水熊虫耐干燥机制的关键分子筛选

Integrated multi-omics profiling uncovers potential molecular anhydrobiology of tardigrades

水熊虫,学名缓步动物,是一种能耐受多种极端环境的微小水陆两栖动物,但其耐干燥的具体分子机制仍不明.本研究收集3种水熊虫和其他11种后生动物的基因组数据,使用OrthoFinder判定得到4个基因家族在水熊虫中特异扩张;接着用eggNOG-Mapper注释变形拉式熊虫的基因的功能信息,并分析其在正常、低湿隐生、补水80 min、补水3 h四种状态的基因表达谱,筛选出5032个差异基因,用Fuzzy C-Means算法分为9类,对干燥状态下高表达的基因做功能富集分析,得到耐干燥关键分子尿苷二磷酸糖基转移酶UGT72E1(UDP-glycosyltransferase72E1).此外,UGT72E1在典型高生熊虫低湿隐生状态同样存在高表达,推测其通过调节苯丙烷代谢增强水熊虫耐干燥能力.

This research delves into the molecular mechanisms that allow tardigrades to survive extreme dehydration.We collected genome data of 3 tardigrade species and 11 other metazoa and used OrthoFinder to identify 4 expanded gene families in tardigrades.Multiple bioinformatics techniques were employed to annotate 12899 genes of Ramazzottius varieornatus and determine 5032 differentially expressed genes in the hydrated and various dehydrated states.Additionally,these DEGs were divided into 9 clusters by Fuzzy CMeans algorithms,and those showing upregulated expression during anhydrobiosis were further evaluated in terms of molecular functions.After all,we concluded that the enzyme UGT72E1 may help tardigrades enhance the tolerance to dehydration by participating in the phenylpropane metabolism.This finding was verified by another tardigrade species.