Sea Anemone Genome Reveals Ancestral Eumetazoan Gene Repertoire and Genomic Organization
Genetic Information Research Institute · Joint Genome Institute · +4 more institutions
Abstract
Sea anemones are seemingly primitive animals that, along with corals, jellyfish, and hydras, constitute the oldest eumetazoan phylum, the Cnidaria. Here, we report a comparative analysis of the draft genome of an emerging cnidarian model, the starlet sea anemone Nematostella vectensis. The sea anemone genome is complex, with a gene repertoire, exon-intron structure, and large-scale gene linkage more similar to vertebrates than to flies or nematodes, implying that the genome of the eumetazoan ancestor was similarly complex. Nearly one-fifth of the inferred genes of the ancestor are eumetazoan novelties, which are enriched for animal functions like cell signaling, adhesion, and synaptic transmission. Analysis of…
Citation impact
- FWCI
- 97.86
- Percentile
- 100%
- References
- 71
Authors
19- NHNicholas H. Putnam
Genetic Information Research Institute, Joint Genome Institute, University of California, Irvine, Innovative Genomics Institute, University of Bergen, University of California, Berkeley
- MSMansi Srivastava
Genetic Information Research Institute, Joint Genome Institute, University of California, Irvine, Innovative Genomics Institute, University of Bergen, University of California, Berkeley
- UHUffe Hellsten
Genetic Information Research Institute, Joint Genome Institute, University of California, Irvine, Innovative Genomics Institute, University of Bergen, University of California, Berkeley
- BDBill Dirks
Genetic Information Research Institute, Joint Genome Institute, University of California, Irvine, Innovative Genomics Institute, University of Bergen, University of California, Berkeley
- JCJarrod Chapman
Genetic Information Research Institute, Joint Genome Institute, University of California, Irvine, Innovative Genomics Institute, University of Bergen, University of California, Berkeley
Topics & keywords
- Biology
- Sea anemone
- Genome
- Evolutionary biology
- Gene
- Most recent common ancestor
- Anemone
- Lineage (genetic)
- Life below water