The crown-of-thorns starfish genome as a guide for biocontrol of this coral reef pest

Michael R Hall; Kevin M Kocot; Kenneth W Boughman; Selene L Fernandez-Valverde; Marie E A Gauthier; William L Hatleberg; Arunkumar Krishnan; Carmel McDougall; Cherie A Motti; Eiichi Shoguchi; Tianfang Wang; Xueyan Xiang; Min Zhao; Utpal Bose; Chuya Shinzato; Kanako Hisata; Manabu Fujie; Miyuki Kanda; Scott F Cummins; Noriyuki Satoh; Sandie M Degnan; Bernard M Degnan

doi:10.1038/nature22033

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The crown-of-thorns starfish genome as a guide for biocontrol of this coral reef pest

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The crown-of-thorns starfish genome as a guide for biocontrol of this coral reef pest

Michael R Hall, Kevin M Kocot, Kenneth W Boughman, Selene L Fernandez-Valverde, Marie E A Gauthier, William L Hatleberg, Arunkumar Krishnan, Carmel McDougall, Cherie A Motti, Eiichi Shoguchi, …

Nature, Vol.544(7649), pp.231-234

2017

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature22033

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Abstract

The crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS, the Acanthaster planci species group) is a highly fecund predator of reef-building corals throughout the Indo-Pacific region1. COTS population outbreaks cause substantial loss of coral cover, diminishing the integrity and resilience of reef ecosystems2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Here we sequenced genomes of COTS from the Great Barrier Reef, Australia and Okinawa, Japan to identify gene products that underlie species-specific communication and could potentially be used in biocontrol strategies. We focused on water-borne chemical plumes released from aggregating COTS, which make the normally sedentary starfish become highly active. Peptide sequences detected in these plumes by mass spectrometry are encoded in the COTS genome and expressed in external tissues. The exoproteome released by aggregating COTS consists largely of signalling factors and hydrolytic enzymes, and includes an expanded and rapidly evolving set of starfish-specific ependymin-related proteins. These secreted proteins may be detected by members of a large family of olfactory-receptor-like G-protein-coupled receptors that are expressed externally, sometimes in a sex-specific manner. This study provides insights into COTS-specific communication that may guide the generation of peptide mimetics for use on reefs with COTS outbreaks.

Details

Title: The crown-of-thorns starfish genome as a guide for biocontrol of this coral reef pest
Authors: Michael R Hall (Author) - Australian Institute of Marine Sciences
Kevin M Kocot (Author) - University of Queensland
Kenneth W Boughman (Author) - Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Japan
Selene L Fernandez-Valverde (Author) - University of Queensland
Marie E A Gauthier (Author) - University of Queensland
William L Hatleberg (Author) - University of Queensland
Arunkumar Krishnan (Author) - University of Queensland
Carmel McDougall (Author) - University of Queensland
Cherie A Motti (Author) - Australian Institute of Marine Sciences
Eiichi Shoguchi (Author) - Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Japan
Tianfang Wang (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Science, Health, Education and Engineering
Xueyan Xiang (Author) - University of Queensland
Min Zhao (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Science, Health, Education and Engineering
Utpal Bose (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Science, Health, Education and Engineering
Chuya Shinzato (Author) - Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Japan
Kanako Hisata (Author) - Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Japan
Manabu Fujie (Author) - Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Japan
Miyuki Kanda (Author) - Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Japan
Scott F Cummins (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Science, Health, Education and Engineering
Noriyuki Satoh (Author) - Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Japan
Sandie M Degnan (Author) - University of Queensland
Bernard M Degnan (Author) - University of Queensland
Publication details: Nature, Vol.544(7649), pp.231-234
Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
Date published: 2017
DOI: 10.1038/nature22033
ISSN: 0028-0836
Copyright note: Copyright © 2017 Macmillan Publishers Limited, part of Springer Nature. All rights reserved.This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons licence, users will need to obtain permission from the licence holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Organisation Unit: School of Science and Engineering - Legacy; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Science, Technology and Engineering; Centre for Bioinnovation
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99450605302621
Output Type: Journal article

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