A gene catalogue for post-diapause development of an anhydrobiotic arthropod Artemia franciscana

Abstract

We found that the first 5-hour period after rehydration is most important for embryonic reactivation of Artemia. As the total number of expressed genes increases significantly, the majority of DEGs were also identified in this period, including a group of water-deficient-induced genes. A group of genes with similar functions have been described in plant seeds; for instance, one of the novel LEA members shares ~70% amino-acid identity with an Arabidopsis EM (embryonic abundant) protein, the closest animal relative to plant LEA families identified thus far. Our findings also suggested that not only nutrition, but also mRNAs are produced and stored during cyst formation to support rapid development after reactivation.