Project description:Spiders are renowned for their efficient capture of flying insects using intricate aerial webs. How the spider nervous systems evolved to cope with this specialized hunting strategy and various environmental clues in an aerial space remains unknown. Here, we report a brain cell atlas of >30,000 single-cell transcriptomes from a web-building spider (Hylyphantes graminicola). Our analysis revealed the preservation of ancestral neuron types in spiders, including the potential coexistence of noradrenergic and octopaminergic neurons, and many peptidergic neuronal types that are lost in insects. By comparing the genome of two newly sequenced plesiomorphic burrowing spiders with three aerial web-building spiders, we found that the positively selected genes in the ancestral branch of web-building spiders were preferentially expressed (42%) in the brain, especially in the three mushroom body-like neuronal types. By gene enrichment analysis and RNAi experiments, these genes were suggested to be involved in the learning and memory pathway and may influence the spiders’ web-building and hunting behavior. Our results provide key sources for understanding the evolution of behavior in spiders and reveal how molecular evolution drives neuron innovation and the diversification of associated complex behaviors.
Project description:Contaminated aquifer (Dusseldorf-Flinger, Germany) templates extracted from 5 sediment depths ranging between 6.4 and 8.4 m below ground and over 3 years of sampling were amplified for amplicon pyrosequencing using the primers Ba27f (5’-aga gtt tga tcm tgg ctc ag-3’) and Ba519r (5’- tat tac cgc ggc kgc tg-3’), extended as amplicon fusion primers with respective primer A or B adapters, key sequence and multiplex identifiers (MID) as recommended by 454/Roche. Amplicons were purified and pooled as specified by the manufacturer. Emulsion PCR (emPCR), purification of DNA-enriched beads and sequencing run were performed following protocols and using a 2nd generation pyrosequencer (454 GS FLX Titanium, Roche) as recommended by the developer. Quality filtering of the pyrosequencing reads was performed using the automatic amplicon pipeline of the GS Run Processor (Roche), with a slight modification concerning the valley filter (vfScanAllFlows false instead of TiOnly) to extract the sequences. Demultiplexed raw reads were furhter trimmed for quality and lenght (>250 bp).
Project description:Sequence capture phylogenomics of eyeless Cicurina spiders (Araneae, Hahniidae) from Texas caves, with emphasis on US federally endangered species from Bexar County
Project description:Phylogenomic reclassification of the world's most venomous spiders (Mygalomorphae, Atracinae), with implications for venom evolution
| PRJNA423032 | ENA
Project description:group-living spiders Raw sequence reads
