Opsin Repertoire and Expression Patterns in Horseshoe Crabs: Evidence from the Genome of Limulus polyphemus (Arthropoda: Chelicerata)

Authors

Barbara-Anne Battelle, Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience, Departments of Neuroscience and Biology, University of FloridaFollow
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, BerkleyFollow
Meredith E. Protas, Department of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Dominican University of CaliforniaFollow
Richard K. Wilson, McDonnell Genome Institute, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis
Megan L. Porter, Department of Biology, University of Hawaii, ManoaFollow

Document Type

Article

Source

Genome Biology and Evolution

ISSN

1759-6653

Volume

8

Issue

5

First Page

1571

Last Page

1589

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

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.