The copepod Tigriopus japonicus genomic DNA information (574 Mb) and molecular anatomy

The intertidal copepod, Tigriopus japonicus, has been recognized as a promising model species for marine environmental genomics. To obtain extensive genomic DNA sequences from this species, we sequenced genomic DNA from adult copepods using genomic sequencers GS-FLX and GS-FLX-Titanium and attained 1,914,995 reads (average read length 299.8 bp) including 574.2 Mb of genomic DNA information. After subjecting them to assembly, we acquired 193,642 contigs (total contigs length 129.7 Mb), and finally were able to obtain 10,894 unigenes ( E-value > 0.1; length > 200 bp) containing 33,081,455 bp after a nonredundant (NR) blast search. In this paper, we summarize the genomic DNA sequences of T. japonicus and discuss its potential use in environmental genomics and ecotoxicological studies for uncovering mechanisms of environmental stresses and chemical toxicities to marine crustaceans.