scholarly journals Genomic signatures accompanying the dietary shift to phytophagy in polyphagan beetles

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathieu Seppey ◽  
Panagiotis Ioannidis ◽  
Brent C. Emerson ◽  
Camille Pitteloud ◽  
Marc Robinson-Rechavi ◽  
...  

AbstractBackgroundThe diversity and evolutionary success of beetles (Coleoptera) are proposed to be related to the diversity of plants on which they feed. Indeed the largest beetle suborder, Polyphaga, mostly includes plant-eaters among its ~315,000 species. In particular, plants defend themselves with a diversity of specialized toxic chemicals. These may impose selective pressures that drive genomic diversification and speciation in phytophagous beetles. However, evidence of changes in beetle gene repertoires driven by such interactions remains largely anecdotal and without explicit hypothesis testing.ResultsTo address this, we explored the genomic consequences of beetle-plant trophic interactions by performing comparative gene family analyses across 18 species representing the two most species-rich beetle suborders. We contrasted the gene contents of species from the mostly plant-eating suborder Polyphaga with those of the mainly predatory Adephaga. We found gene repertoire evolution to be more dynamic, with significantly more adaptive lineage-specific expansions, in the more speciose Polyphaga. Testing the specific hypothesis of adaptation to plant-feeding, we identified families of enzymes putatively involved in beetle-plant interactions that underwent adaptive expansions in Polyphaga. There was especially strong support for the selection hypothesis on large gene families for glutathione S-transferase and carboxylesterase detoxification enzymes.ConclusionsOur explicit modeling of the evolution of gene repertoires across 18 species identifies adaptive lineage-specific gene family expansions that accompany the dietary shift towards plants in beetles. These genomic signatures support the popular hypothesis of a key role for interactions with plant chemical defenses, and for plant-feeding in general, in driving beetle diversification.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Martinez Steele ◽  
Christopher G Lowe ◽  
Mark S Okihiro ◽  
Jesse G. Dillon ◽  
Renaud Berlemont

AbstractCarnobacterium maltaromaticumis a well-known pathogen of bony fish. More recently,C. maltaromaticumhave been isolated from the brain and inner ear of disorientated and stranded common thresher (Alopias vulpinus) and salmon shark (Lamna ditropis). While thresher shark strandings are recent, salmon sharks have been stranding for decades, suggesting a long-term association betweenC. maltaromaticumand sharks. Interestingly, some strains ofC. maltaromaticumare used by the food industry for their probiotic and antimicrobial activity. Here, we sequenced the genome of 9C. maltaromaticumstrains (SK-isolates) from diseased common thresher and salmon sharks and compared them to otherC. maltaromaticumstrains in order to identify the genomic signatures that differentiate the disease-associated from the innocuousC. maltaromaticumisolates. SK strains formed a monophyletic clade, with a conserved gene repertoire, and shared a high degree of pseudogenization even though isolates were from different shark species, locations, and across years. In addition, these strains displayed few virulence associated genes and unique genomic regions, some resulting from horizontal gene transfer. The association of diseased sharks and SK strains suggests their role as potential pathogens. Although the high degree of pseudogenization suggests a transition to a host-adapted lifestyle, a set of conserved functional genes highlights the need of essential functions required for a host-independent life style. Globally, this work identifies specific genomic signatures ofC. maltaromaticumstrains isolated from infected sharks, provides the framework to elucidate the role of SK strains in the development of the disease in sharks, and further investigate the dissemination of SK strains in populations of wild fish.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kai Zhao ◽  
Song Chen ◽  
Wenjing Yao ◽  
Zihan Cheng ◽  
Boru Zhou ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The bZIP gene family, which is widely present in plants, participates in varied biological processes including growth and development and stress responses. How do the genes regulate such biological processes? Systems biology is powerful for mechanistic understanding of gene functions. However, such studies have not yet been reported in poplar. Results In this study, we identified 86 poplar bZIP transcription factors and described their conserved domains. According to the results of phylogenetic tree, we divided these members into 12 groups with specific gene structures and motif compositions. The corresponding genes that harbor a large number of segmental duplication events are unevenly distributed on the 17 poplar chromosomes. In addition, we further examined collinearity between these genes and the related genes from six other species. Evidence from transcriptomic data indicated that the bZIP genes in poplar displayed different expression patterns in roots, stems, and leaves. Furthermore, we identified 45 bZIP genes that respond to salt stress in the three tissues. We performed co-expression analysis on the representative genes, followed by gene set enrichment analysis. The results demonstrated that tissue differentially expressed genes, especially the co-expressing genes, are mainly involved in secondary metabolic and secondary metabolite biosynthetic processes. However, salt stress responsive genes and their co-expressing genes mainly participate in the regulation of metal ion transport, and methionine biosynthetic. Conclusions Using comparative genomics and systems biology approaches, we, for the first time, systematically explore the structures and functions of the bZIP gene family in poplar. It appears that the bZIP gene family plays significant roles in regulation of poplar development and growth and salt stress responses through differential gene networks or biological processes. These findings provide the foundation for genetic breeding by engineering target regulators and corresponding gene networks into poplar lines.


