Genomic and experimental data provide new insights into luciferin biosynthesis and bioluminescence evolution in fireflies

Ru Zhang, Jinwu He, Zhiwei Dong, Guichun Liu, Yuan Yin, Xinying Zhang, Qi Li, Yandong Ren, Yongzhi Yang, Wei Liu, Xianqing Chen, Wenhao Xia, Kang Duan, Fei Hao, Zeshan Lin, Jie Yang, Zhou Chang, Ruoping Zhao, Wenting Wan, Sihan LuYanqiong Peng, Siqin Ge, Wen Wang, Xueyan Li

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18 引用 (Scopus)

摘要

Fireflies are among the most charismatic insects for their spectacular bioluminescence, but the origin and evolution of bioluminescence remain elusive. Especially, the genic basis of luciferin (d-luciferin) biosynthesis and light patterns is largely unknown. Here, we present the high-quality reference genomes of two fireflies Lamprigera yunnana (1053 Mb) and Abscondita terminalis (501 Mb) with great differences in both morphology and luminous behavior. We sequenced the transcriptomes and proteomes of luminous organs of two species. We created the CRISPR/Cas9-induced mutants of Abdominal B gene without luminous organs in the larvae of A. terminalis and sequenced the transcriptomes of mutants and wild-types. Combining gene expression analyses with comparative genomics, we propose a more complete luciferin synthesis pathway, and confirm the convergent evolution of bioluminescence in insects. Using experiments, the function of the firefly acyl-CoA thioesterase (ACOT1) to convert l-luciferin to d-luciferin was validated for the first time. Comparisons of three-dimension reconstruction of luminous organs and their differentially expressed genes among two species suggest that two positive genes in the calcium signaling pathway and structural difference of luminous organs may play an important role in the evolution of flash pattern. Altogether, our results provide important resources for further exploring bioluminescence in insects.

源语言英语
文章编号15882
期刊Scientific Reports
10
1
DOI
出版状态已出版 - 1 12月 2020

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