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Byerly PA, Kearns AM, Welch A, Ochirbat ME, Marra PP, Wilson A, Campana MG, Fleischer RC. Museum genomics provide insight into the extinction of a specialist North American warbler species. Sci Rep 2024; 14:17047. [PMID: 39048633 PMCID: PMC11269716 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-67595-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2023] [Accepted: 07/12/2024] [Indexed: 07/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Museum genomics provide an opportunity to investigate population demographics of extinct species, especially valuable when research prior to extinction was minimal. The Bachman's warbler (Vermivora bachmanii) is hypothesized to have gone extinct due to loss of its specialized habitat. However, little is known about other potential contributing factors such as natural rarity or changes to connectivity following habitat fragmentation. We examined mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and genome-wide SNPs using specimens collected from breeding and migration sites across the range of the Bachman's warbler. We found no signals of strong population structuring across the breeding range of Bachman's warblers in both mtDNA and genome-wide SNPs. Thus, long-term population isolation did not appear to be a significant contributor to the extinction of the Bachman's warbler. Instead, our findings support the theory that Bachman's warblers underwent a rapid decline likely driven by habitat destruction, which may have been exacerbated by the natural rarity, habitat specificity and low genetic diversity of the species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paige A Byerly
- Center for Conservation Genomics, Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Washington, DC, 20008, USA.
| | - Anna M Kearns
- Center for Conservation Genomics, Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Washington, DC, 20008, USA
- Australian National Wildlife Collection, CSIRO National Research Collections Australia, Canberra, Australia
| | - Andreanna Welch
- Center for Conservation Genomics, Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Washington, DC, 20008, USA
- Department of Biosciences, Durham University, South Road, Durham, UK
| | - Margad-Erdene Ochirbat
- Center for Conservation Genomics, Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Washington, DC, 20008, USA
| | - Peter P Marra
- Department of Biology and McCourt School of Public Policy, Georgetown University, 37th and O Streets NW, Washington, DC, 20057, USA
| | - Amy Wilson
- Center for Conservation Genomics, Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Washington, DC, 20008, USA
- Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Michael G Campana
- Center for Conservation Genomics, Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Washington, DC, 20008, USA
| | - Robert C Fleischer
- Center for Conservation Genomics, Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Washington, DC, 20008, USA
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2
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Gyllenhaal EF, Brady SS, DeCicco LH, Naikatini A, Hime PM, Manthey JD, Kelly J, Moyle RG, Andersen MJ. Waves of Colonization and Gene Flow in a Great Speciator. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.07.18.603796. [PMID: 39091784 PMCID: PMC11291091 DOI: 10.1101/2024.07.18.603796] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/04/2024]
Abstract
Secondary contact between previously allopatric lineages offers a test of reproductive isolating mechanisms that may have accrued in isolation. Such instances of contact can produce stable hybrid zones-where reproductive isolation can further develop via reinforcement or phenotypic displacement-or result in the lineages merging. Ongoing secondary contact is most visible in continental systems, where steady input from parental taxa can occur readily. In oceanic island systems, however, secondary contact between closely related species of birds is relatively rare. When observed on sufficiently small islands, relative to population size, secondary contact likely represents a recent phenomenon. Here, we examine the dynamics of a group of birds whose apparent widespread hybridization influenced Ernst Mayr's foundational work on allopatric speciation: the whistlers of Fiji (Aves: Pachycephala). We demonstrate two clear instances of secondary contact within the Fijian archipelago, one resulting in a hybrid zone on a larger island, and the other resulting in a wholly admixed population on a smaller, adjacent island. We leveraged low genome-wide divergence in the hybrid zone to pinpoint a single genomic region associated with observed phenotypic differences. We use genomic data to present a new hypothesis that emphasizes rapid plumage evolution and post-divergence gene flow.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ethan F. Gyllenhaal
- Department of Biology and Museum of Southwestern Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
| | - Serina S. Brady
- Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Lucas H. DeCicco
- Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, USA
| | | | - Paul M. Hime
- Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, USA
- Present Address: McDonnell Genome Institute and Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Joseph D. Manthey
