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      A Gene-Based Linkage Map for Bicyclus anynana Butterflies Allows for a Comprehensive Analysis of Synteny with the Lepidopteran Reference Genome

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          Abstract

          Lepidopterans (butterflies and moths) are a rich and diverse order of insects, which, despite their economic impact and unusual biological properties, are relatively underrepresented in terms of genomic resources. The genome of the silkworm Bombyx mori has been fully sequenced, but comparative lepidopteran genomics has been hampered by the scarcity of information for other species. This is especially striking for butterflies, even though they have diverse and derived phenotypes (such as color vision and wing color patterns) and are considered prime models for the evolutionary and developmental analysis of ecologically relevant, complex traits. We focus on Bicyclus anynana butterflies, a laboratory system for studying the diversification of novelties and serially repeated traits. With a panel of 12 small families and a biphasic mapping approach, we first assigned 508 expressed genes to segregation groups and then ordered 297 of them within individual linkage groups. We also coarsely mapped seven color pattern loci. This is the richest gene-based map available for any butterfly species and allowed for a broad-coverage analysis of synteny with the lepidopteran reference genome. Based on 462 pairs of mapped orthologous markers in Bi. anynana and Bo. mori, we observed strong conservation of gene assignment to chromosomes, but also evidence for numerous large- and small-scale chromosomal rearrangements. With gene collections growing for a variety of target organisms, the ability to place those genes in their proper genomic context is paramount. Methods to map expressed genes and to compare maps with relevant model systems are crucial to extend genomic-level analysis outside classical model species. Maps with gene-based markers are useful for comparative genomics and to resolve mapped genomic regions to a tractable number of candidate genes, especially if there is synteny with related model species. This is discussed in relation to the identification of the loci contributing to color pattern evolution in butterflies.

          Author Summary

          Butterflies and moths (called the Lepidoptera) are a large and diverse group of insects that has long captured the attention of biologists and laymen. The colorful patterns on the wings of butterflies, in particular, offer an ideal system to investigate which genes and developmental mechanisms contribute to evolutionary diversification. Genetic analyses that try to find the position of genes along chromosomes are invaluable for such efforts, also because they allow researchers to compare chromosome content between species. Here, we report on a study which built a gene-based map for the chromosomes of a butterfly “lab rat” and identified chromosomes carrying color pattern genes. We compare our map to that of the reference lepidopteran species, the silkworm. Despite these species having diverged some 100 million years ago, there is much conservation in terms of which genes are found together in chromosomes and even how genes are ordered within chromosomes. However, because we were able to compare positioning of many more genes than had ever been reported before for this group, we also found evidence of several large- and small-scale chromosomal rearrangements. We discuss the advantages of gene-based maps in understanding the genetic basis of color pattern evolution.

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          Rapid transcriptome characterization for a nonmodel organism using 454 pyrosequencing.

          We present a de novo assembly of a eukaryote transcriptome using 454 pyrosequencing data. The Glanville fritillary butterfly (Melitaea cinxia; Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) is a prominent species in population biology but had no previous genomic data. Sequencing runs using two normalized complementary DNA collections from a genetically diverse pool of larvae, pupae, and adults yielded 608,053 expressed sequence tags (mean length = 110 nucleotides), which assembled into 48,354 contigs (sets of overlapping DNA segments) and 59,943 singletons. BLAST comparisons confirmed the accuracy of the sequencing and assembly, and indicated the presence of c. 9000 unique genes, along with > 6000 additional microarray-confirmed unannotated contigs. Average depth of coverage was 6.5-fold for the longest 4800 contigs (348-2849 bp in length), sufficient for detecting large numbers of single nucleotide polymorphisms. Oligonucleotide microarray probes designed from the assembled sequences showed highly repeatable hybridization intensity and revealed biological differences among individuals. We conclude that 454 sequencing, when performed to provide sufficient coverage depth, allows de novo transcriptome assembly and a fast, cost-effective, and reliable method for development of functional genomic tools for nonmodel species. This development narrows the gap between approaches based on model organisms with rich genetic resources vs. species that are most tractable for ecological and evolutionary studies.
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            The genome sequence of silkworm, Bombyx mori.

