The Naked Mole Rat Genome Resource: facilitating analyses of cancer and longevity-related adaptations

Michael Keane; Thomas Craig; Jessica Alföldi; Aaron M Berlin; Jeremy Johnson; Andrei Seluanov; Vera Gorbunova; Federica Di Palma; Kerstin Lindblad-Toh; George M Church; João Pedro de Magalhães

doi:10.1093/bioinformatics/btu579

The Naked Mole Rat Genome Resource: facilitating analyses of cancer and longevity-related adaptations

Bioinformatics. 2014 Dec 15;30(24):3558-60. doi: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btu579. Epub 2014 Aug 28.

Affiliations

¹ Integrative Genomics of Ageing Group, Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA, Department of Biology, University of Rochester, NY, USA, Vertebrate and Health Genomics, The Genome Analysis Center, Norwich, UK, Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden and Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
² Integrative Genomics of Ageing Group, Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA, Department of Biology, University of Rochester, NY, USA, Vertebrate and Health Genomics, The Genome Analysis Center, Norwich, UK, Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden and Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA Integrative Genomics of Ageing Group, Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA, Department of Biology, University of Rochester, NY, USA, Vertebrate and Health Genomics, The Genome Analysis Center, Norwich, UK, Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden and Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.

Abstract

Motivation: The naked mole rat (Heterocephalus glaber) is an exceptionally long-lived and cancer-resistant rodent native to East Africa. Although its genome was previously sequenced, here we report a new assembly sequenced by us with substantially higher N50 values for scaffolds and contigs.

Results: We analyzed the annotation of this new improved assembly and identified candidate genomic adaptations which may have contributed to the evolution of the naked mole rat's extraordinary traits, including in regions of p53, and the hyaluronan receptors CD44 and HMMR (RHAMM). Furthermore, we developed a freely available web portal, the Naked Mole Rat Genome Resource (http://www.naked-mole-rat.org), featuring the data and results of our analysis, to assist researchers interested in the genome and genes of the naked mole rat, and also to facilitate further studies on this fascinating species.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Evolution, Molecular
Female
Genes
Genome*
Genomics
Guinea Pigs
Humans
Longevity / genetics*
Mice
Mole Rats / genetics*
Neoplasms / genetics*
Sequence Alignment

The Naked Mole Rat Genome Resource: facilitating analyses of cancer and longevity-related adaptations

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding