Author ORCID Identifier

Mika A. Holtz: 0009-0002-8853-0518

Riccardo Racicot: 0000-0001-6825-446X

Doris Preininger: 0000-0001-6842-1133

Adam M.M. Stuckert: 0000-0003-2250-2223

Lisa A. Mangiamele: 0000-0003-4488-4904

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

10-1-2023

Publication Title

G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics

Abstract

Elaborate and skilled movements of the body have been selected in a variety of species as courtship and rivalry signals. One roadblock in studying these behaviors has been a lack of resources for understanding how they evolved at the genetic level. The Bornean rock frog (Staurois parvus) is an ideal species in which to address this issue. Males wave their hindlimbs in a "foot-flagging"display when competing for mates. The evolution of foot flagging in S. parvus and other species is accompanied by increases in the expression of the androgen receptor gene within its neuromuscular system, but it remains unclear what genetic or transcriptional changes are associated with this behavioral phenotype. We have now assembled the genome of S. parvus, resulting in 3.98 Gbp of 22,402 contigs with an N50 of 611,229 bp. The genome will be a resource for finding genes related to the physiology underlying foot flagging and to adaptations of the neuromuscular system. As a first application of the genome, we also began work in comparative genomics and differential gene expression analysis. We show that the androgen receptor is diverged from other anuran species, and we identify unique expression patterns of genes in the spinal cord and leg muscle that are important for axial patterning, cell specification and morphology, or muscle contraction. This genome will continue to be an important tool for future -omics studies to understand the evolution of elaborate signaling behaviors in this and potentially related species.

Keywords

communication behavior, foot-flagging frog, genome, RNAseq, Staurois parvus

Volume

13

Issue

10

DOI

10.1093/g3journal/jkad193

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Rights

© The Author(s) 2023.

Comments

Archived as published.

Included in

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