Publications by authors named "Jiangmin Zheng"
Article Synopsis
- Limbs are a key feature of tetrapods, but some species, especially amphibians and reptiles, have lost them to adapt to different environments, prompting research into the genetic reasons behind this.
- The study focuses on the Banna caecilian, a limbless amphibian, and compares its genome with other species to identify specific genes related to limb development that have been lost or altered.
- Findings show that both caecilians and snakes have a unique set of conserved genetic elements linked to limb loss, which may play an important role in limb development evolution across tetrapods, providing new insights into how species adapt morphologically over time.
The evolution of the vertebrate liver is a prime example of the evolution of complex organs, yet the driving genetic factors behind it remain unknown. Here we study the evolutionary genetics of liver by comparing the amphioxus hepatic caecum and the vertebrate liver, as well as examining the functional transition within vertebrates. Using in vivo and in vitro experiments, single-cell/nucleus RNA-seq data and gene knockout experiments, we confirm that the amphioxus hepatic caecum and vertebrate liver are homologous organs and show that the emergence of ohnologues from two rounds of whole-genome duplications greatly contributed to the functional complexity of the vertebrate liver.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe pig-nosed turtle (Carettochelys insculpta) represents the only extant species within the Carettochelyidae family, is a unique Trionychia member fully adapted to aquatic life and currently facing endangerment. To enhance our understanding of this species and contribute to its conservation efforts, we employed high-fidelity (HiFi) and Hi-C sequencing technology to generate its genome assembly at the chromosome level. The assembly result spans 2.
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- The hadal snailfish, living at depths of 6,000-8,000 meters, serves as a key example of vertebrate adaptation to extreme deep-sea environments.
- Recent genomic studies indicate that the hadal snailfish likely fully adapted to these conditions within the last few million years, with their distribution expanding across different trenches in the Pacific Ocean.
- Key genetic modifications related to perception, circadian rhythms, and metabolism, along with a significant gene duplication for ferritin, enhance their tolerance to harsh conditions like high-hydrostatic pressure and reactive oxygen species.
Although most fishes are ectothermic, some, including tuna and billfish, achieve endothermy through specialized heat producing tissues that are modified muscles. How these heat producing tissues evolved, and whether they share convergent molecular mechanisms, remain unresolved. Here, we generated a high-quality genome from the mackerel tuna (Euthynnus affinis) and investigated the heat producing tissues of this fish by single-nucleus and bulk RNA sequencing.
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