scholarly journals Widespread gene duplication and adaptive evolution in the RNA interference pathways of the Drosophila obscura group

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danang Crysnanto ◽  
Darren Obbard
Keyword(s):  
Rna Interference ◽  
Gene Duplication ◽  
Species Group ◽  
Rnai Pathway ◽  
Specific Expression ◽  
Argonaute 2 ◽  
History Of ◽  
Male Specific ◽  
Obscura Group ◽  
Adaptive Substitution

Background: RNA interference (RNAi) related pathways provide defense against viruses and transposable elements, and have been implicated in the suppression of meiotic drive elements. Genes in these pathways often exhibit high levels of adaptive substitution, and over longer timescales show gene duplication and los--most likely as a consequence of their role in mediating conflict with these parasites. This is particularly striking for Argonaute 2 (Ago2), which is ancestrally the key effector of antiviral RNAi in insects, but has repeatedly formed new testis-specific duplicates in the recent history of the obscura species-group of Drosophila. Results: Here we take advantage of publicly available genomic and transcriptomic data to identify six further RNAi-pathway genes that have duplicated in this clade of Drosophila, and examine their evolutionary history. As seen for Ago2, we observe high levels of adaptive amino-acid substitution and changes in sex-biased expression in many of the paralogs. However, our phylogenetic analysis suggests that co-duplications of the RNAi machinery were not synchronous, and our expression analysis fails to identify consistent male-specific expression. Conclusions: These results confirm that RNAi genes, including genes of the antiviral and piRNA pathways, have undergone multiple independent duplications and that their history has been particularly labile within the obscura group. However, they also suggest that the selective pressures driving these changes have not been consistent, implying that more than one selective agent may be responsible.

scholarly journals Repeated duplication of Argonaute2 is associated with strong selection and testis specialization in Drosophila

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel H. Lewis ◽  
Claire L. Webster ◽  
Heli Salmela ◽  
Darren J. Obbard
Keyword(s):  
Transposable Elements ◽  
Species Group ◽  
Gene Copy ◽  
Rnai Pathway ◽  
Specific Expression ◽  
Strong Selection ◽  
Use Patterns ◽  
Link Type ◽  
Syntenic Gene ◽  
History Of

AbstractArgonaute2 (Ago2) is a rapidly evolving nuclease in the Drosophila melanogaster RNA interference (RNAi) pathway that targets viruses and transposable elements in somatic tissues. Here we reconstruct the history of Ago2 duplications across the Drosophila obscura group, and use patterns of gene expression to infer new functional specialization. We show that some duplications are old, shared by the entire species group, and that losses may be common, including previously undetected losses in the lineage leading to D. pseudoobscura. We find that while the original (syntenic) gene copy has generally retained the ancestral ubiquitous expression pattern, most of the novel Ago2 paralogues have independently specialized to testis-specific expression. Using population genetic analyses, we show that most testis-specific paralogues have significantly lower genetic diversity than the genome-wide average. This suggests recent positive selection in three different species, and model-based analyses provide strong evidence of recent hard selective sweeps in or near four of the six D. pseudoobscura Ago2 paralogues. We speculate that the repeated evolution of testis-specificity in obscura group Ago2 genes, combined with their dynamic turnover and strong signatures of adaptive evolution, may be associated with highly derived roles in the suppression of transposable elements or meiotic drive. Our study highlights the lability of RNAi pathways, even within well-studied groups such as Drosophila, and suggests that strong selection may act quickly after duplication in RNAi pathways, potentially giving rise to new and unknown RNAi functions in non-model species.Supporting DataAll new sequences produced in this study have been submitted to Genbank as KX016642-KX016771.

Zebrafish as an animal model for the antiviral RNA interference pathway

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yanxin Ren ◽  
Xueyu Li ◽  
Zhonghui Tian ◽  
Yan Xu ◽  
Ruilin Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rna Interference ◽  
Sindbis Virus ◽  
Rna Virus ◽  
Model Organism ◽  
Model Organisms ◽  
Rnai Pathway ◽  
Small Interfering Rnas ◽  
Argonaute 2 ◽  
Larval Zebrafish ◽  
Vertebrate Model

The zebrafish (Danio rerio) possesses evolutionarily conserved innate and adaptive immunity as a mammal and has recently become a popular vertebrate model to exploit infection and immunity. Antiviral RNA interference (RNAi) has been illuminated in various model organisms, including Arabidopsis thaliana, Drosophila melanogaster, Caenorhabditis elegans and mice. However, to date, there is no report on the antiviral RNAi pathway of zebrafish. Here, we have evaluated the possible use of zebrafish to study antiviral RNAi with Sindbis virus (SINV), vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) and Nodamura virus (NoV). We find that SINVs and NoVs induce the production of virus-derived small interfering RNAs (vsiRNAs), the hallmark of antiviral RNAi, with a preference for a length of 22 nucleotides, after infection of larval zebrafish. Meanwhile, the suppressor of RNAi (VSR) protein, NoV B2, may affect the accumulation of the NoV in zebrafish. Furthermore, taking advantage of the fact that zebrafish argonaute-2 (Ago2) protein is naturally deficient in cleavage compared with that of mammals, we provide evidence that the slicing activity of human Ago2 can virtually inhibit the accumulation of RNA virus after being ectopically expressed in larval zebrafish. Thus, zebrafish may be a unique model organism to study the antiviral RNAi pathway.

