2018 Fiscal Year Research-status Report
Shedding light on genome evolution of a 220-million-year old's cockroach friend: Blattabacterium cuenoti
| Project/Area Number |
18K14767
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| Research Institution | Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University |
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Principal Investigator |
ブギーニョン トマ 沖縄科学技術大学院大学, 進化ゲノミクスユニット, 准教授 (40817558)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2018-04-01 – 2020-03-31
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| Keywords | Endosymbionts / genome evolution / genome reduction |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
During the first year of this project I sequenced the Blattabacterium genomes of 48 cockroach species. I already assembled these genomes and I am currently working on them, with the aim of determining the factors responsible of genome reduction in Blattabacterium. I already started working on the manuscript describing these results, which I am planning to submit this year. I expect this work to be highly influential, because the angle I adopted is novel. In September 2018, I participated to the meeting of the Entomological Society of Japan in Nagoya and presented a talk on the topic: 過去２億３千万年のゴキブリ－ブラタバクテリウムのゲノム浸食. I also coauthored one paper in Genome Biology and evolution. This paper described the evolution of the genomes of Blattabacterium strains associated with Cryptocercus and Mastotermes. I coauthored one last paper that has been accepted, albeit with revisions, in Biology Letters. This paper is available on biorxiv.
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
2: Research has progressed on the whole more than it was originally planned.
Reason
The project progressed as expected. I already sequenced 48 Blattabacterium, as planned. I also sequenced gut bacterial metagenomes for Cryptocercus and Mastotermes. However, I delayed the work on transcriptomes to focus my efforts on the sequencing of Blattabacterium genomes. This strategy bear fruits, as I am currently working on a manuscript which I will submit this year. I will work on transcriptomes of cockroaches, and I will continue working on cockroach gut bacterial communities during this year. I will use the remaining funds of my kakenhi to study the bacterial communities of cockroach gut, and to sequence the transcriptomes of four cockroach species.
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
My main goal for the coming year is to publish one manuscript on the evolution of Blattabacterium genomes. I expect this work to be highly influential, because the angle I adopted is novel. I will also continue working on gut bacterial metagenomes and I will sequence the transcriptomes of four cockroach species, as originally planned. Most of the remaining money from this kakenhi will be allocated to that topic. Note that I will not be able to produce a paper on the topic this year. I expect the work to be published within three years.
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| Causes of Carryover |
I am planning to use the rest of my kakenhi fund to sequence the transcriptomes of four cockroach species and the gut bacterial metagenomes of two cockroach species. The remaining fund is therefore required for the completion of my kakenhi project.
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