The genome of the venomous snail Lautoconus ventricosus sheds light on the origin of conotoxin diversity

• Background: Venoms are deadly weapons to subdue prey or deter predators that have evolved independently in many animal lineages. The genomes of venomous animals are essential to understand the evolutionary mechanisms involved inthe origin and diversification of venoms. Results: Here, we report the chromosome-level genome of the venomous Mediterranean cone snail, Lautoconus ventricosus (Caenogastropoda: Conidae). The total size of the assembly is 3.59 Gb; ithas high contiguity (N50 = 93.53 Mb) and 86.6 Mb of the genome assembled into the 35 largest scaffolds or pseudochromosomes. On the basis of venom gland transcriptomes, we annotated 262 complete genes encoding conotoxin precursors, hormones, and other venom-related proteins. These genes were scattered in the different pseudochromosomesand located within repetitive regions. The genes encoding conotoxin precursors were normally structured into 3 exons,which did not necessarily coincide with the 3 structural domains of the corresponding proteins. Additionally, we found evidence in the L. ventricosus genome for a past whole-genome duplication event by means of conserved gene synteny withthe Pomacea canaliculata genome, the only one available at the chromosome level within Caenogastropoda. The whole-genome duplication event was further confirmed by the presence of a duplicated hox gene cluster. Key genes for gastropod biology including those encoding proteins related to development, shell formation, and sex were located inthe genome. Conclusions: The new high-quality L. ventricosus genome should become a reference for assembling andanalyzing new gastropod genomes and will contribute to future evolutionary genomic studies among venomous animals.

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Biologi -- Evolutionsbiologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Biological Sciences -- Evolutionary Biology (hsv//eng)

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Biologi -- Zoologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Biological Sciences -- Zoology (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Mediterranean cone snail; Lautoconus ventricosus; chromosome-level genome; venom gland transcriptome; conotoxin precursor genes; whole-genome duplication

Diversity of life

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