TY - JOUR
T1 - Adaptation to deep-sea chemosynthetic environments as revealed by mussel genomes
AU - Sun, Jin
AU - Zhang, Yu
AU - Xu, Ting
AU - Zhang, Yang
AU - Mu, Huawei
AU - Zhang, Yanjie
AU - Lan, Yi
AU - Fields, Christopher J.
AU - Hui, Jerome Ho Lam
AU - Zhang, Weipeng
AU - LI, Runsheng
AU - Nong, Wenyan
AU - Cheung, Fiona Ka Man
AU - QIU, Jianwen
AU - Qian, Pei Yuan
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was supported by the Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences (grant XDB06010102 to P.-Y.Q.), Hong Kong Baptist University (grant FRG2/14-15/002 to J.-W.Q.), and Scientific and Technical Innovation Council of Shenzhen and Guangdong Natural Science Foundation (grant 827000012, JCYJ20150625102622556, 2014A030310230 to Yu Z.). Genome sequencing was conducted by BGI (Shenzhen), Macrogen (Seoul), and the Roy J. Carver Biotechnology Center of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). The mass spectrometry analysis was performed at the Instrumental Analysis & Research Center, Sun Yat-Sen University.
PY - 2017/4/3
Y1 - 2017/4/3
N2 - Hydrothermal vents and methane seeps are extreme deep-sea ecosystems that support dense populations of specialized macro- benthos such as mussels. But the lack of genome information hinders the understanding of the adaptation of these animals to such inhospitable environments. Here we report the genomes of a deep-sea vent/seep mussel (Bathymodiolus platifrons) and a shallow-water mussel (Modiolus philippinarum). Phylogenetic analysis shows that these mussel species diverged approximately 110.4 million years ago. Many gene families, especially those for stabilizing protein structures and removing toxic substances from cells, are highly expanded in B. platifrons, indicating adaptation to extreme environmental conditions. The innate immune system of B. platifrons is considerably more complex than that of other lophotrochozoan species, including M. philippinarum, with substantial expansion and high expression levels of gene families that are related to immune recognition, endocytosis and caspase-mediated apoptosis in the gill, revealing presumed genetic adaptation of the deep-sea mussel to the presence of its chemoautotrophic endosymbionts. A follow-up metaproteomic analysis of the gill of B. platifrons shows methanotrophy, assimilatory sulfate reduction and ammonia metabolic pathways in the symbionts, providing energy and nutrients, which allow the host to thrive. Our study of the genomic composition allowing symbiosis in extremophile molluscs gives wider insights into the mechanisms of symbiosis in other organisms such as deep-sea tubeworms and giant clams.
AB - Hydrothermal vents and methane seeps are extreme deep-sea ecosystems that support dense populations of specialized macro- benthos such as mussels. But the lack of genome information hinders the understanding of the adaptation of these animals to such inhospitable environments. Here we report the genomes of a deep-sea vent/seep mussel (Bathymodiolus platifrons) and a shallow-water mussel (Modiolus philippinarum). Phylogenetic analysis shows that these mussel species diverged approximately 110.4 million years ago. Many gene families, especially those for stabilizing protein structures and removing toxic substances from cells, are highly expanded in B. platifrons, indicating adaptation to extreme environmental conditions. The innate immune system of B. platifrons is considerably more complex than that of other lophotrochozoan species, including M. philippinarum, with substantial expansion and high expression levels of gene families that are related to immune recognition, endocytosis and caspase-mediated apoptosis in the gill, revealing presumed genetic adaptation of the deep-sea mussel to the presence of its chemoautotrophic endosymbionts. A follow-up metaproteomic analysis of the gill of B. platifrons shows methanotrophy, assimilatory sulfate reduction and ammonia metabolic pathways in the symbionts, providing energy and nutrients, which allow the host to thrive. Our study of the genomic composition allowing symbiosis in extremophile molluscs gives wider insights into the mechanisms of symbiosis in other organisms such as deep-sea tubeworms and giant clams.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85022157422&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/s41559-017-0121
DO - 10.1038/s41559-017-0121
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 28812709
AN - SCOPUS:85022157422
SN - 2397-334X
VL - 1
JO - Nature Ecology and Evolution
JF - Nature Ecology and Evolution
IS - 5
M1 - 0121
ER -