Functional genomics in Spiralia

Our understanding of the mechanisms that modulate gene expression in animals is strongly biased by studying a handful of model species that mainly belong to three groups: Insecta, Nematoda and Vertebrata. However, over half of the animal phyla belong to Spiralia, a morphologically and ecologically diverse animal clade with many species of economic and biomedical importance. Therefore, investigating genome regulation in this group is central to uncovering ancestral and derived features in genome functioning in animals, which can also be of significant societal impact. Here, we focus on five aspects of gene expression regulation to review our current knowledge of functional genomics in Spiralia. Although some fields, such as single-cell transcriptomics, are becoming more common, the study of chromatin accessibility, DNA methylation, histone post-translational modifications and genome architecture are still in their infancy. Recent efforts to generate chromosome-scale reference genome assemblies for greater species diversity and optimise state-of-the-art approaches for emerging spiralian research systems will address the existing knowledge gaps in functional genomics in this animal group.

Automated summary

Our understanding of gene expression modulation in animals is biased towards a few model species, but investigating gene regulation in the diverse animal clade Spiralia is crucial for understanding ancestral and derived features in genome functioning, with significant societal impact. While certain fields such as single-cell transcriptomics are advancing, the study of chromatin accessibility, DNA methylation, histone post-translational modifications, and genome architecture is still in its early stages. Efforts to generate chromosome-scale reference genomes and optimize research approaches will bridge the knowledge gaps in functional genomics in Spiralia.