Session 44: Herpetology GeneticsRoom: Room 206D2022-07-31 08:15 - 09:30 |
| Moderator: Matt Holding |
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1. 08:30 High-Quality Anolis grahami Reference Genome. Alyssa Vanerelli*, Rutgers University-Camden; Inbar Maayan, Harvard University; Dan Bock, University of Guelph; Jonathan Losos, Washington University in St. Louis; Anthony Geneva, Rutgers University-Camden alyssa.vanerelli@rutgers.edu
Highly complete and contiguous genome assemblies are necessary to answer many evolutionary questions. While Anolis lizards have been the focus of decades of ecological and evolutionary research, only a few of the 400+ species have high-quality genome assemblies available. One of the many anoles lacking a genome assembly is Anolis grahami, a widespread species native to Jamaica and introduced to Bermuda. This trunk-crown anole has long been the focus of ecological and evolutionary research. To provide modern genomic resources for the study of this species, we sequenced, assembled, and annotated a high-quality reference genome. We present a highly contiguous (N50 = 137 Mb) and complete (only 11.4% vertebrate BUSCO genes missing) genome. Using this genome, we infer the phylogenomic relationships among squamates, report chromosome evolution of A. grahami, and evaluate chromosome synteny of A. grahami with other anole species. |
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2. 08:45 Linking venom gene duplication and snake ecology through comparative genomic analyses. Matthew Holding*, University of Michigan; Andrew Mason, Ohio State University; Erin Westeen, UC Berkeley; Michael Hogan, Florida State University; Ian Wang, UC Berkeley; Darin Rokyta, Florida State University venomatt@umich.edu
Venom is the key trophic trait of many snakes, and it experiences strong natural selection for effective killing of prey. Through gene duplications, many venom gene families have evolved marked functional variation that is of considerable biological and biomedical relevance. The snake venom serine proteases (SVSP) form a large tandemly-arrayed gene island in viperid snake genomes, and have evolved diverse coagulopathic functions. Here, we present two new, high-quality whole genomes of the timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) and northern Pacific rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus oreganus) in combination with previously published squamate reptile genomes to explore the dual roles of copy number variation and gene sequence in generating serine protease diversity. We then use a more speciose database of both snake venom gland transcriptome sequences and snake diet data to relate patterns of duplication and divergence across this tandem gene array to the consumption of phylogenetically-diverse vertebrate species by these snakes. Our results highlight relationships of both gene copy number and sequence diversity to snake ecology, and address the role selection likely plays in the maintenance of tandemly duplicated gene copies in vertebrate genomes. |