BMC Biology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hao Song ◽  
Ximing Guo ◽  
Lina Sun ◽  
Qianghui Wang ◽  
Fengming Han ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Inhibitors of apoptosis (IAPs) are critical regulators of programmed cell death that are essential for development, oncogenesis, and immune and stress responses. However, available knowledge regarding IAP is largely biased toward humans and model species, while the distribution, function, and evolutionary novelties of this gene family remain poorly understood in many taxa, including Mollusca, the second most speciose phylum of Metazoa. Results Here, we present a chromosome-level genome assembly of an economically significant bivalve, the hard clam Mercenaria mercenaria, which reveals an unexpected and dramatic expansion of the IAP gene family to 159 members, the largest IAP gene repertoire observed in any metazoan. Comparative genome analysis reveals that this massive expansion is characteristic of bivalves more generally. Reconstruction of the evolutionary history of molluscan IAP genes indicates that most originated in early metazoans and greatly expanded in Bivalvia through both lineage-specific tandem duplication and retroposition, with 37.1% of hard clam IAPs located on a single chromosome. The expanded IAPs have been subjected to frequent domain shuffling, which has in turn shaped their architectural diversity. Further, we observed that extant IAPs exhibit dynamic and orchestrated expression patterns among tissues and in response to different environmental stressors. Conclusions Our results suggest that sophisticated regulation of apoptosis enabled by the massive expansion and diversification of IAPs has been crucial for the evolutionary success of hard clam and other molluscan lineages, allowing them to cope with local environmental stresses. This study broadens our understanding of IAP proteins and expression diversity and provides novel resources for studying molluscan biology and IAP function and evolution.


eLife ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel J Richter ◽  
Parinaz Fozouni ◽  
Michael B Eisen ◽  
Nicole King

Choanoflagellates, the closest living relatives of animals, can provide unique insights into the changes in gene content that preceded the origin of animals. However, only two choanoflagellate genomes are currently available, providing poor coverage of their diversity. We sequenced transcriptomes of 19 additional choanoflagellate species to produce a comprehensive reconstruction of the gains and losses that shaped the ancestral animal gene repertoire. We identified ~1944 gene families that originated on the animal stem lineage, of which only 39 are conserved across all animals in our study. In addition, ~372 gene families previously thought to be animal-specific, including Notch, Delta, and homologs of the animal Toll-like receptor genes, instead evolved prior to the animal-choanoflagellate divergence. Our findings contribute to an increasingly detailed portrait of the gene families that defined the biology of the Urmetazoan and that may underpin core features of extant animals.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mónica Lopes-Marques ◽  
André M. Machado ◽  
Raquel Ruivo ◽  
Elza Fonseca ◽  
Estela Carvalho ◽  
...  

AbstractFatty acids (FAs) constitute a considerable fraction of all lipid molecules with a fundamental role in numerous physiological processes. In animals, the majority of complex lipid molecules are derived from the transformation of FAs through several biochemical pathways. Yet, for FAs to enroll in these pathways they require an activation step. FA activation is catalyzed by the rate limiting action of Acyl-CoA synthases. Several Acyl-CoA enzyme families have been previously described and classified according to the chain length of FA they process. Here, we address the evolutionary history of the ACSBG gene family which activates, FA with more than 16 carbons. Currently, two different ACSBG gene families, ACSBG1 and ACSBG2, are recognized in vertebrates. We provide evidence that a wider and unequal ACSBG gene repertoire is present in vertebrate lineages. We identify a novel ACSBG-like gene lineage which occurs specifically in amphibians, ray finned fish, coelacanths and chondrichthyes named ACSBG3. Also, we show that the ACSBG2 gene lineage duplicated in the Theria ancestor. Our findings, thus offer a far richer understanding on FA activation in vertebrates and provide key insights into the relevance of comparative and functional analysis to perceive physiological differences, namely those related with lipid metabolic pathways.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caitlin H Miller ◽  
Polly Campbell ◽  
Michael J Sheehan

Abstract BACKGROUND: Many animals rely heavily on olfaction to navigate their environment. Among rodents, olfaction is crucial for a wide range of social behaviors. The vomeronasal olfactory system in particular plays an important role in mediating social communication, including the detection of pheromones and recognition signals. In this study we examine patterns of vomeronasal type-1 receptor (V1R) evolution in the house mouse and related species within the genus Mus . We report the extent of gene repertoire turnover and conservation among species and clades, as well as the prevalence of positive selection on gene sequences across the V1R tree. By exploring the evolution of these receptors, we provide insight into the functional roles of receptor subtypes as well as the dynamics of gene family evolution. RESULTS: We generated transcriptomes from the vomeronasal organs of 5 Mus species, and produced high quality V1R repertoires for each species. We find that V1R clades in the house mouse and relatives exhibit distinct evolutionary trajectories. We identify putative species-specific gene expansions, including a large clade D expansion in the house mouse. While gene gains are abundant, we detect very few gene losses. We describe a novel V1R clade and highlight candidate receptors for future study. We find evidence for distinct evolutionary processes across different clades, from largescale turnover to highly conserved repertoires. Patterns of positive selection are similarly variable, as some clades exhibit abundant positive selection while others display high gene sequence conservation. Based on clade-level evolutionary patterns, we identify receptor families that are strong candidates for detecting social signals and predator cues. Our results reveal clades with receptors detecting female reproductive status are among the most conserved across species, suggesting an important role in V1R chemosensation. CONCLUSION: Analysis of clade-level evolution is critical for understanding species’ chemosensory adaptations. This study provides clear evidence that V1R clades are characterized by distinct evolutionary trajectories. As receptor evolution is shaped by ligand identity, these results provide a framework for examining the functional roles of receptors.


2008 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ken-ichi Katsube ◽  
Kei Sakamoto ◽  
Yoshihiro Tamamura ◽  
Akira Yamaguchi
Keyword(s):  

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