Myriapod genomes reveal ancestral horizontal gene transfer and hormonal gene loss in millipedes

Wai Lok So, Wenyan Nong, Yichun Xie, Tobias Baril, Hai-yao Ma, Zhe Qu, Jasmine Haimovitz, Thomas Swale, Juan Diego Gaitan-Espitia, Kwok Fai Lau, Stephen S. Tobe, William G. Bendena, Zhen-peng Kai, Alexander Hayward () and Jerome H. L. Hui ()
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Wai Lok So: The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Wenyan Nong: The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Yichun Xie: The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Tobias Baril: University of Exeter
Hai-yao Ma: Shanghai Institute of Technology
Zhe Qu: The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Jasmine Haimovitz: Dovetail Genomics
Thomas Swale: Dovetail Genomics
Juan Diego Gaitan-Espitia: The University of Hong Kong
Kwok Fai Lau: The Chinese University of Hong Kong
William G. Bendena: Queen’s University
Zhen-peng Kai: Shanghai Institute of Technology
Alexander Hayward: University of Exeter
Jerome H. L. Hui: The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Nature Communications, 2022, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Abstract Animals display a fascinating diversity of body plans. Correspondingly, genomic analyses have revealed dynamic evolution of gene gains and losses among animal lineages. Here we sequence six new myriapod genomes (three millipedes, three centipedes) at key phylogenetic positions within this major but understudied arthropod lineage. We combine these with existing genomic resources to conduct a comparative analysis across all available myriapod genomes. We find that millipedes generally have considerably smaller genomes than centipedes, with the repeatome being a major contributor to genome size, driven by independent large gains of transposons in three centipede species. In contrast to millipedes, centipedes gained a large number of gene families after the subphyla diverged, with gains contributing to sensory and locomotory adaptations that facilitated their ecological shift to predation. We identify distinct horizontal gene transfer (HGT) events from bacteria to millipedes and centipedes, with no identifiable HGTs shared among all myriapods. Loss of juvenile hormone O-methyltransferase, a key enzyme in catalysing sesquiterpenoid hormone production in arthropods, was also revealed in all millipede lineages. Our findings suggest that the rapid evolution of distinct genomic pathways in centipede and millipede lineages following their divergence from the myriapod ancestor, was shaped by differing ecological pressures.

Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-30690-0

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