The oyster genome reveals stress adaptation and complexity of shell formation

The Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas belongs to one of the most species-rich but genomically poorly explored phyla, the Mollusca. Here we report the sequencing and assembly of the oyster genome using short reads and a fosmid-pooling strategy, along with transcriptomes of development and stress response and the proteome of the shell. The oyster genome is highly polymorphic and rich in repetitive sequences, with some transposable elements still actively shaping variation. Transcriptome studies reveal an extensive set of genes responding to environmental stress. The expansion of genes coding for heat shock protein 70 and inhibitors of apoptosis is probably central to the oyster’s adaptation to sessile life in the…

• UD
  U.S. Department of Agriculture
• NN
  National Natural Science Foundation of China

  Award: 40730845
• GD
  Generalitat de Catalunya
• NH
  National High-tech Research and Development Program
• NK
  National Key Research and Development Program of China

  Awards: 2010CB126401, 2010CB126402