Dataset Information

DNA sequencing in the classroom: complete genome sequence of two earwig (Dermaptera; Insecta) species.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Despite representing the largest fraction of animal life, the number of insect species whose genome has been sequenced is barely in the hundreds. The order Dermaptera (the earwigs) suffers from a lack of genomic information despite its unique position as one of the basally derived insect groups and its importance in agroecosystems. As part of a national educational and outreach program in genomics, a plan was formulated to engage the participation of high school students in a genome sequencing project. Students from twelve schools across Chile were instructed to capture earwig specimens in their geographical area, to identify them and to provide material for genome sequencing to be carried out by themselves in their schools.

Results

The school students collected specimens from two cosmopolitan earwig species: Euborellia annulipes (Fam. Anisolabididae) and Forficula auricularia (Fam. Forficulidae). Genomic DNA was extracted and, with the help of scientific teams that traveled to the schools, was sequenced using nanopore sequencers. The sequence data obtained for both species was assembled and annotated. We obtained genome sizes of 1.18 Gb (F. auricularia) and 0.94 Gb (E. annulipes) with the number of predicted protein coding genes being 31,800 and 40,000, respectively. Our analysis showed that we were able to capture a high percentage (≥ 93%) of conserved proteins indicating genomes that are useful for comparative and functional analysis. We were also able to characterize structural elements such as repetitive sequences and non-coding RNA genes. Finally, functional categories of genes that are overrepresented in each species suggest important differences in the process underlying the formation of germ cells, and modes of reproduction between them, features that are one of the distinguishing biological properties that characterize these two distant families of Dermaptera.

Conclusions

This work represents an unprecedented instance where the scientific and lay community have come together to collaborate in a genome sequencing project. The versatility and accessibility of nanopore sequencers was key to the success of the initiative. We were able to obtain full genome sequences of two important and widely distributed species of insects which had not been analyzed at this level previously. The data made available by the project should illuminate future studies on the Dermaptera.

SUBMITTER: Kobayashi S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9935246 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

DNA sequencing in the classroom: complete genome sequence of two earwig (Dermaptera; Insecta) species.

Kobayashi Sanae S Maldonado Jonathan E JE Gaete Alexis A Araya Ingrid I Aguado-Norese Constanza C Cumplido Nicolás N Díaz Sebastián S Espinoza Alonso A Fernández Edelmira E Gajardo Felipe F González-Ordenes Felipe F Hauyon Khantati K Maldonado Piedad P Maldonado Rodrigo R Pochet Isabel I Riveros Aníbal A Sandoval Paula P Sepúlveda-González Ailynne A Stuardo Camila C Tapia-Reyes Patricio P Thornton Carolina C Undurraga Soledad S Varas Macarena M Valdivieso Camilo C Gutiérrez Rodrigo A RA Orellana Ariel A Montecino Martín M Maass Alejandro A González Mauricio M Allende Miguel L ML Hodar Christian C Irles Paula P

Biological research 20230217 1

<h4>Background</h4>Despite representing the largest fraction of animal life, the number of insect species whose genome has been sequenced is barely in the hundreds. The order Dermaptera (the earwigs) suffers from a lack of genomic information despite its unique position as one of the basally derived insect groups and its importance in agroecosystems. As part of a national educational and outreach program in genomics, a plan was formulated to engage the participation of high school students in a ...[more]

PMID: 36797803

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Project description:Many animals take advantage of the shaded, humid, and protected environments in subcortical spaces, i.e., thin spaces under the loosened bark of dead trees. Permanent inhabitants of subcortical spaces often show specialized morphologies, such as a miniaturized or dorsoventrally flattened body. However, the evolutionary consequences of these specialized morphologies on behavioral, ecological, and life-history traits have been little studied. We studied the mating biology and anatomy of Platylabia major (usually placed in the family Anisolabididae), which is an obligate inhabitant of subcortical spaces with a paper-like flattened body, and compared them with those of two thicker, spongiphorid earwigs, Nesogaster amoenus and Paralabellula curvicauda. Mating trials in various settings showed that Pl. major requires thin spaces sandwiched by two planes to accomplish genital coupling and insemination. In contrast, the thicker species, although also frequently found in subcortical spaces, could mate on a single horizontal plane due to the ability of the male to twist its abdomen through approximately 180°. Examination by micro-computed tomography and a reagent-based clearing technique revealed no substantive differences in the configuration of mid-abdominal musculature between the species. The dorsal and lateral muscles of Pl. major, which are almost parallel to the antero-posterior body axis for accommodation within the thin abdomen, seemed incapable of producing the power to twist the abdomen. The abdominal musculature conforms to a simple pattern in both male and female earwigs, which is repeated in each of the pregenital segments. We conclude that small differences in the range of motion of each abdominal segment can result in large differences in possible mating postures and positions. Surgical experiments also demonstrated that both right and left penises of Pl. major are competent and used for insemination with no lateral bias, as in most other earwigs with twin penises studied to date.

Dataset Information

DNA sequencing in the classroom: complete genome sequence of two earwig (Dermaptera; Insecta) species.

Background

Results

Conclusions

Publications

DNA sequencing in the classroom: complete genome sequence of two earwig (Dermaptera; Insecta) species.

Similar Datasets

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