Molecular analysis of the cold tolerant Antarctic nematode, Panagrolaimus davidi

Michael A S Thorne; Hiroshi Kagoshima; Melody S Clark; Craig J Marshall; David A Wharton

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0104526

Molecular analysis of the cold tolerant Antarctic nematode, Panagrolaimus davidi

PLoS One. 2014 Aug 6;9(8):e104526. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0104526. eCollection 2014.

Authors

Michael A S Thorne¹, Hiroshi Kagoshima², Melody S Clark¹, Craig J Marshall³, David A Wharton⁴

Affiliations

¹ British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
² Transdisciplinary Research Integration Center, Research Organization of Information and Systems, Tokyo, Japan; National Institute of Genetics, Mishima, Japan.
³ Department of Biochemistry, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
⁴ Department of Zoology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.

Abstract

Isolated and established in culture from the Antarctic in 1988, the nematode Panagrolaimus davidi has proven to be an ideal model for the study of adaptation to the cold. Not only is it the best-documented example of an organism surviving intracellular freezing but it is also able to undergo cryoprotective dehydration. As part of an ongoing effort to develop a molecular understanding of this remarkable organism, we have assembled both a transcriptome and a set of genomic scaffolds. We provide an overview of the transcriptome and a survey of genes involved in temperature stress. We also explore, in silico, the possibility that P. davidi will be susceptible to an environmental RNAi response, important for further functional studies.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Antarctic Regions
Freezing*
Gene-Environment Interaction*
Genome, Helminth / physiology*
Nematoda / physiology*
Transcriptome / physiology*

Grants and funding

MAST and MSC were supported by NERC core funding to the British Antarctic Survey. HK was supported by grant-in-aid for scientific research (No. 23510239) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. Further support came from the Transdisciplinary Research Integration Center (TRIC), the Research Organisation of Information and Systems (ROIS), and the Departments of Zoology and Biochemistry at the University of Otago. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.