Institute of Evolution, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel.
PLoS One. 2011;6(8):e21227. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0021227. Epub 2011 Aug 12.
The blind subterranean mole rat (Spalax ehrenbergi superspecies) is a model animal for survival under extreme environments due to its ability to live in underground habitats under severe hypoxic stress and darkness. Here we report the transcriptome sequencing of Spalax galili, a chromosomal type of S. ehrenbergi. cDNA pools from muscle and brain tissues isolated from animals exposed to hypoxic and normoxic conditions were sequenced using Sanger, GS FLX, and GS FLX Titanium technologies. Assembly of the sequences yielded over 51,000 isotigs with homology to ∼12,000 mouse, rat or human genes. Based on these results, it was possible to detect large numbers of splice variants, SNPs, and novel transcribed regions. In addition, multiple differential expression patterns were detected between tissues and treatments. The results presented here will serve as a valuable resource for future studies aimed at identifying genes and gene regions evolved during the adaptive radiation associated with underground life of the blind mole rat.
盲地下鼹鼠（Spalax ehrenbergi 超种）是一种在极端环境下生存的模式动物，因为它能够在严重缺氧和黑暗的地下栖息地生存。在这里，我们报告了 Spalax galili 的转录组测序结果，Spalax galili 是 S. ehrenbergi 的一种染色体类型。使用 Sanger、GS FLX 和 GS FLX Titanium 技术对来自暴露于缺氧和常氧条件下的动物的肌肉和脑组织的 cDNA 池进行了测序。序列的组装产生了超过 51000 个与大约 12000 个小鼠、大鼠或人类基因具有同源性的 isotigs。基于这些结果，可以检测到大量的剪接变体、SNP 和新的转录区域。此外，还检测到组织和处理之间的多种差异表达模式。这里呈现的结果将作为未来研究的有价值资源，旨在鉴定与盲鼹鼠地下生活相关的适应性辐射过程中进化的基因和基因区域。
