Genomic insights into the sessile life and biofouling of barnacles (Crustacea: Cirripedia)

Members of the infraclass
Cirripedia, commonly called barnacles, are unique among the subphylum Crustacea
in that they exhibit a biphasic life cycle with a planktonic larval stage and a
sessile adult stage. Understanding their unique sessile life and mechanisms of
attachment are hampered by the lack of genomic resources. Here, we present a
746 Mb genome assembly of Lepas anserifera – the first sequenced stalked
barnacle genome. We estimate that Cirripedia first arose ~495 million years ago
(MYA) and further diversified
since Mesozoic. A demographic analysis revealed remarkable
population changes of the barnacle in relation to sea-level fluctuations in the
last 2 MYA. Comparative genomic analyses revealed the expansion of a number of
developmental related genes families in barnacle genomes, such as Br-C, PCP20
and Lola, which are potentially important for the evolution of metamorphosis, cuticle development and
central nervous system. Phylogenetic analysis and tissue expression profiling
showed the possible roles of gene duplication, functional diversification and
co-option in shaping the genomic evolution of barnacles. Overall, our study
provides not only a valuable draft genome for comparative genomic analysis of
crustacean evolution, but also facilitates studies of biofouling control.

Draft genome assembly and annotation of the stalked barnacle Lepas anserifera:
Genome sequences - Lepas_v1.0_gna.fasta.gzGenome annotation - Lepas_v1.0.gff.zipPredicted transcript sequences - Lepas_v1.0.transcrtip.fasta.zipPredicted protein sequences - Lepas_v1.0.proteins.fasta.zip