Publication Details

Category Text Publication
Reference Category Journals
DOI 10.3390/genes12091423
Licence creative commons licence
Title (Primary) De novo assembly, annotation, and analysis of transcriptome data of the Ladakh Ground skink provide genetic information on high-altitude adaptation
Author Hofmann, S.; Baniya, C.B.; Stöck, M.; Podsiadlowski, L.
Source Titel Genes
Year 2021
Department NSF
Volume 12
Issue 9
Page From art. 1423
Language englisch
Topic T5 Future Landscapes
Supplements https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4425/12/9/1423/s1
Keywords adaptation; evolution; genomic; high elevation; Himalayas; Scincidae
Abstract The Himalayan Arc is recognized as a global biodiversity hotspot. Among its numerous cryptic and undiscovered organisms, this composite high-mountain ecosystem harbors many taxa with adaptations to life in high elevations. However, evolutionary patterns and genomic features have been relatively rarely studied in Himalayan vertebrates. Here, we provide the first well-annotated transcriptome of a Greater Himalayan reptile species, the Ladakh Ground skink Asymblepharus ladacensis (Squamata: Scincidae). Based on tissues from the brain, an embryonic disc, and pooled organ material, using pair-end Illumina NextSeq 500 RNAseq, we assembled ~77,000 transcripts, which were annotated using seven functional databases. We tested ~1600 genes, known to be under positive selection in anurans and reptiles adapted to high elevations, and potentially detected positive selection for 114 of these genes in Asymblepharus. Even though the strength of these results is limited due to the single-animal approach, our transcriptome resource may be valuable data for further studies on squamate reptile evolution in the Himalayas as a hotspot of biodiversity
Persistent UFZ Identifier https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=25216
Hofmann, S., Baniya, C.B., Stöck, M., Podsiadlowski, L. (2021):
De novo assembly, annotation, and analysis of transcriptome data of the Ladakh Ground skink provide genetic information on high-altitude adaptation
Genes 12 (9), art. 1423 10.3390/genes12091423