
27189985
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
Citation Information
Barbara-Anne Battelle, Joseph F. Ryan, Karen E. Kempler, Spencer R. Saraf, et al.. "Opsin Repertoire and Expression Patterns in Horseshoe Crabs: Evidence from the Genome of Limulus polyphemus (Arthropoda: Chelicerata)" Genome Biology and Evolution Vol. 8 Iss. 5 (2016) p. 1571 - 1589 ISSN: 1759-6653
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/meredith-protas/3/