| distinct viral lineages from fish and amphibians reveal the complex evolutionary history of hepadnaviruses. | hepadnaviruses (hepatitis b viruses [hbvs]) are the only animal viruses that replicate their dna by reverse transcription of an rna intermediate. until recently, the known host range of hepadnaviruses was limited to mammals and birds. we obtained and analyzed the first amphibian hbv genome, as well as several prototype fish hbvs, which allow the first comprehensive comparative genomic analysis of hepadnaviruses from four classes of vertebrates. bluegill hepadnavirus (bghbv) was characterized fro ... | 2016 | 27334580 |
| a reference gene set construction using rna-seq of multiple tissues of chinese giant salamander, andrias davidianus. | | 2017 | 28204480 |
| identification and functional analyses of novel antioxidant peptides and antimicrobial peptides from skin secretions of four east asian frog species. | in the present study, we identified 50 peptides that are classified into 21 peptide families with antioxidant and/or antimicrobial activity from amolops daiyunensis, pelophylax hubeiensis, hylarana maosuoensis and nanorana pleskei, which belong to four different genera in the ranidae and dicroglossidae families. these four frog species were found for the first time to express antioxidant peptides (aops) and antimicrobial peptides (amps). these peptides include seven newly discovered families dai ... | 2017 | 28402481 |
| molecular convergent evolution of the mybpc2 gene among three high-elevation amphibian species. | we report a strong pattern of molecular-level convergent/parallel evolution of the mybpc2 gene. three high-elevation amphibian species, bufo gargarizans minshanicus, nanorana pleskei, rana kukunoris, revealed remarkable numbers of convergent and parallel amino acid substitutions. on the mybpc2 gene tree of eleven anurans, the three distantly related species formed a strongly supported clade that was away from their respective relatives. furthermore, we generated both model-based and empirical da ... | 2017 | 28220195 |
| comparative high-density linkage mapping reveals conserved genome structure but variation in levels of heterochiasmy and location of recombination cold spots in the common frog. | by combining 7077 snps and 61 microsatellites, we present the first linkage map for some of the early diverged lineages of the common frog, rana temporaria, and the densest linkage map to date for this species. we found high homology with the published linkage maps of the eastern and western lineages but with differences in the order of some markers. homology was also strong with the genome of the tibetan frog nanorana parkeri and we found high synteny with the clawed frog xenopus tropicalis we ... | 2017 | 28040782 |
| whole-genome sequence of the tibetan frog nanorana parkeri and the comparative evolution of tetrapod genomes. | the development of efficient sequencing techniques has resulted in large numbers of genomes being available for evolutionary studies. however, only one genome is available for all amphibians, that of xenopus tropicalis, which is distantly related from the majority of frogs. more than 96% of frogs belong to the neobatrachia, and no genome exists for this group. this dearth of amphibian genomes greatly restricts genomic studies of amphibians and, more generally, our understanding of tetrapod genom ... | 2015 | 25733869 |
| phylogeographic investigation and ecological niche modelling of the endemic frog species nanorana pleskei revealed multiple refugia in the eastern tibetan plateau. | the largest plateau tibetan plateau supplied an excellent opportunity to investigate the influence of the pleistocene events on the high-elevation species. to test for the alternative hypotheses of pleistocene glacial refugia, we used partial sequences of two mitochondrial genes and one nuclear gene to examine the phylogeographic patterns of the endemic frog species nanorana pleskei across its known range in the eastern tibetan plateau, and conducted species distribution modelling (sdm) to explo ... | 2017 | 28924497 |
| mountains too high and valleys too deep drive population structuring and demographics in a qinghai-tibetan plateau frog nanorana pleskei (dicroglossidae). | pleistocene glacial-interglacial climatic oscillations greatly shaped the current genetic structure of many species. however, geographic features may influence the impact of climatic cycling. distinct geographic and environmental characters between northern and southern parts of the eastern qinghai-tibetan plateau (eqtp) facilitate explorations into the impacts of geographic features on species. the northern parts of eqtp contain large areas of marsh, and the environment is rather homogeneous. i ... | 2017 | 28070287 |
| complete genome sequence of a divergent strain of tibetan frog hepatitis b virus associated with a concave-eared torrent frog (odorrana tormota). | viruses of the family hepadnaviridae are characterized by partially dsdna circular genomes of approximately 3.2 kb, which are reverse transcribed from rna intermediates. hepadnaviruses have a broad host range, which includes humans (hepatitis b virus), other mammals (genus orthohepadnavirus), and birds (genus avihepadnavirus). the known host specificity of hepadnaviruses has been expanded by reports of new viruses infecting fish, amphibians, and reptiles. tibetan frog hepatitis b virus (tfhbv) w ... | 2019 | 30923967 |
| unique composition of intronless and intron-containing type i ifns in the tibetan frog nanorana parkeri provides new evidence to support independent retroposition hypothesis for type i ifn genes in amphibians. | in vertebrates, intron-containing and intronless type i ifn genes have recently been reported in amphibian model species xenopus tropicalis and x. laevis. however, whether intronless type i ifns in amphibians are the ancestral genes of type i ifns in amniotes or just represent the independent divergence in amphibians is unknown or even uninvestigated. in this study, both intron-containing and intronless type i ifn genes, as well as their receptor genes, were identified in the tibetan frog nanora ... | 2018 | 30389775 |
| chromosome-level assembly of the mustache toad genome using third-generation dna sequencing and hi-c analysis. | the mustache toad, vibrissaphora ailaonica, is endemic to china and belongs to the megophryidae family. like other mustache toad species, v. ailaonica males temporarily develop keratinized nuptial spines on their upper jaw during each breeding season, which fall off at the end of the breeding season. this feature is likely result of the reversal of sexual dimorphism in body size, with males being larger than females. a high-quality reference genome for the mustache toad would be invaluable to in ... | 2019 | 31544214 |
| the first complete mitochondrial genome sequence of nanorana parkeri and nanorana ventripunctata (amphibia: anura: dicroglossidae), with related phylogenetic analyses. | members of the nanorana genus (family dicroglossidae) are often referred to as excellent model species with which to study amphibian adaptations to extreme environments and also as excellent keystone taxa for providing insights into the evolution of the dicroglossidae. however, a complete mitochondrial genome is currently only available for nanorana pleskei. thus, we analyzed the complete mitochondrial genomes of nanorana parkeri and nanorana ventripunctata to investigate their evolutionary rela ... | 2018 | 30073060 |
| selection and environmental adaptation along a path to speciation in the tibetan frog nanorana parkeri. | tibetan frogs, nanorana parkeri, are differentiated genetically but not morphologically along geographical and elevational gradients in a challenging environment, presenting a unique opportunity to investigate processes leading to speciation. analyses of whole genomes of 63 frogs reveal population structuring and historical demography, characterized by highly restricted gene flow in a narrow geographic zone lying between matrilines west (w) and east (e). a population found only along a single tr ... | 2018 | 29760079 |
| urea and plasma ice-nucleating proteins promoted the modest freeze tolerance in pleske's high altitude frog nanorana pleskei. | the frog nanorana pleskei (dicroglossidae) is indigenous to the qinghai-tibetan plateau. to identify its strategies in coping with the cold climate, we measured the hibernacula microhabitat temperature during winter. we also examined the freezing-induced and seasonal variation of several putative cryoprotectants in the heart, liver, brain, kidney and muscle, as well as ice-nucleating protein in plasma. our results showed that n. pleskei survived exposure to temperatures as low as - 2.5 ± 0.40 °c ... | 2018 | 29663031 |