Obligate mutualism within a host drives the extreme specialization of a fig wasp genome

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dc.citation.issue12
dc.citation.volume14
dc.contributor.authorXiao J-H
dc.contributor.authorYue Z
dc.contributor.authorJia L-Y
dc.contributor.authorYang X-H
dc.contributor.authorNiu L-H
dc.contributor.authorWang Z
dc.contributor.authorZhang P
dc.contributor.authorSun B-F
dc.contributor.authorHe S-M
dc.contributor.authorLi Z
dc.contributor.authorXiong T-L
dc.contributor.authorXin W
dc.contributor.authorGu H-F
dc.contributor.authorWang B
dc.contributor.authorWerren JH
dc.contributor.authorMurphy RW
dc.contributor.authorWheeler D
dc.contributor.authorNiu L-M
dc.contributor.authorMa G-C
dc.contributor.authorTang T
dc.contributor.authorBian S-N
dc.contributor.authorWang N-X
dc.contributor.authorYang C-Y
dc.contributor.authorWang N
dc.contributor.authorFu Y-G
dc.contributor.authorLi W-Z
dc.contributor.authorYi SV
dc.contributor.authorYang X-Y
dc.contributor.authorZhou Q
dc.contributor.authorLu C-X
dc.contributor.authorXu C-Y
dc.contributor.authorHe L-J
dc.contributor.authorYu L-L
dc.contributor.authorChen M
dc.contributor.authorZheng Y
dc.contributor.authorWang S-W
dc.contributor.authorZhao S
dc.contributor.authorLi Y-H
dc.contributor.authorYu Y-Y
dc.contributor.authorQian X-J
dc.contributor.authorCai Y
dc.contributor.authorBian L-L
dc.contributor.authorZhang S
dc.contributor.authorWang J-Y
dc.contributor.authorYin Y
dc.contributor.authorXiao H
dc.contributor.authorWang G-H
dc.contributor.authorYu H
dc.contributor.authorWu W-S
dc.contributor.authorCook JM
dc.contributor.authorWang J
dc.contributor.authorHuang D-W
dc.coverage.spatialEngland
dc.date.available2013-12-20
dc.date.available2013-12-20
dc.date.issued2013-12-20
dc.description.abstractBackground: Fig pollinating wasps form obligate symbioses with their fig hosts. This mutualism arose approximately 75 million years ago. Unlike many other intimate symbioses, which involve vertical transmission of symbionts to host offspring, female fig wasps fly great distances to transfer horizontally between hosts. In contrast, male wasps are wingless and cannot disperse. Symbionts that keep intimate contact with their hosts often show genome reduction, but it is not clear if the wide dispersal of female fig wasps will counteract this general tendency. We sequenced the genome of the fig wasp Ceratosolen solmsi to address this question. Results: The genome size of the fig wasp C. solmsi is typical of insects, but has undergone dramatic reductions of gene families involved in environmental sensing and detoxification. The streamlined chemosensory ability reflects the overwhelming importance of females finding trees of their only host species, Ficus hispida, during their fleeting adult lives. Despite long-distance dispersal, little need exists for detoxification or environmental protection because fig wasps spend nearly all of their lives inside a largely benign host. Analyses of transcriptomes in females and males at four key life stages reveal that the extreme anatomical sexual dimorphism of fig wasps may result from a strong bias in sex-differential gene expression. Conclusions: Our comparison of the C. solmsi genome with other insects provides new insights into the evolution of obligate mutualism. The draft genome of the fig wasp, and transcriptomic comparisons between both sexes at four different life stages, provide insights into the molecular basis for the extreme anatomical sexual dimorphism of this species. © 2013 Xiao et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
dc.description.publication-statusPublished online
dc.format.extentR141 - ?
dc.identifierhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24359812
dc.identifiergb-2013-14-12-r141
dc.identifier.citationGenome Biol, 2013, 14 (12), pp. R141 - ?
dc.identifier.doi10.1186/gb-2013-14-12-r141
dc.identifier.eissn1474-760X
dc.identifier.elements-id200530
dc.identifier.harvestedMassey_Dark
dc.languageeng
dc.publisherBioMed Central Ltd
dc.relation.isPartOfGenome Biol
dc.rights2013 Xiao et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated
dc.subjectAnimals
dc.subjectEvolution, Molecular
dc.subjectFemale
dc.subjectFicus
dc.subjectGene Expression Regulation, Developmental
dc.subjectGenome Size
dc.subjectGenome, Insect
dc.subjectMale
dc.subjectPhylogeny
dc.subjectSequence Analysis, DNA
dc.subjectSex Characteristics
dc.subjectSymbiosis
dc.subjectWasps
dc.subject.anzsrc05 Environmental Sciences
dc.subject.anzsrc06 Biological Sciences
dc.subject.anzsrc08 Information and Computing Sciences
dc.titleObligate mutualism within a host drives the extreme specialization of a fig wasp genome
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.notesNot known
pubs.organisational-group/Massey University
pubs.organisational-group/Massey University/College of Sciences
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