Topic
Crella elegans
About: Crella elegans is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 3 publications have been published within this topic receiving 35 citations.
Papers
TL;DR: The first NGS (next‐generation sequencing) approach to understanding the life cycle of an encrusting marine sponge is presented and the differential expression of selected genes in the three life cycle stages are advanced to explore the potential of RNA‐seq for improving knowledge on functional processes along the sponge life cycle.
Abstract: Sponges can be dominant organisms in many marine and freshwater habitats where they play essential ecological roles. They also represent a key group to address important questions in early metazoan evolution. Recent approaches for improving knowledge on sponge biological and ecological functions as well as on animal evolution have focused on the genetic toolkits involved in ecological responses to environmental changes (biotic and abiotic), development and reproduction. These approaches are possible thanks to newly available, massive sequencing technologies-such as the Illumina platform, which facilitate genome and transcriptome sequencing in a cost-effective manner. Here we present the first NGS (next-generation sequencing) approach to understanding the life cycle of an encrusting marine sponge. For this we sequenced libraries of three different life cycle stages of the Mediterranean sponge Crella elegans and generated de novo transcriptome assemblies. Three assemblies were based on sponge tissue of a particular life cycle stage, including non-reproductive tissue, tissue with sperm cysts and tissue with larvae. The fourth assembly pooled the data from all three stages. By aggregating data from all the different life cycle stages we obtained a higher total number of contigs, contigs with blast hit and annotated contigs than from one stage-based assemblies. In that multi-stage assembly we obtained a larger number of the developmental regulatory genes known for metazoans than in any other assembly. We also advance the differential expression of selected genes in the three life cycle stages to explore the potential of RNA-seq for improving knowledge on functional processes along the sponge life cycle.
21 citations
TL;DR: This study focused on the Mediterranean species Hemimycale columella and Crella elegans, which have overlapping ecological distributions but contrasting population densities and resilience, and formulated the hypothesis that differential reproductive traits were the main cause underlying these ecological differences.
Abstract: Our study focused on the Mediterranean species Hemimycale columella and Crella elegans, which have overlapping ecological distributions but contrasting population densities and resilience. We formulated the hypothesis that differential reproductive traits were the main cause underlying these ecological differences in the study area. The issues addressed were whether recruits compete for the substrate, either because their respective reproductive cycles overlap or/and larval performance differs between species, and whether a contrasting investment in reproduction contributed to explain their diverse densities. Both species were simultaneous hermaphrodites and incubated their larvae. The reproductive period was notably shorter in C. elegans than in H. columella, while investment in reproductive tissue was higher in individuals of H. columella than in C. elegans. In contrast, C. elegans larvae harbored larger amounts of lipids and yolk inclusions than H. columella larvae. Moreover, the former contained amazing collagen masses densely packed among their inner cells. H. columella is likely to produce a higher number of poorer equipped larvae while C. elegans seems to produce a lower number of more resistant, better fitted with energy reserves, and thus potentially more successful larvae. These reproductive patterns agree with a higher and stable density of C. elegans in the study site compared with a more variable abundance of H. columella.
19 citations
1 Jan 2013
TL;DR: In this article, the authors presented the first NGS (next-generation sequencing) approach to understand the life cycle of an encrusting marine sponge, Crella elegans and generated de novo transcriptome assemblies.
Abstract: Sponges can be dominant organisms in many marine and freshwater habitats where they play essential ecological roles. They also represent a key group to address important questions in early metazoan evolution. Recent approaches for improving knowledge on sponge biological and ecological functions as well as on animal evolution have focused on the genetic toolkits involved in ecological responses to environmental changes (biotic and abiotic), development and reproduction. These approaches are possible thanks to newly available, massive sequencing technologies–such as the Illumina platform, which facilitate genome and transcriptome sequencing in a cost-effective manner. Here we present the first NGS (next-generation sequencing) approach to understanding the life cycle of an encrusting marine sponge. For this we sequenced libraries of three different life cycle stages of the Mediterranean sponge Crella elegans and generated de novo transcriptome assemblies. Three assemblies were based on sponge tissue of a particular life cycle stage, including non-reproductive tissue, tissue with sperm cysts and tissue with larvae. The fourth assembly pooled the data from all three stages. By aggregating data from all the different life cycle stages we obtained a higher total number of contigs, contigs with BLAST hit and annotated contigs than from one stage-based assemblies. In that multi-stage assembly we obtained a larger number of the developmental regulatory genes known for metazoans than in any other assembly. We also advance the differential expression of selected genes in the three life cycle stages to explore the potential of RNA-seq for improving knowledge on functional processes along the sponge life cycle.
Related Topics (5)
Performance Metrics
| Year | Papers |
|---|---|
| 2013 | 2 |
| 2012 | 1 |