Polyploid Genome Organization and Evolution of Sturgeons (Acipenseridae)
General Genetics and Functional Genome Biology
Animal Physiology and Biochemistry
Final Report Abstract
The evolution of vertebrate genomes is characterized by several ancient whole genome duplication (WGD) events. While in most extant vertebrate taxa processes of rediploidization already led to functionally diploid genomes, in some fish and amphibian species due to more recent WGDs these processes are still ongoing and provide convenient models to study the evolutionary consequences of polyploidization. Sturgeons represent such an all-paleopolyploid group of fish, where de-polyploidization is recorded. Phylogenetically these fish are an outgroup to teleosts and they show many interesting biological features including benthic specialization, late maturity, extreme longevity, slow molecular evolution, amphibian-like embryological traits, propensity to interspecific hybridization with fertility of resulting hybrids. Many important biological questions connected to these specialisations remain unresolved. As most sturgeon species are extremely endangered, some of these issues are not only of fundamental biological interest but are also of importance for conservation biology of these species. Because of their economic importance for caviar production results are also highly valuable for the aquaculture industry. The genomes of the sterlet sturgeon and the Siberian sturgeon were sequenced and assembled at reference genome quality with a high contiguity. The tetraploid sterlet genome was the first sturgeon genome published and mechanisms of genome rediploidization could be elucidated. The sturgeon-specific whole genome duplication could be dated to approximately 180 million years ago. We found an extremely low rate of genome evolution. Analysis of the mobilome showed, however, that the transposon landscape is still expanding despite the low evolutionary rage of the genome as a whole. The Siberian sturgeon genome assembly is so far the first octaploid genome that was finished and is available as chromosome-size sequence scaffolds. Despite the high level of polyploidy, meiosis is regular, and no disturbance of chromosome synapsis was observed. A sex chromosome marker was detected that clarified for both species a female heterogametic W/Z sex determination system. The high conservation and W-linkage of this marker in other sturgeon species across the whole phylogenetic tree of Acipenseriformes pointed out that the sex chromosomes are homologous and evolved before radiation of the sturgeons, making the sturgeon W one of the oldest, if not the oldest sex determining chromosome of fish. This work brings new insights into genome evolution of polyploids in general and will provide a framework for future projects in sturgeons that rely on genomic resources. They can also be used for both successful breeding of sturgeons in captivity and proper conservation management.
Publications
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Diversity of Immunoglobulin Light Chain Genes in Non-Teleost Ray-Finned Fish Uncovers IgL Subdivision into Five Ancient Isotypes. Frontiers in Immunology, 9.
Guselnikov, Sergey V.; Baranov, Konstantin O.; Najakshin, Alexander M.; Mechetina, Ludmila V.; Chikaev, Nikolai A.; Makunin, Alexey I.; Kulemzin, Sergey V.; Andreyushkova, Daria A.; Stöck, Matthias; Wuertz, Sven; Gessner, Jörn; Warren, Wesley C.; Schartl, Manfred; Trifonov, Vladimir A. & Taranin, Alexander V.
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Chromosomal organization and physical mapping of Siberian sturgeon genome (Acipenser baerii) Abstracts of the International mini-conference “Chromosomes and Mitosis” Novosibirsk, Russia November 21, 2019, p 24 (2019)
Romanenko S. A., Schartl M. & Trifonov V. A.
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Bioinformatic methods applied to the analysis of the genes retained after the whole genome duplication events in the sterlet genome (Acipenser ruthenus). 2020 Cognitive Sciences, Genomics and Bioinformatics (CSGB), 53-56. IEEE.
Fofanov, Mikhail; Sheglova, Tatyana; Trifonov, Vladimir & Schartl, Manfred
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Chromosome Distribution of Highly Conserved Tandemly Arranged Repetitive DNAs in the Siberian Sturgeon (Acipenser baerii). Genes, 11(11), 1375.
Biltueva, Larisa S.; Prokopov, Dmitry Yu.; Romanenko, Svetlana A.; Interesova, Elena A.; Schartl, Manfred & Trifonov, Vladimir A.
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Evolution of MicroRNA Biogenesis Genes in the Sterlet (Acipenser ruthenus) and Other Polyploid Vertebrates. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 21(24), 9562.
Fofanov, Mikhail V.; Prokopov, Dmitry Yu.; Kuhl, Heiner; Schartl, Manfred & Trifonov, Vladimir A.
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The sterlet sturgeon genome sequence and the mechanisms of segmental rediploidization. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 4(6), 841-852.
Du, Kang; Stöck, Matthias; Kneitz, Susanne; Klopp, Christophe; Woltering, Joost M.; Adolfi, Mateus Contar; Feron, Romain; Prokopov, Dmitry; Makunin, Alexey; Kichigin, Ilya; Schmidt, Cornelia; Fischer, Petra; Kuhl, Heiner; Wuertz, Sven; Gessner, Jörn; Kloas, Werner; Cabau, Cédric; Iampietro, Carole; Parrinello, Hugues; ... & Schartl, Manfred
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A 180 Myr-old female-specific genome region in sturgeon reveals the oldest known vertebrate sex determining system with undifferentiated sex chromosomes. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 376(1832), 20200089.
Kuhl, Heiner; Guiguen, Yann; Höhne, Christin; Kreuz, Eva; Du, Kang; Klopp, Christophe; Lopez-Roques, Céline; Yebra-Pimentel, Elena Santidrian; Ciorpac, Mitica; Gessner, Jörn; Holostenco, Daniela; Kleiner, Wibke; Kohlmann, Klaus; Lamatsch, Dunja K.; Prokopov, Dmitry; Bestin, Anastasia; Bonpunt, Emmanuel; Debeuf, Bastien; Haffray, Pierrick; ... & Stöck, Matthias
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A brief review of vertebrate sex evolution with a pledge for integrative research: towards ‘sexomics’. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 376(1832), 20200426.
Stöck, Matthias; Kratochvíl, Lukáš; Kuhl, Heiner; Rovatsos, Michail; Evans, Ben J.; Suh, Alexander; Valenzuela, Nicole; Veyrunes, Frédéric; Zhou, Qi; Gamble, Tony; Capel, Blanche; Schartl, Manfred & Guiguen, Yann
