A chelicerate-specific burst of nonclassical Dscam diversity

10Citations
Citations of this article
17Readers
Mendeley users who have this article in their library.

This article is free to access.

Abstract

Background: The immunoglobulin (Ig) superfamily receptor Down syndrome cell adhesion molecule (Dscam) gene can generate tens of thousands of isoforms via alternative splicing, which is essential for both nervous and immune systems in insects. However, further information is required to develop a comprehensive view of Dscam diversification across the broad spectrum of Chelicerata clades, a basal branch of arthropods and the second largest group of terrestrial animals. Results: In this study, a genome-wide comprehensive analysis of Dscam genes across Chelicerata species revealed a burst of nonclassical Dscams, categorised into four types-mDscam, sDscamα, sDscamβ, and sDscamγ-based on their size and structure. Although the mDscam gene class includes the highest number of Dscam genes, the sDscam genes utilise alternative promoters to expand protein diversity. Furthermore, we indicated that the 5' cassette duplicate is inversely correlated with the sDscam gene duplicate. We showed differential and sDscam- biased expression of nonclassical Dscam isoforms. Thus, the Dscam isoform repertoire across Chelicerata is entirely dominated by the number and expression levels of nonclassical Dscams. Taken together, these data show that Chelicerata evolved a large conserved and lineage-specific repertoire of nonclassical Dscams. Conclusions: This study showed that arthropods have a large diversified Chelicerata-specific repertoire of nonclassical Dscam isoforms, which are structurally and mechanistically distinct from those of insects. These findings provide a global framework for the evolution of Dscam diversity in arthropods and offer mechanistic insights into the diversification of the clade-specific Ig superfamily repertoire.

Cite

CITATION STYLE

APA

Cao, G., Shi, Y., Zhang, J., Ma, H., Hou, S., Dong, H., … Jin, Y. (2018). A chelicerate-specific burst of nonclassical Dscam diversity. BMC Genomics, 19(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-017-4420-0

Register to see more suggestions

Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.

Already have an account?

Save time finding and organizing research with Mendeley

Sign up for free