- Department of Biological Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, USA
| | - John Kelly
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, USA
| | - Robert G. Moyle
- Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, USA
| | - Michael J. Andersen
- Department of Biology and Museum of Southwestern Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
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3
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Sigeman H, Downing PA, Zhang H, Hansson B. The rate of W chromosome degeneration across multiple avian neo-sex chromosomes. Sci Rep 2024; 14:16548. [PMID: 39020011 PMCID: PMC11255319 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-66470-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2023] [Accepted: 07/01/2024] [Indexed: 07/19/2024] Open
Abstract
When sex chromosomes evolve recombination suppression, the sex-limited chromosome (Y/W) commonly degenerate by losing functional genes. The rate of Y/W degeneration is believed to slow down over time as the most essential genes are maintained by purifying selection, but supporting data are scarce especially for ZW systems. Here, we study W degeneration in Sylvioidea songbirds where multiple autosomal translocations to the sex chromosomes, and multiple recombination suppression events causing separate evolutionary strata, have occurred during the last ~ 28.1-4.5 million years (Myr). We show that the translocated regions have maintained 68.3-97.7% of their original gene content, compared to only 4.2% on the much older ancestral W chromosome. By mapping W gene losses onto a dated phylogeny, we estimate an average gene loss rate of 1.0% per Myr, with only moderate variation between four independent lineages. Consistent with previous studies, evolutionarily constrained and haploinsufficient genes were preferentially maintained on W. However, the gene loss rate did not show any consistent association with strata age or with the number of W genes at strata formation. Our study provides a unique account on the pace of W gene loss and reinforces the significance of purifying selection in maintaining essential genes on sex chromosomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hanna Sigeman
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Ecology Building, 223 62, Lund, Sweden.
- Ecology and Genetics Research Unit, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.
| | - Philip A Downing
- Ecology and Genetics Research Unit, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
| | - Hongkai Zhang
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Ecology Building, 223 62, Lund, Sweden
| | - Bengt Hansson
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Ecology Building, 223 62, Lund, Sweden.
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4
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Gedman GL, Kimball TH, Atkinson LL, Factor D, Vojtova G, Farias-Virgens M, Wright TF, White SA. CHIRP-Seq: FoxP2 transcriptional targets in zebra finch brain include numerous speech and language-related genes. RESEARCH SQUARE 2024:rs.3.rs-4542378. [PMID: 38978588 PMCID: PMC11230500 DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4542378/v1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/10/2024]
Abstract
Background Vocal learning is a rare, convergent trait that is fundamental to both human speech and birdsong. The Forkhead Box P2 (FoxP2) transcription factor appears necessary for both types of learned signals, as human mutations in FoxP2 result in speech deficits, and disrupting its expression in zebra finches impairs male-specific song learning. In juvenile and adult male finches, striatal FoxP2 mRNA and protein decline acutely within song-dedicated neurons during singing, indicating that its transcriptional targets are also behaviorally regulated. The identities of these targets in songbirds, and whether they differ across sex, development and/or behavioral conditions, are largely unknown. Results Here we used chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by sequencing (ChIP-Seq) to identify genomic sites bound by FoxP2 in male and female, juvenile and adult, and singing and non-singing birds. Our results suggest robust FoxP2 binding concentrated in putative promoter regions of genes. The number of genes likely to be bound by FoxP2 varied across conditions, suggesting specialized roles of the candidate targets related to sex, age, and behavioral state. We validated these binding targets both bioinformatically, with comparisons to previous studies and biochemically, with immunohistochemistry using an antibody for a putative target gene. Gene ontology analyses revealed enrichment for human speech- and language-related functions in males only, consistent with the sexual dimorphism of song learning in this species. Fewer such targets were found in juveniles relative to adults, suggesting an expansion of this regulatory network with maturation. The fewest speech-related targets were found in the singing condition, consistent with the well-documented singing-driven down-regulation of FoxP2 in the songbird striatum. Conclusions Overall, these data provide an initial catalog of the regulatory landscape of FoxP2 in an avian vocal learner, offering dozens of target genes for future study and providing insight into the molecular underpinnings of vocal learning.
