Evolution of chemosensory gene families in arthropods: insight from the first inclusive comparative transcriptome analysis across spider appendages

Description: Unlike hexapods and vertebrates, in chelicerates, knowledge of the specific molecules involved in chemoreception comes exclusively from the comparative analysis of genome sequences. Indeed, the genomes of mites, ticks and spiders contain several genes encoding homologs of some insect membrane receptors and small soluble chemosensory proteins. Here, we conducted for the first time a comprehensive comparative RNA-Seq analysis across different body structures of a chelicerate: the nocturnal wandering hunter spider Dysdera silvatica Schmidt 1981. Specifically, we obtained the complete transcriptome of this species as well as the specific expression profile in the first pair of legs and the palps, which are thought to be the specific olfactory appendages in spiders, and in the remaining legs, which also have hairs that have been morphologically identified as chemosensory. We identified several ionotropic …