2025/02/01 by Kate R. Castellano, Michelle L. Neitzey, Andrew Starovoitov +12 · 2 voices · 9 citations
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Earth and Planetary Sciences · #Advanced biosensing and bioanalysis techniques #Biology #Ecology #Evolutionary biology #Gene #Genetics #Genome #Genomics and Phylogenetic Studies #Horseshoe crab #Limulus #Lineage (genetic) #Living fossil #Population #Subterranean biodiversity and taxonomy #Zoology
paper · pdf · doi:10.1093/molbev/msaf021
published in Molecular Biology and Evolution 42(2) (Oxford University Press)
openalex publication_date 2025/02/01 · openalex created_date 2025/02/05 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/06
Horseshoe crabs, considered living fossils with a stable morphotype spanning ∼445 million years, are evolutionarily, ecologically, and biomedically important species experiencing rapid population decline. Of the four extant species of horseshoe crabs, the Atlantic horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus, has become an essential component of the modern medicine toolkit. Here, we present the first chromosome-level genome assembly, and the most contiguous and complete assembly to date, for L. polyphemus using nanopore long-read sequencing and chromatin conformation analysis. We find support for three horseshoe crab-specific whole-genome duplications, but none shared with Arachnopulmonata (spiders and scorpions). Moreover, we discovered tandem duplicates of endotoxin detection pathway components Factors C and G, identify candidate centromeres consisting of Gypsy retroelements, and classify the ZW sex chromosome system for this species and a sister taxon, Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda. Finally, we revealed this species has been experiencing a steep population decline over the last 5 million years, highlighting the need for international conservation interventions and fisheries-based management for this critical species.