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Kraft FLH, Crino OL, Adeniran-Obey SO, Moraney RA, Clayton DF, George JM, Buchanan KL. Parental developmental experience affects vocal learning in offspring. Sci Rep 2024; 14:13787. [PMID: 38877207 PMCID: PMC11178867 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-64520-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2023] [Accepted: 06/10/2024] [Indexed: 06/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Cultural and genetic inheritance combine to enable rapid changes in trait expression, but their relative importance in determining trait expression across generations is not clear. Birdsong is a socially learned cognitive trait that is subject to both cultural and genetic inheritance, as well as being affected by early developmental conditions. We sought to test whether early-life conditions in one generation can affect song acquisition in the next generation. We exposed one generation (F1) of nestlings to elevated corticosterone (CORT) levels, allowed them to breed freely as adults, and quantified their son's (F2) ability to copy the song of their social father. We also quantified the neurogenetic response to song playback through immediate early gene (IEG) expression in the auditory forebrain. F2 males with only one corticosterone-treated parent copied their social father's song less accurately than males with two control parents. Expression of ARC in caudomedial nidopallium (NCM) correlated with father-son song similarity, and patterns of expression levels of several IEGs in caudomedial mesopallium (CMM) in response to father song playback differed between control F2 sons and those with a CORT-treated father only. This is the first study to demonstrate that developmental conditions can affect social learning and neurogenetic responses in a subsequent generation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fanny-Linn H Kraft
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia.
- Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Ondi L Crino
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia
- College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Bedford Park, SA, Australia
| | | | - Raven A Moraney
- Department of Biological Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA
| | - David F Clayton
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
- Department of Genetics and Biochemistry, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA
| | - Julia M George
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
- Department of Biological Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA
| | - Katherine L Buchanan
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia
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6
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Martin CA, Sheppard EC, Ali HAA, Illera JC, Suh A, Spurgin LG, Richardson DS. Genomic landscapes of divergence among island bird populations: Evidence of parallel adaptation but at different loci? Mol Ecol 2024; 33:e17365. [PMID: 38733214 DOI: 10.1111/mec.17365] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2023] [Accepted: 03/01/2024] [Indexed: 05/13/2024]
Abstract
When populations colonise new environments, they may be exposed to novel selection pressures but also suffer from extensive genetic drift due to founder effects, small population sizes and limited interpopulation gene flow. Genomic approaches enable us to study how these factors drive divergence, and disentangle neutral effects from differentiation at specific loci due to selection. Here, we investigate patterns of genetic diversity and divergence using whole-genome resequencing (>22× coverage) in Berthelot's pipit (Anthus berthelotii), a passerine endemic to the islands of three north Atlantic archipelagos. Strong environmental gradients, including in pathogen pressure, across populations in the species range, make it an excellent system in which to explore traits important in adaptation and/or incipient speciation. First, we quantify how genomic divergence accumulates across the speciation continuum, that is, among Berthelot's pipit populations, between sub species across archipelagos, and between Berthelot's pipit and its mainland ancestor, the tawny pipit (Anthus campestris). Across these colonisation timeframes (2.1 million-ca. 8000 years ago), we identify highly differentiated loci within genomic islands of divergence and conclude that the observed distributions align with expectations for non-neutral divergence. Characteristic signatures of selection are identified in loci associated with craniofacial/bone and eye development, metabolism and immune response between population comparisons. Interestingly, we find limited evidence for repeated divergence of the same loci across the colonisation range but do identify different loci putatively associated with the same biological traits in different populations, likely due to parallel adaptation. Incipient speciation across these island populations, in which founder effects and selective pressures are strong, may therefore be repeatedly associated with morphology, metabolism and immune defence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia A Martin
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norfolk, UK
- Terrestrial Ecology Unit, Biology Department, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | | | - Hisham A A Ali
- Department of Biology, Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Juan Carlos Illera
- Biodiversity Research Institute (CSIC-Oviedo University-Principality of Asturias), University of Oviedo, Mieres, Asturias, Spain
| | - Alexander Suh
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norfolk, UK
- Department of Organismal Biology - Systematic Biology, Evolutionary Biology Centre (EBC), Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Lewis G Spurgin
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norfolk, UK
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7
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Edwards SV, Cloutier A, Cockburn G, Driver R, Grayson P, Katoh K, Baldwin MW, Sackton TB, Baker AJ. A nuclear genome assembly of an extinct flightless bird, the little bush moa. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2024; 10:eadj6823. [PMID: 38781323 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adj6823] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2023] [Accepted: 04/17/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024]
Abstract
