title: The Dugesia ryukyuensis database as a molecular resource for studying switching of the reproductive system.
abstract: The planarian Dugesia ryukyuensis reproduces both asexually and sexually, and can switch from one mode of reproduction to the other. We recently developed a method for experimentally switching reproduction of the planarian from the asexual to the sexual mode. We constructed a cDNA library from sexualized D. ryukyuensis and sequenced and analyzed 8,988 expressed sequence tags (ESTs). The ESTs were analyzed and grouped into 3,077 non-redundant sequences, leaving 1,929 singletons that formed the basis of unigene sets. Fifty-six percent of the cDNAs analyzed shared similarity (E-value<1E -20) with sequences deposited in NCBI. Highly redundant sequences encoded granulin and actin, which are expressed in the whole body, and other redundant sequences encoded a Vasa-like protein, which is known to be a component of germ-line cells and is expressed in the ovary, and Y-protein, which is expressed in the testis. The sexualized planarian expressed sequence tag database (http://planaria.bio.keio.ac.jp/planaria/) is an open-access, online resource providing access to sequence, classification, clustering, and annotation data. This database should constitute a powerful tool for analyzing sexualization in planarians.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences and Informatics, Keio University, Hiyoshi, Yokohama, Japan.
authors.forename: Hideyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ishizuka
authors.forename: Takanobu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Maezawa
authors.forename: Junpei
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kawauchi
authors.forename: Hanae
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nodono
authors.forename: Yukako
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hirao
authors.forename: Osamu
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Nishimura
authors.forename: Haruka
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nakagawa
authors.forename: Kiyono
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sekii
authors.forename: Kenta
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tasaka
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tarui
authors.forename: Kiyokazu
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Agata
authors.forename: Motonori
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hoshi
authors.forename: Kazuya
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: Yasubumi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sakakibara
authors.forename: Midori
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Matsumoto
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D019295:Computational Biology; D020224:Expressed Sequence Tags; D015723:Gene Library; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010932:Planarians / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D012098:Reproduction / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D046468:Sexual Development / Q000235:genetics*