The Dugesia ryukyuensis database as a molecular resource for studying switching of the reproductive system.
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.
Ishizuka
Hideyuki
H
Department of Biological Sciences and Informatics, Keio University, Hiyoshi, Yokohama, Japan.
Maezawa
Takanobu
T
Kawauchi
Junpei
J
Nodono
Hanae
H
Hirao
Yukako
Y
Nishimura
Osamu
O
Nakagawa
Haruka
H
Sekii
Kiyono
K
Tasaka
Kenta
K
Tarui
Hiroshi
H
Agata
Kiyokazu
K
Hoshi
Motonori
M
Kobayashi
Kazuya
K
Sakakibara
Yasubumi
Y
Matsumoto
Midori
M
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*