            We performed threefold shotgun sequencing of the silkworm (Bombyx mori) genome to obtain a draft sequence and establish a basic resource for comprehensive genome analysis. By using the newly developed RAMEN assembler, the sequence data derived from whole-genome shotgun (WGS) sequencing were assembled into 49,345 scaffolds that span a total length of 514 Mb including gaps and 387 Mb without gaps. Because the genome size of the silkworm is estimated to be 530 Mb, almost 97% of the genome has been organized in scaffolds, of which 75% has been sequenced. By carrying out a BLAST search for 50 characteristic Bombyx genes and 11,202 non-redundant expressed sequence tags (ESTs) in a Bombyx EST database against the WGS sequence data, we evaluated the validity of the sequence for elucidating the majority of silkworm genes. Analysis of the WGS data revealed that the silkworm genome contains many repetitive sequences with an average length of <500 bp. These repetitive sequences appear to have been derived from truncated transposons, which are interspersed at 2.5- to 3-kb intervals throughout the genome. This pattern suggests that silkworm may have an active mechanism that promotes removal of transposons from the genome. We also found evidence for insertions of mitochondrial DNA fragments at 9 sites. A search for Bombyx orthologs to Drosophila genes controlling sex determination in the WGS data revealed 11 Bombyx genes and suggested that the sex-determining systems differ profoundly between the two species.
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              An insect molecular clock dates the origin of the insects and accords with palaeontological and biogeographic landmarks.

              A unified understanding of >390 Myr of insect evolution requires insight into their origin. Molecular clocks are widely applied for evolutionary dating, but clocks for the class Insecta have remained elusive. We now define a robust nucleotide and amino acid mitochondrial molecular clock encompassing five insect orders, including the Blattaria (cockroaches), Orthoptera (crickets and locusts), Hemiptera (true bugs), Diptera, and Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths). Calibration of the clock using one of the earliest, most extensive fossil records for insects (the early ancestors of extant Blattaria) was congruent with all available insect fossils, with biogeographic history, with the Cambrian explosion, and with independent dating estimates from Lepidopteran families. In addition, dates obtained from both nucleotide and amino acid clocks were congruent with each other. Of particular interest to vector biology is the early date of the emergence of triatomine bugs (99.8-93.5 MYA), coincident with the formation of the South American continent during the breakup of Gondwanaland. More generally, we reveal the insects arising from a common ancestor with the Anostraca (fairy shrimps) at around the Silurian-Ordovician boundary (434.2-421.1 MYA) coinciding with the earliest plant megafossil. We explore Tilyard's theory proposing that the terrestrial transition of the aquatic arthropod ancestor to the insects is associated with a particular plant group (early vascular plants). The major output of the study is a comprehensive series of dates for deep-branching points within insect evolution that can act as calibration points for further dating studies within insect families and genera.
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                Author and article information

                Contributors
                Role: Editor
                Journal
                PLoS Genet
                plos
                plosgen
                PLoS Genetics
                Public Library of Science (San Francisco, USA )
                1553-7390
                1553-7404
                February 2009
                February 2009
                6 February 2009
                : 5
                : 2
                : e1000366
                Affiliations
                [1 ]Institute of Biology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
                [2 ]Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Oeiras, Portugal
                [3 ]Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Irvine, Irvine, California, United States of America
                University of Arizona, United States of America
                Author notes

                Conceived and designed the experiments: PB ADL. Performed the experiments: PB ADL. Analyzed the data: PB SVS ADL. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: PB SVS NP ADL. Wrote the paper: PB ADL. Provided the material for and assisted in mapping the visible markers: SVS. Prepared the butterfly material and identified the SNPs in candidate genes: NP.

                Article
                08-PLGE-RA-1276R2
                10.1371/journal.pgen.1000366
                2629579
                19197358
                cdd738fc-19b3-49d2-91f2-2a47176cea39
                Beldade et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
                History
                : 25 September 2008
                : 5 January 2009
                Page count
                Pages: 14
                Categories
                Research Article
                Evolutionary Biology/Developmental Evolution
                Evolutionary Biology/Evolutionary and Comparative Genetics
                Evolutionary Biology/Genomics
                Genetics and Genomics/Comparative Genomics
                Genetics and Genomics/Gene Discovery

                Genetics
                Genetics

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