Insights into Sex Chromosome Evolution and Aging from the Genome of a Short-Lived Fish

The killifish Nothobranchius furzeri is the shortest-lived vertebrate that can be bred in the laboratory. Its rapid growth, early sexual maturation, fast aging, and arrested embryonic development (diapause) make it an attractive model organism in biomedical research. Here, we report a draft sequence...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cell 2015-12, Vol.163 (6), p.1527-1538
Main Authors: Reichwald, Kathrin, Petzold, Andreas, Koch, Philipp, Downie, Bryan R., Hartmann, Nils, Pietsch, Stefan, Baumgart, Mario, Chalopin, Domitille, Felder, Marius, Bens, Martin, Sahm, Arne, Szafranski, Karol, Taudien, Stefan, Groth, Marco, Arisi, Ivan, Weise, Anja, Bhatt, Samarth S., Sharma, Virag, Kraus, Johann M., Schmid, Florian, Priebe, Steffen, Liehr, Thomas, Görlach, Matthias, Than, Manuel E., Hiller, Michael, Kestler, Hans A., Volff, Jean-Nicolas, Schartl, Manfred, Cellerino, Alessandro, Englert, Christoph, Platzer, Matthias
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aging
Animals
Biological Evolution
Female
Genome
Killifishes - genetics
Killifishes - physiology
Male
Molecular Sequence Data
Sex Chromosomes
Sex Determination Processes
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Summary:The killifish Nothobranchius furzeri is the shortest-lived vertebrate that can be bred in the laboratory. Its rapid growth, early sexual maturation, fast aging, and arrested embryonic development (diapause) make it an attractive model organism in biomedical research. Here, we report a draft sequence of its genome that allowed us to uncover an intra-species Y chromosome polymorphism representing—in real time—different stages of sex chromosome formation that display features of early mammalian XY evolution “in action.” Our data suggest that gdf6Y, encoding a TGF-β family growth factor, is the master sex-determining gene in N. furzeri. Moreover, we observed genomic clustering of aging-related genes, identified genes under positive selection, and revealed significant similarities of gene expression profiles between diapause and aging, particularly for genes controlling cell cycle and translation. The annotated genome sequence is provided as an online resource (http://www.nothobranchius.info/NFINgb). [Display omitted] •The genome sequence of a very short-lived fish is a resource for aging research•The sex chromosomes display features of early mammalian XY evolution•Aging-related genes are clustered in specific genomic regions•Transcriptional profiles show similarities between developmental arrest and aging The turquoise killifish has a lifespan of only 4–12 months and yet its aging shares many similarities with that of humans. We sequenced and analyzed the killifish genome and provide insights into its biology. We detected very early stages of sex chromosome evolution, identified the sex-determining master gene, found clustering of aging-related genes in the genome, identified genes under positive selection, and discovered that similar gene sets are regulated during developmental arrest of embryos and aging.
ISSN:0092-8674
1097-4172
DOI:10.1016/j.cell.2015.10.071