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. 2024 Jun 14;14(1):13756.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-64425-6.

De novo genome assembly and transcriptome sequencing in foot and mantle tissues of Megaustenia siamensis reveals components of adhesive substances

Wanna Chetruengchai #  1   2 , Parin Jirapatrasilp #  3 , Chalurmpon Srichomthong  1   2 , Adjima Assawapitaksakul  1   2 , Arthit Pholyotha  3 , Piyoros Tongkerd  4 , Vorasuk Shotelersuk  5   6 , Somsak Panha  3   7
Affiliations

De novo genome assembly and transcriptome sequencing in foot and mantle tissues of Megaustenia siamensis reveals components of adhesive substances

Wanna Chetruengchai et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

The semislug Megaustenia siamensis, commonly found in Thailand, is notable for its exceptional capacity to produce biological adhesives, enabling it to adhere to tree leaves even during heavy rainfall. In this study, we generated the first reference genome for M. siamensis using a combination of three sequencing technologies: Illumina's short-read, Pac-Bio's HIFI long-read, and Hi-C. The assembled genome size was 2593 billion base pairs (bp), containing 34,882 protein-coding genes. Our analysis revealed positive selection in pathways associated with the ubiquitin-proteasome system. Furthermore, RNA sequencing of foot and mantle tissues unveiled the primary constituents of the adhesive, including lectin-like proteins (C-lectin, H-lectin, and C1q) and matrilin-like proteins (VWA and EGF). Additionally, antimicrobial peptides were identified. The comprehensive M. siamensis genome and tissue-specific transcriptomic data provided here offer valuable resources for understanding its biology and exploring potential medical applications.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Summary statistics of M. siamensis genome (A). Bar chart with summary assessments for the proportion of genes present in snails. The summary assessment shows the percentage of complete and single copy genes (Light blue), complete and duplicated genes (Dark blue), fragmented genes (Yellow blue), and missing genes in the assemblies (Red blue) (B). Transposable element divergence landscape within the M. siamensis genome (different classes represented by different colors) (C).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Orthologous gene cluster shared among the fourteen species (A). Venn diagram showing the distribution of gene families (orthologous clusters) among M. siamensis, A. vulgaris, and C. unifasciata (B).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Phylogenetic relationship of M. siamensis with 4 freshwater, 6 marine, and 3 land snail. Octopus bimaculoides is outgroup. The divergence times (million year ago (MYA)) are shown with 95% confidence intervals represent blue color bar.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Function classification in Gene ontology (A) and Clusters of Orthologous Groups of proteins (COG) (B).
Figure 5
Figure 5
44 putative active peptides of antimicrobial and anticancer prediction.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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