ArticleBMC evolutionary biology2017
Genetic mechanisms of bone digestion and nutrient absorption in the bone-eating worm Osedax japonicus inferred from transcriptome and gene expression analyses.
Article in BMC evolutionary biology, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 38 citations in OpenAlex.
- Faster and smaller: Heterochronic shift in gene expression leads to larval onset of spermatogenesis and miniaturized males.iScience · 2026Article
- Predetermined sex revealed by a female transient gut in non-feeding larvae of Osedax (Siboglinidae, Annelida).EvoDevo · 2025Article
- Hooked on zombie worms? Genetic blueprints of bristle formation in Osedax japonicus (Annelida).EvoDevo · 2024Article
- Unveiling the power of flavonoids: A dynamic exploration of their impact on cancer through matrix metalloproteinases regulation.BioMedicine · 2024Review
- Postembryonic development and male paedomorphosis inFrontiers in neuroscience · 2024Article
- Distinct genomic routes underlie transitions to specialised symbiotic lifestyles in deep-sea annelid worms.Nature communications · 2023Article
- Investigating calcification-related candidates in a non-symbiotic scleractinian coral, Tubastraea spp.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- High-resolution spatial and genomic characterization of coral-associated microbial aggregates in the coralScience advances · 2022Article
- RNA-Seq reveals divergent gene expression between larvae with contrasting trophic modes in the poecilogonous polychaete Boccardia wellingtonensis.Scientific reports · 2021Article
- Article
- Host-Endosymbiont Genome Integration in a Deep-Sea Chemosymbiotic Clam.Molecular biology and evolution · 2021Article
- The bone-degrading enzyme machinery: From multi-component understanding to the treatment of residues from the meat industry.Computational and structural biotechnology journal · 2021Article
- The Scaly-foot Snail genome and implications for the origins of biomineralised armour.Nature communications · 2020Article
- Organ transcriptomes of the lucinid clam Loripes orbiculatus (Poli, 1791) provide insights into their specialised roles in the biology of a chemosymbiotic bivalve.BMC genomics · 2019Article
- New species of bone-eating wormZooKeys · 2019Article
- Complete Genome Sequence of a Novel RNA Virus Identified from a Deep-Sea Animal, Osedax japonicus.Microbes and environments · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundBone-eating worms of the genus Osedax (Annelida, Siboglinidae) have adapted to whale fall environments by acquiring a novel characteristic called the root, which branches and penetrates into sunken bones. The worms lack a digestive tract and mouth opening, and it has been suggested that Osedax degrade vertebrate bones and uptake nutrients through acidification and secretion of enzymes from the root. Symbiotic bacteria in the root tissue may have a crucial role in the metabolism of Osedax. However, the molecular mechanisms and cells responsible for bone digestion and nutrient uptake are still unclear, and information on the metabolic interaction between Osedax and symbiotic bacteria is limited.
resultsWe compared transcriptomes from three different RNA samples from the following tissues: trunk + palps, root + ovisac, and larva + male. A Pfam domain enrichment analysis revealed that protease- and transporter-related genes were enriched in the root + ovisac specific genes compared with the total transcriptome. Through targeted gene annotation we found gene family expansions resulting in a remarkably large number of matrix metalloproteinase (mmp) genes in the Osedax compared with other invertebrates. Twelve of these Osedax mmp genes were expressed in the root epidermal cells. Genes encoding various types of transporters, including amino acid, oligopeptide, bicarbonate, and sulfate/carboxylate transporters, were also expressed in root epidermal cells. In addition, amino acid and other metabolite transporter genes were expressed in bacteriocytes. These protease and transporter genes were first expressed in root tissues at the juvenile stage, when the root starts to develop.
conclusionsThe expression of various proteinase and transporter genes in the root epidermis supports the theory that the root epidermal cells are responsible for bone digestion and subsequent nutrient uptake. Expression of transporter genes in the host bacteriocytes suggests the presence of metabolic interaction between Osedax and symbiotic bacteria.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.