Functional and Evolutionary Insights from the Genomes of Three Parasitoid
            <i>Nasonia</i>
            Species

Horizontal gene transfer is accepted as an important evolutionary force modulating the evolution of prokaryote genomes. However, it is thought that horizontal gene transfer plays only a minor role in metazoan evolution. In this paper, I critically review the rising evidence on horizontally transferred genes and on the acquisition of novel traits in metazoans. In particular, I discuss suspected examples in sponges, cnidarians, rotifers, nematodes, molluscs and arthropods which suggest that horizontal gene transfer in metazoans is not simply a curiosity. In addition, I stress the scarcity of studies in vertebrates and other animal groups and the importance of forthcoming studies to understand the importance and extent of horizontal gene transfer in animals.

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“…Likewise, Wolbachia genes can be detected in genomes of parasitoid wasps of the genus Nasonia [31,51].…”

Section: Horizontal Gene Transfer In Arthropodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Horizontal gene transfer in the acquisition of novel traits by metazoans

2014

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“…The predicted proteomes in the DBM genome and those from the genomes of 11 insect species 13,14,[64][65][66][67][68][69][70][71] and 1 Arachnida outgroup species 72 were used in BLAST (1 × 10 −7 ). The fragmental alignments of HSPs were joined using Solar 36 .…”

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confidence: 99%

A heterozygous moth genome provides insights into herbivory and detoxification

et al. 2013

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l e t t e r sHow an insect evolves to become a successful herbivore is of profound biological and practical importance. Herbivores are often adapted to feed on a specific group of evolutionarily and biochemically related host plants 1 , but the genetic and molecular bases for adaptation to plant defense compounds remain poorly understood 2 . We report the first whole-genome sequence of a basal lepidopteran species, Plutella xylostella, which contains 18,071 protein-coding and 1,412 unique genes with an expansion of gene families associated with perception and the detoxification of plant defense compounds. A recent expansion of retrotransposons near detoxification-related genes and a wider system used in the metabolism of plant defense compounds are shown to also be involved in the development of insecticide resistance. This work shows the genetic and molecular bases for the evolutionary success of this worldwide herbivore and offers wider insights into insect adaptation to plant feeding, as well as opening avenues for more sustainable pest management.The global pest P. xylostella (Lepidoptera: Yponomeutidae) is thought to have coevolved with the crucifer plant family 3 ( Supplementary Fig. 1) and has become the most destructive pest of economically important food crops, including rapeseed, cauliflower and cabbage 4 . Recently, the total cost of damage and management worldwide was estimated at $4-5 billion per annum 5,6 . This insect is the first species to have evolved resistance to dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) in the 1950s 7 and to Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxins in the 1990s 8 and has developed resistance to all classes of insecticide, making it increasingly difficult to control 9,10 . P. xylostella provides an exceptional system for understanding the genetic and molecular bases of how insect herbivores cope with the broad range of plant defenses and chemicals encountered in the environment (Supplementary Fig. 2).We used a P. xylostella strain (Fuzhou-S) collected from a field in Fuzhou in southeastern China (26.08 °N, 119.28 °E) for sequencing ( Supplementary Fig. 1). Whole-genome shotgun-based Illumina sequencing of single individuals (Supplementary Table 1), even after ten generations of laboratory inbreeding, resulted in a poor initial assembly (N50 = 2.4 kb, representing the size above which 50% of the total length of the sequences is included), owing to high levels of heterozygosity ( Supplementary Figs. 3 and 4 and Supplementary Table 2). Subsequently, we sequenced 100,800 fosmid clones (comprising ~10× the genome length) to a depth of 200× ( Supplementary Fig. 5 and Supplementary Tables 3-5), assembling the resulting sequence data into 1,819 scaffolds, with an N50 of 737 kb, spanning ~394 Mb of the genome sequence (version 1; Supplementary Fig. 6 and Supplementary Table 6). The assembly covered 85.5% of a set of protein-coding ESTs (Supplementary Tables 7 and 8) generated by transcriptome sequencing 11 . Alignment of a subject scaffold against a 126-kb BAC (GenBank GU058050) from an altern...

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“…This makes considerable sense, and behavioral genes have indeed been linked to immunity in bees (Wilson-Rich et al, 2009). Since the honeybee genome was sequenced, the genome sequences of several other Hymenoptera (the group including wasps, bees and ants), have revealed a similar pattern of reduced immune gene numbers (for example, Werren et al, 2010;Suen et al, 2011). Unfortunately, as genomes from only one non-social hymenopteran genus (Nasonia wasps) are available, it is currently impossible to assess how sociality has shaped immunity in this group.…”

Section: Hypothesis-targeted Comparative Sequencingmentioning

confidence: 99%

An evolutionarily and ecologically focused strategy for genome sequencing efforts

Barribeau

2011

Heredity

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Functional and Evolutionary Insights from the Genomes of Three Parasitoid Nasonia Species

Cited by 826 publications

References 40 publications

Horizontal gene transfer in the acquisition of novel traits by metazoans

Horizontal gene transfer in the acquisition of novel traits by metazoans

A heterozygous moth genome provides insights into herbivory and detoxification

An evolutionarily and ecologically focused strategy for genome sequencing efforts

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