scholarly journals Core RNA Interference Genes Involved in miRNA and Ta-siRNA Biogenesis in Hops and Their Expression Analysis after Challenging with Verticillium nonalfalfae

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (8) ◽  
pp. 4224
Author(s):  
Urban Kunej ◽  
Jernej Jakše ◽  
Sebastjan Radišek ◽  
Nataša Štajner
Keyword(s):  
Rna Interference ◽  
Expression Analysis ◽  
Cannabis Sativa ◽  
Defense Responses ◽  
Resistant Cultivar ◽  
Post Inoculation ◽  
Biotic Stresses ◽  
Argonaute 2 ◽  
Expression Of Genes ◽  
Verticillium Nonalfalfae

RNA interference is an evolutionary conserved mechanism by which organisms regulate the expression of genes in a sequence-specific manner to modulate defense responses against various abiotic or biotic stresses. Hops are grown for their use in brewing and, in recent years, for the pharmaceutical industry. Hop production is threatened by many phytopathogens, of which Verticillium, the causal agent of Verticillium wilt, is a major contributor to yield losses. In the present study, we performed identification, characterization, phylogenetic, and expression analyses of three Argonaute, two Dicer-like, and two RNA-dependent RNA polymerase genes in the susceptible hop cultivar Celeia and the resistant cultivar Wye Target after infection with Verticillium nonalfalfae. Phylogeny results showed clustering of hop RNAi proteins with their orthologues from the closely related species Cannabis sativa, Morus notabilis and Ziziphus jujuba which form a common cluster with species of the Rosaceae family. Expression analysis revealed downregulation of argonaute 2 in both cultivars on the third day post-inoculation, which may result in reduced AGO2-siRNA-mediated posttranscriptional gene silencing. Both cultivars may also repress ta-siRNA biogenesis at different dpi, as we observed downregulation of argonaute 7 in the susceptible cultivar on day 1 and downregulation of RDR6 in the resistant cultivar on day 3 after inoculation.

Identity of the oribatid mite Oribata curva and transfer to Trichogalumna (Acari, Oribatida, Galumnidae), with discussion of nomenclatural and biogeographical issues in the ‘curva’ species-group

Zootaxa ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 4272 (4) ◽  
pp. 551
Author(s):  
ROY A. NORTON ◽  
SERGEY G. ERMILOV
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Oribatid Mite ◽  
Species Group ◽  
Type Material ◽  
Similar Species ◽  
History Of ◽  
Molecular Assessment

Based on the study of type material, other historical specimens, and new collections, the adult of the thelytokous oribatid mite Oribata curva Ewing, 1907 (Galumnidae) is redescribed and the name is recombined to Trichogalumna curva (Ewing, 1907) comb. nov. A confusing history of synonymies and misidentifications is traced in detail, and their effect on published statements about biogeography is assessed. Reliable records of T. curva are only those from North America. The tropical mite Pergalumna ventralis (Willmann, 1932) is not a subspecies of T. curva. The widely-reported Trichogalumna nipponica (Aoki, 1966) and other similar species form a complex with T. curva that needs further morphological and molecular assessment. 

Beyond Wallace: a new lineage of Chrysorthenches (Lepidoptera: Yponomeutoidea: Glyphipterigidae) reveals a journey tracking its host-plants, Podocarpus (Pinopsida: Podocarpaceae)

2020 ◽  
Vol 190 (2) ◽  
pp. 709-736
Author(s):  
Jae-Cheon Sohn ◽  
Shigeki Kobayashi ◽  
Yutaka Yoshiyasu
Keyword(s):  
Maximum Likelihood ◽  
East Asia ◽  
Host Plants ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
Species Group ◽  
Geological History ◽  
Dna Barcodes ◽  
History Of ◽  
Species Groups ◽  
Maximum Likelihood Phylogeny

Abstract A northward trans-Wallacean radiation is demonstrated for Chrysorthenches, a member of the Orthenches group. Here we review Chrysorthenches and allied genera resulting in a generic transfer of Diathryptica callibrya to Chrysorthenches and two new congeners: C. muraseaeSohn & Kobayashisp. nov. from Japan and C. smaragdinaSohnsp. nov. from Thailand. We review morphological characters of Chrysorthenches and allied genera, and find polyphyly of Diathryptica and the association of the Orthenches-group with Glyphipterigidae. These findings were supported in a maximum likelihood phylogeny of DNA barcodes from ten yponomeutoids. We analysed 30 morphological characters for 12 species of Chrysorthenches, plus one outgroup, via a cladistic approach. The resulting cladogram redefined two pre-existing Chrysorthenches species-groups and identified one novel lineage: the C. callibrya species-group. We review the host associations between Chrysorthenches and Podocarpaceae, based on mapping the working phylogenies. Our review suggests that ancestral Chrysorthenches colonized Podocarpus and later shifted to other podocarp genera. Biogeographical patterns of Chrysorthenches show that they evolved long after the Podocarpaceae radiation. Disjunctive trans-Wallacean distribution of the C. callibrya species-group is possibly related to the tracking of their host-plants and the complicated geological history of the island-arc system connecting Australia and East Asia.

