Segmentation pathway genes in the Asian citrus psyllid,Diaphorina citri

Abstract

Insects have a segmented body plan that is established during embryogenesis when the anterior-posterior (A-P) axis is divided into repeated units by a cascade of gene expression. The cascade is initiated by protein gradients created by translation of maternally provided mRNAs, localized at the anterior and posterior poles of the embryo. Particular combinations of these proteins activate specific gap genes to divide the embryo into distinct regions along the A-P axis. Gap genes then activate pair-rule genes, which are usually expressed in part of every other segment. The pair-rule genes, in turn, activate expression of segment polarity genes in a portion of each segment. The segmentation genes are generally conserved among insects, although there is considerable variation in how they are deployed. We annotated 24 segmentation gene homologs in the Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri. We identified most of the genes that were expected to be present based on known phylogenetic distribution. Two exceptions were eagle and invected, which are present in at least some hemipterans, but were not identified in D. citri. Many of these genes are likely to be essential for D. citri development and thus may be useful targets for pest control methods.

Workflows for rapid functional annotation of diverse arthropod genomes

“…Furthermore, functional annotation provides information about pathways and gene families that are poorly annotated or absent from gene sets, providing useful information that can be used to direct targeted manual curation of genes. Manual curation of gene models is a well-established activity in the arthropod research community using Apollo [29] through community databases such as the i5k workspace@NAL [19], VectorBase [30], the Hymenoptera Genome Database [31], Citrus Greening Database [32][33][34][35][36][37][38], and others. Functional annotation would support this focus while extending the utility of the genome for the research community.…”

Workflows for Rapid Functional Annotation of Diverse Arthropod Genomes

“…Furthermore, functional annotation provides information about pathways and gene families that are poorly annotated or absent from gene sets, providing useful information that can be used to direct targeted manual curation of genes. Manual curation of gene models is a well-established activity in the arthropod research community using Apollo [49] through community databases, such as the i5k Workspace@NAL [21], VectorBase [50], the Hymenoptera Genome Database [51], Citrus Greening Database [52][53][54][55][56][57][58], and others. Functional annotation would support this focus while extending the utility of the genome for the research community.…”

In silico characterization of chitin deacetylase genes in the Diaphorina citri genome

“…This manual curation was carried out as a part of the Diaphorina citri community annotation project [ 38 ] with a goal to annotate gene families related to immune response, metabolism and other major functions [ 39 – 42 ] . Our manual annotations will be useful for researchers studying the chitin deacetylase genes in the future.…”