Genome-wide identification of CaWD40 proteins reveals the involvement of a novel complex (CaAN1-CaDYT1-CaWD40-91) in anthocyanin biosynthesis and genic male sterility in Capsicum annuum.

BACKGROUND: The WD40 domain, one of the most abundant in eukaryotic genomes, is widely involved in plant growth and development, secondary metabolic biosynthesis, and mediating responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. WD40 repeat (WD40) protein has been systematically studied in several model plants but has not been reported in the Capsicum annuum (pepper) genome. RESULTS: Herein, 269, 237, and 257 CaWD40 genes were identified in the Zunla, CM334, and Zhangshugang genomes, respectively. CaWD40 sequences from the Zunla genome were selected for subsequent analysis, including chromosomal localization, phylogenetic relationships, sequence characteristics, motif compositions, and expression profiling. CaWD40 proteins were unevenly distributed on 12 chromosomes, encompassing 19 tandem duplicate gene pairs. The 269 CaWD40s were divided into six main branches (A to F) with 17 different types of domain distribution. The CaWD40 gene family exhibited diverse expression patterns, and several genes were specifically expressed in flowers and seeds. Yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) and dual-luciferase assay indicated that CaWD40-91 could interact with CaAN1 and CaDYT1, suggesting its involvement in anthocyanin biosynthesis and male sterility in pepper. CONCLUSIONS: In summary, we systematically characterized the phylogeny, classification, structure, and expression of the CaWD40 gene family in pepper. Our findings provide a valuable foundation for further functional investigations on WD40 genes in pepper.

Intestinal Tract Microbe Communities Associated with Horseshoe Crabs from Beibu Gulf, China.

Until now, there has been little research on the intestinal microbial community of horseshoe crabs. To fill this gap, we investigated the microbiome composition of the Chinese horseshoe crab, Tachypleus tridentatus, and the mangrove horseshoe crab, Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda. We sequenced the 16S rRNA gene of intestinal bacterial species and compared the microbial community structure and diversity. Next, we show that the total effective bacterial sequence was 36,865 reads, and the average annotated operational taxonomic unit (OTU) number was 240. Through hierarchical clustering analysis and principal coordinate analysis samples from two horseshoe crab species, we found that the intestinal flora of the same horseshoe crab species was relatively concentrated, while the microbiome of a different horseshoe crab species were significantly separated. Cluster analysis showed that two samples, one from Chinese horseshoe crabs and one from mangrove horseshoe crabs, had similar microbial community structure, while other samples were relatively discrete. The gut microbiota of the mangrove horseshoe crab were dominated by the phyla Tenericutes (42.71%), Firmicutes (24.27%), and Proteobacteria (20.39%), while the top three phyla in the Chinese horseshoe crab intestinal tract were Tenericutes (57.19%), Proteobacteria (22.14%), and Bacteroidetes (7.38%). To intuitively understand the similarity and overlap of the OTU composition of each group, we performed Venn diagram analysis. The two species shared 284 OTUs, accounting for 81.8% of the total. This indicates that although there is high similarity between mangrove and Chinese horseshoe crab in gastrointestinal microbial community structure, there are also some differences, which deserve further discussion.

Mitochondrial genome of Macrostemum floridum (Trichoptera).

Trichoptera are a group of the benthic organism, almost all of which live in water during their life cycle. Trichoptera usually develop through egg, larva, pupa, and moth stages. In its larval stage, Trichoptera usually live in water and are often called the caddisfly. In this study, the mitochondrial genome of Macrostemum floridum was analyzed. The total length of the mitochondrial genome is 15,424 bp and consists of 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes, 2 rRNA genes, and one control region. The genome has a typical mitochondrial gene sequence of Trichoptera. Phylogenetic analysis of the mitochondrial genomes of 23 species of Trichoptera and Lepidoptera showed that M. floridum forms a monophyletic group with other species of Lepidoptera.

Characterization of the complete mitochondrial genome of Stenopsyche angustata (Trichoptera, Stenopsychidae).

Caddisflies of Stenopsyche angustata (Trichoptera, Stenopsychidae) are widely distributed in various freshwater bodies and a few species inhabit marine environments. The mitochondrial genome was sequenced by Illumina high-throughput sequencing, and then the complete mitochondrial genome sequence was obtained through splicing and assembly. The mitochondrial genome sequence size was 15,371 bp, comprising 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes, two rRNA genes, and a control region. Two of the protein-coding genes (COX 2 and nad 5) had an incomplete termination codon T. In addition, the start codon of all protein-coding genes was ATN, except for the start codon of the nad4l gene which was GTG. The base composition of the mitochondrial genome was 41.64% A, 35.03% T, 7.81% G, and 15.52% C.