Systematic evidence from gene duplication and regulation

1990 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 145
Author(s):  
DJ Colgan
Keyword(s):  
Gene Duplication ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Tandem Duplication ◽  
Fragment Length Polymorphism ◽  
Duplicate Genes ◽  
Polymorphism Analysis ◽  
Multiple Origins ◽  
The Family ◽  
History Of ◽  
Phylogenetic Hypotheses

This paper is a review of the use of information regarding the presence of duplicate genes and their regulation in systematics. The review concentrates on data derived from protein electrophoresis and restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. The appearance of a duplication in a subset of a group of species implies that the members of the subset belong to the same clade. Suppression of the duplication may render this clade apparently paraphyletic, but may itself be informative of relations within the lineage through patterns of loss of expression in all, or some tissues, or through restrictions of the formation of functional heteropolymers in polymeric enzymes. Examples are given of studies which have used such information to establish phylogenetic hypotheses at the family level, to identify an auto- or allo-polyploid origin of polyploid species and to determine whether there have been single or multiple origins of such species. The likelihood of homoplasy in the patterns of appearance and regulation of duplicates depends on the molecular basis of the duplication. In particular, the contrast between the expected consequences of tandem duplication and the expression of pseudogenes emphasises the value of determining the mechanism of the original duplication. Many instances of sporadic gene duplication are now known, and polyploidisation is a common event in the evolutionary history of both plants and animals. So the opportunities to discover duplicationrelated characters will arise in many systematic studies. A program is presented to increase the chances that such useful information will be recognisable during the studies.

scholarly journals A DNA investigation into the mysterious disappearance of the Rocky Mountain grasshopper, mega-pest of the 1800s

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Chapco ◽  
G. Litzenberger
Keyword(s):  
Dna Sequences ◽  
Nucleotide Diversity ◽  
Rocky Mountain ◽  
Species Group ◽  
Pest Species ◽  
History Of Agriculture ◽  
Extant Species ◽  
Remarkable Event ◽  
History Of ◽  
Major Pest

The mysterious extinction of the Rocky Mountain Grasshopper, Melanoplus spretus, a major pest species on the prairies and plains of the 1800s, is truly a remarkable event in the history of agriculture. Recently, we obtained specimens of M. spretus from museums and from 400-year-old glacial deposits in Wyoming. We report success in obtaining mitochondrial DNA sequences from both sources. This permitted us to examine two issues surrounding the species’ disappearance. First, a long-standing view that M. spretus and the extant species Melanoplus sanguinipes are (if not phase transforms of one another) sister taxa, is disputed, but cannot be rejected with certainty. Interestingly, there is some evidence that suggests there may be a closer affinity with another member of the Mexicanus species-group, Melanoplus bruneri. Second, because M. spretus still possesses considerable nucleotide diversity (1.15 ± 0.19%), a depletion of variation cannot be considered a factor contributing to its demise.

scholarly journals Unconventional Translation Initiation Factor EIF2A is required for Drosophila spermatogenesis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
David D Lowe ◽  
Denise Montell
Keyword(s):  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Translation Initiation Factor ◽  
Initiation Factor ◽  
Male Sterile ◽  
Specific Expression ◽  
Transposon Insertion ◽  
Stress Related Genes ◽  
Male Specific ◽  
Multicellular Organisms

The eukaryotic initiation factor EIF2A is an unconventional translation factor required for initiation of protein synthesis from non-AUG codons from a variety of transcripts, including oncogenes and stress related genes in mammalian cells. Its function in multicellular organisms has not been reported. Here, we identify and characterize mutant alleles of the CG7414 gene, which encodes the Drosophila EIF2A ortholog. We identified that CG7414 undergoes sex-specific splicing that regulates its male-specific expression. We characterized a Mi{Mic} transposon insertion that disrupts the coding regions of all predicted isoforms and is a genetic null allele, and a PBac transposon insertion into an intron, which is a hypomorph. The Mi{Mic} allele is homozygous lethal, while the viable progeny from the hypomorphic PiggyBac allele are male sterile and female fertile. In dEIF2A mutant flies, sperm failed to individualize due to defects in F-actin cones and failure to form and maintain cystic bulges, ultimately leading to sterility. These results demonstrate that EIF2A is essential in a multicellular organism, both for normal development and spermatogenesis, and provide an entree into the elucidation of the role of EIF2A and unconventional translation in vivo.

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