Genome analysis of Lagocephalus sceleratus: unraveling the genomic
landscape of a successful invader
Abstract
The Tetraodontidae family encompasses several species which attract
scientific interest in terms of their ecology and evolution. The
silver-cheeked toadfish (Lagocephalus sceleratus) is a well-known
‘invasive sprinter’ that has invaded and spread, in less than a decade,
throughout the Eastern and part of the Western Mediterranean Sea from
the Red Sea through the Suez Canal. In this study, we built and analysed
the first near-chromosome level genome assembly of L. sceleratus and
explored its evolutionary landscape. Through a phylogenomic analysis, we
positioned L. sceleratus closer to T. nigroviridis, compared to other
members of the family, while gene family evolution analysis revealed
that genes associated with the immune response have experienced rapid
expansion, providing a genetic basis for studying how L. sceleratus is
able to achieve highly successful colonisation. Moreover, we found that
voltage-gated sodium channel (Nav 1.4) mutations previously connected to
tetrodotoxin resistance in other pufferfishes are not found in L.
sceleratus, highlighting the complex evolution of this trait. The
high-quality genome assembly built here is expected to set the ground
for future studies on the species biology.