A heterozygous moth genome provides insights into herbivory and detoxification

How an insect evolves to become a successful herbivore is of profound biological and practical importance. Herbivores are often adapted to feed on a specific group of evolutionarily and biochemically related host plants1, but the genetic and molecular bases for adaptation to plant defense compounds remain poorly understood2. We report the first whole-genome sequence of a basal lepidopteran species, Plutella xylostella, which contains 18,071 protein-coding and 1,412 unique genes with an expansion of gene families associated with perception and the detoxification of plant defense compounds. A recent expansion of retrotransposons near detoxification-related genes and a wider system used in the metabolism of plant defense compounds are shown to also be involved in the development of insecticide resistance. This work shows the genetic and molecular bases for the evolutionary success of this worldwide herbivore and offers wider insights into insect adaptation to plant feeding, as well as opening avenues for more sustainable pest management.Minsheng You … Simon W Baxter … et al

Haplotype (2-window sized) analysis constructed with positive tSNPs within BLOCK 3.

<p>Abbreviations: <i>P</i>-HBAT, p values of HBAT test; <i>P</i>_<i>e</i>-HBAT, significance HBAT test with –<i>e</i> option; Global <i>P</i>, p values of the asymptotic global HBAT test for all haplotypes with more than 0.05 frequencies and within one window or block.</p><p>^a For haplotypes with higher frequencies (>15%) and more than 10 informative families were shown;</p><p>^b Significant <i>P</i> values (<0.05) are bold;</p><p>^c haplotypes with frequencies > 0.05 were included for global <i>P</i> test.</p><p>Haplotype (2-window sized) analysis constructed with positive tSNPs within BLOCK 3.</p

A New Role for <i>LOC101928437</i> in Non-Syndromic Intellectual Disability: Findings from a Family-Based Association Test

<div><p>Non-syndromic intellectual disability (NSID) is mental retardation in persons of normal physical appearance who have no recognisable features apart from obvious deficits in intellectual functioning and adaptive ability; however, its genetic etiology of most patients has remained unknown. The main purpose of this study was to fine map and identify specific causal gene(s) by genotyping a NSID family cohort using a panel of markers encompassing a target region reported in a previous work. A total of 139 families including probands, parents and relatives were included in the household survey, clinical examinations and intelligence tests, recruited from the Qinba mountain region of Shannxi province, western China. A collection of 34 tagged single nucleotide polymorphisms (tSNPs) spanning five microsatellite marker (STR) loci were genotyped using an iPLEX Gold assay. The association between tSNPs and patients was analyzed by family-based association testing (FBAT) and haplotype analysis (HBAT). Four markers (rs5974392, rs12164331, rs5929554 and rs3116911) in a block that showed strong linkage disequilibrium within the first three introns of the <i>LOC</i><i>101928437</i> locus were found to be significantly associated with NSID (all <i>P</i><0.01) by the FBAT method for a single marker in additive, dominant and recessive models. The results of haplotype tests of this block also revealed a significant association with NSID (all <i>P</i><0.05) using 2-window and larger HBAT analyses. These results suggest that <i>LOC</i><i>101928437</i> is a novel candidate gene for NSID in Han Chinese individuals of the Qinba region of China. Although the biological function of the gene has not been well studied, knowledge about this gene will provide insights that will increase our understanding of NSID development.</p></div

Markers near BLOCK3 that were included in association analysis.

<p>The names and relative positions of the markers are shown along with their relationships with the <i>LOC101928437</i> gene and the adjacent genes <i>AMOT</i> and <i>LHFPL1</i>. Five marker haplotypes with above 5% frequency are shown. <i>LHFPL1</i>, lipoma HMGIC fusion partner-like 1 gene; <i>AMOT</i>, angiomotin gene; <i>LOC101928437</i>, <i>LOC101928437</i> gene.</p

Family-based associate test for tSNPs with dominant model.

<p>Abbreviations: FBAT, Family Based Association Test; <i>P</i>-FBAT, p values of FBAT test; <i>P</i>_<i>e</i>-FBAT, significance test by FBAT with –<i>e</i> option.</p><p>^a Two SNPs, SNP2 and SNP3, did not include because of poor informative families for their poor heterozygosities (>0.15).</p><p>^b For SNPs, alleles shown are those for which there were more than 10 informative families.</p><p>^c Significant P values (<0.05) are bold.</p><p>Family-based associate test for tSNPs with dominant model.</p