The genome secrets of deep-sea tubeworms at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Submarine tube worms live in deep-sea hydrothermal vents and cold spring ecosystems.

Now, a joint research team composed of Professor Qian Peiyuan and Professor Qiu Jianwen, Professor of the Department of Marine Sciences of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and Professor of the Department of Biology of Hong Kong Baptiste University-collected and collected about 1,400 in a cold abyss in the South China Sea.

Through the integration of genomics, transcriptomics and proteomics analysis, the research team found that this bacteria has a wide range of uses in energy use and can use thiosulfate, carbon monoxide and hydrogen as alternative energy sources

In addition, the research team also discovered the rapid differentiation of genes related to hydrogen sulfide and oxygen transport, innate immune regulation, lysosomal digestion, and endopeptidase activity, thereby providing genetic diversity that promotes tubeworm adaptive radiation

In order to understand the tube formation mechanism, the research team further analyzed the proteins in the tough chitin tubes of tube worms

"This research not only enhances our understanding of the adaptive mechanisms of the whole organism in the extreme deep-sea chemical synthesis environment, but also helps to understand the larger group of worms, mollusks and other marine invertebrates-crowns.

This work also opens up new directions for potential applications, including the use of unique enzymes in biosynthesis to produce biomaterials, the development of technologies to repair nutrient deficiencies, and the design of microbial growth control strategies based on microbial-animal interactions