Transcriptome Analysis Reveals the Requirement of the TGFβ Pathway in Ascidian Tail Regression
Metamorphosis is a common developmental process in invertebrate development. It is essential for the degeneration of larval organs, formation of adult organs, and adaptation transformation of the living environment. However, the underlying molecular regulatory mechanism remains to be elucidated. In...
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MDPI AG
2025-04-01
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| author | Wenjie Shi Penghui Liu Dongyu Yang Yuan Zhuang Boyan Lin Bo Dong |
| author_facet | Wenjie Shi Penghui Liu Dongyu Yang Yuan Zhuang Boyan Lin Bo Dong |
| author_sort | Wenjie Shi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Metamorphosis is a common developmental process in invertebrate development. It is essential for the degeneration of larval organs, formation of adult organs, and adaptation transformation of the living environment. However, the underlying molecular regulatory mechanism remains to be elucidated. In this study, we used tail regression of ascidian <i>Styela clava</i> as a model to understand the gene regulation pathway and molecular mechanism in organ metamorphosis. The TGFβ signaling pathway was screened and demonstrated to be involved in tail regression based on RNA sequencing on the different larval stages and verification with inhibitor treatment experiments. We further investigated the downstream gene network of the TGFβ signaling pathway through comparative transcriptome data analysis on the TGFβ pathway inhibition samples. Together with qRT-PCR verification, we identified four critical gene functional categories, including ion transporters/water channel, extracellular matrix structural constituent, extracellular matrix organization, and cell polarity establishment. Furthermore, a cross-species comparative analysis between <i>Ciona robusta</i> and <i>S. clava</i> was performed to understand the conservation and divergence of gene regulation in ascidians. Overall, our work identifies a crucial gene regulation pathway in ascidian tail regression and provides several potential downstream targets for understanding the molecular mechanism of larval metamorphosis. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-5abccec77a994dcea25ec6e87da23d85 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2073-4409 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Cells |
| spelling | doaj-art-5abccec77a994dcea25ec6e87da23d852025-08-20T02:09:21ZengMDPI AGCells2073-44092025-04-0114754610.3390/cells14070546Transcriptome Analysis Reveals the Requirement of the TGFβ Pathway in Ascidian Tail RegressionWenjie Shi0Penghui Liu1Dongyu Yang2Yuan Zhuang3Boyan Lin4Bo Dong5Fang Zongxi Center for Marine EvoDevo, MoE Key Laboratory of Marine Genetics and Breeding, College of Marine Life Sciences, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, ChinaFang Zongxi Center for Marine EvoDevo, MoE Key Laboratory of Marine Genetics and Breeding, College of Marine Life Sciences, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, ChinaFang Zongxi Center for Marine EvoDevo, MoE Key Laboratory of Marine Genetics and Breeding, College of Marine Life Sciences, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, ChinaFang Zongxi Center for Marine EvoDevo, MoE Key Laboratory of Marine Genetics and Breeding, College of Marine Life Sciences, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, ChinaFang Zongxi Center for Marine EvoDevo, MoE Key Laboratory of Marine Genetics and Breeding, College of Marine Life Sciences, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, ChinaFang Zongxi Center for Marine EvoDevo, MoE Key Laboratory of Marine Genetics and Breeding, College of Marine Life Sciences, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, ChinaMetamorphosis is a common developmental process in invertebrate development. It is essential for the degeneration of larval organs, formation of adult organs, and adaptation transformation of the living environment. However, the underlying molecular regulatory mechanism remains to be elucidated. In this study, we used tail regression of ascidian <i>Styela clava</i> as a model to understand the gene regulation pathway and molecular mechanism in organ metamorphosis. The TGFβ signaling pathway was screened and demonstrated to be involved in tail regression based on RNA sequencing on the different larval stages and verification with inhibitor treatment experiments. We further investigated the downstream gene network of the TGFβ signaling pathway through comparative transcriptome data analysis on the TGFβ pathway inhibition samples. Together with qRT-PCR verification, we identified four critical gene functional categories, including ion transporters/water channel, extracellular matrix structural constituent, extracellular matrix organization, and cell polarity establishment. Furthermore, a cross-species comparative analysis between <i>Ciona robusta</i> and <i>S. clava</i> was performed to understand the conservation and divergence of gene regulation in ascidians. Overall, our work identifies a crucial gene regulation pathway in ascidian tail regression and provides several potential downstream targets for understanding the molecular mechanism of larval metamorphosis.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/14/7/546TGFβ pathwayascidianmetamorphosistail regression |
| spellingShingle | Wenjie Shi Penghui Liu Dongyu Yang Yuan Zhuang Boyan Lin Bo Dong Transcriptome Analysis Reveals the Requirement of the TGFβ Pathway in Ascidian Tail Regression Cells TGFβ pathway ascidian metamorphosis tail regression |
| title | Transcriptome Analysis Reveals the Requirement of the TGFβ Pathway in Ascidian Tail Regression |
| title_full | Transcriptome Analysis Reveals the Requirement of the TGFβ Pathway in Ascidian Tail Regression |
| title_fullStr | Transcriptome Analysis Reveals the Requirement of the TGFβ Pathway in Ascidian Tail Regression |
| title_full_unstemmed | Transcriptome Analysis Reveals the Requirement of the TGFβ Pathway in Ascidian Tail Regression |
| title_short | Transcriptome Analysis Reveals the Requirement of the TGFβ Pathway in Ascidian Tail Regression |
| title_sort | transcriptome analysis reveals the requirement of the tgfβ pathway in ascidian tail regression |
| topic | TGFβ pathway ascidian metamorphosis tail regression |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/14/7/546 |
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