3.8 Desiccation-adaptive evolution of C. japonica
Changes in gene copy number affect the desiccation-adaptive evolution ofC. japonica. The present study examined the expansion and
contraction of gene families and PSGs in C. japonica and A.
amphitrite genomes to uncover the underlying desiccation-adaptive
mechanisms. Compared with other species, the
expanded
gene families or PSGs were predominantly involved in metabolism rate
(i.e., glycogen phosphorylase gene), oxygen supply (i.e., inositol
1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor [IP3 ] gene, ribose-phosphate
pyrophosphokinase A [PRPS1 ] gene, serine/threonine-protein
phosphatase [STK ] gene, glutathione reductase
[GSR ] gene), oxidative stress (i.e., heat shock protein
[HSP ] gene, zinc finger [ZNF ] gene), and various
transporters (annotation information of expanded gene families and PSGs,
which might contribute to C. japonica ’s ability to overcome
diverse stresses in drought environment.