title: Genome-wide identification of lineage-specific genes within Caenorhabditis elegans.
abstract: With the rapid growth of sequencing technology, a number of genomes and transcriptomes of various species have been sequenced, contributing to the study of lineage-specific genes (LSGs). We identified two sets of LSGs using BLAST: one included Caenorhabditis elegans species-specific genes (1423, SSGs), and the other consisted of Caenorhabditis genus-specific genes (4539, GSGs). The subsequent characterization and analysis of the SSGs and GSGs showed that they have significant differences in evolution and that most LSGs were generated by gene duplication and integration of transposable elements (TEs). We then performed temporal expression profiling and protein function prediction and observed that many SSGs and GSGs are expressed and that genes involved with sex determination, specific stress, immune response, and morphogenesis are over-represented, suggesting that these specific genes may be related to the Caenorhabditis nematodes' special ability to survive in severe and extreme environments.
authors.affiliation: Hubei Key Laboratory of Genetic Regulation and Integrative Biology, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China. Electronic address: zkccnu@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Kun
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Hubei Key Laboratory of Genetic Regulation and Integrative Biology, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China. Electronic address: bei2huang@163.com.
authors.forename: Beibei
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Huazhong Agriculture University, Wuhan 430070, China. Electronic address: zoumingr@163.com.
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zou
authors.affiliation: Hubei Key Laboratory of Genetic Regulation and Integrative Biology, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China. Electronic address: 13164101008@163.com.
authors.forename: Dandan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, China. Electronic address: clad@ihb.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Shunping
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Hubei Key Laboratory of Genetic Regulation and Integrative Biology, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China. Electronic address: wanggx@mail.ccnu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Guoxiu
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D020440:Gene Duplication; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D016678:Genome; D010802:Phylogeny; D017423:Sequence Analysis, RNA / Q000379:methods*; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins
keywords: Caenorhabditis elegans; Expression pattern; Genome; Lineage-specific genes; Transcriptome