Project description:Vestimentiferan tubeworms are representative inhabitants of deep-sea chemosynthetic ecosystems. The plume serves as the primary organ in these invertebrates without mouths and guts, facilitating direct metabolic exchange with their surrounding environments. In this study, we present a single-cell transcriptome atlas of Paraescarpia echinospica plume and this study is the initial single-cell transcriptome sequencing for the plume of the deep-sea tubeworm. We annotated six cell clusters including hemocytes, proliferative cells, muscle cells, epithelial cells, nerve1 cells, nerve2 cells and profiled genes involved in immunity and transport. This work will provide a foundation for further studies of tubeworm at the single-cell level.
Project description:Vestimentiferan tubeworms are representative inhabitants of deep-sea chemosynthetic ecosystems. The plume serves as the primary organ in these invertebrates without mouths and guts, facilitating direct metabolic exchange with their surrounding environments. In this study, we present a single-cell transcriptome atlas of Paraescarpia echinospica plume and this study is the initial single-cell transcriptome sequencing for the plume of the deep-sea tubeworm. We annotated six cell clusters including hemocytes, proliferative cells, muscle cells, epithelial cells, nerve1 cells, nerve2 cells and profiled genes involved in immunity and transport. This work will provide a foundation for further studies of tubeworm at the single-cell level.
Project description:We provide the genome-wide methylome surveys of three species of deep-sea polychaete worms using Oxford Nanopore data: the siboglinids Paraescarpia echinospica and Ridgeia piscesae, and the alvinellid Paralvinella palmiformis. We characterised 5mCpG methylation in order to test hypotheses about the putative role of DNA methylation in these species.
Project description:Vestimentiferan tubeworms are iconic animals that present as large habitat-forming chitinized tube bushes in deep-sea chemosynthetic ecosystems. They are gutless and depend entirely on their endosymbiotic sulfide-oxidizing chemoautotrophic bacteria for nutrition. Information on the genomes of several siboglinid endosymbionts has improved our understanding of their nutritional supplies. However, the interactions between tubeworms and their endosymbionts remain largely unclear due to a paucity of host genomes. Here, we report the chromosome-level genome of the vestimentiferan tubeworm Paraescarpia echinospica. We found that the genome has been remodeled to facilitate symbiosis through the expansion of gene families related to substrate transfer and innate immunity, suppression of apoptosis, regulation of lysosomal digestion, and protection against oxidative stress. Furthermore, the genome encodes a programmed cell death pathway that potentially controls the endosymbiont population. Our integrated genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic analyses uncovered matrix proteins required for the formation of the chitinous tube and revealed gene family expansion and co-option as evolutionary mechanisms driving the acquisition of this unique supporting structure for deep-sea tubeworms. Overall, our study provides novel insights into the host's support system that has enabled tubeworms to establish symbiosis, thrive in deep-sea hot vents and cold seeps, and produce the unique chitinous tubes in the deep sea.