We present a draft genome of the little bush moa (Anomalopteryx didiformis)-one of approximately nine species of extinct flightless birds from Aotearoa, New Zealand-using ancient DNA recovered from a fossil bone from the South Island. We recover a complete mitochondrial genome at 249.9× depth of coverage and almost 900 megabases of a male moa nuclear genome at ~4 to 5× coverage, with sequence contiguity sufficient to identify more than 85% of avian universal single-copy orthologs. We describe a diverse landscape of transposable elements and satellite repeats, estimate a long-term effective population size of ~240,000, identify a diverse suite of olfactory receptor genes and an opsin repertoire with sensitivity in the ultraviolet range, show that the wingless moa phenotype is likely not attributable to gene loss or pseudogenization, and identify potential function-altering coding sequence variants in moa that could be synthesized for future functional assays. This genomic resource should support further studies of avian evolution and morphological divergence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Scott V Edwards
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
- Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Alison Cloutier
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Glenn Cockburn
- Evolution of Sensory Systems Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence, 82319 Seewiesen, Germany
| | - Robert Driver
- Department of Biology, East Carolina University, E 5th Street, Greenville, NC 27605, USA
| | - Phil Grayson
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
- Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Kazutaka Katoh
- Department of Genome Informatics, Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University, 3-1 Yamadaoka, Suita 565-0871, Japan
| | - Maude W Baldwin
- Evolution of Sensory Systems Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence, 82319 Seewiesen, Germany
| | - Timothy B Sackton
- Informatics Group, Harvard University, 38 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Allan J Baker
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcox Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3B2, Canada
- Department of Natural History, Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen's Park, Toronto, ON M5S 2C6, Canada
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8
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Dayal S, Chaubey D, Joshi DC, Ranmale S, Pillai B. Noncoding RNAs: Emerging regulators of behavioral complexity. WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS. RNA 2024; 15:e1847. [PMID: 38702948 DOI: 10.1002/wrna.1847] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2023] [Revised: 03/16/2024] [Accepted: 03/20/2024] [Indexed: 05/06/2024]
Abstract
The mammalian genome encodes thousands of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), ranging in size from about 20 nucleotides (microRNAs or miRNAs) to kilobases (long non-coding RNAs or lncRNAs). ncRNAs contribute to a layer of gene regulation that could explain the evolution of massive phenotypic complexity even as the number of protein-coding genes remains unaltered. We propose that low conservation, poor expression, and highly restricted spatiotemporal expression patterns-conventionally considered ncRNAs may affect behavior through direct, rapid, and often sustained regulation of gene expression at the transcriptional, post-transcriptional, or translational levels. Besides these direct roles, their effect during neurodevelopment may manifest as behavioral changes later in the organism's life, especially when exposed to environmental cues like stress and seasonal changes. The lncRNAs affect behavior through diverse mechanisms like sponging of miRNAs, recruitment of chromatin modifiers, and regulation of alternative splicing. We highlight the need for synthesis between rigorously designed behavioral paradigms in model organisms and the wide diversity of behaviors documented by ethologists through field studies on organisms exquisitely adapted to their environmental niche. Comparative genomics and the latest advancements in transcriptomics provide an unprecedented scope for merging field and lab studies on model and non-model organisms to shed light on the role of ncRNAs in driving the behavioral responses of individuals and groups. We touch upon the technical challenges and contentious issues that must be resolved to fully understand the role of ncRNAs in regulating complex behavioral traits. This article is categorized under: Regulatory RNAs/RNAi/Riboswitches > Regulatory RNAs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sanovar Dayal
- CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), New Delhi, India
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, India
| | - Divya Chaubey
- CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), New Delhi, India
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, India
| | - Dheeraj Chandra Joshi
- CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), New Delhi, India
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, India
| | - Samruddhi Ranmale
- CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), New Delhi, India
| | - Beena Pillai
- CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), New Delhi, India
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, India
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9
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Zheng W, Gojobori J, Suh A, Satta Y. Different Host-Endogenous Retrovirus Relationships between Mammals and Birds Reflected in Genome-Wide Evolutionary Interaction Patterns. Genome Biol Evol 2024; 16:evae065. [PMID: 38527852 PMCID: PMC11005779 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evae065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2023] [Revised: 02/25/2024] [Accepted: 03/21/2024] [Indexed: 03/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Mammals and birds differ largely in their average endogenous retrovirus loads, namely the proportion of endogenous retrovirus in the genome. The host-endogenous retrovirus relationships, including conflict and co-option, have been hypothesized among the causes of this difference. However, there has not been studies about the genomic evolutionary signal of constant host-endogenous retrovirus interactions in a long-term scale and how such interactions could lead to the endogenous retrovirus load difference. Through a phylogeny-controlled correlation analysis on ∼5,000 genes between the dN/dS ratio of each gene and the load of endogenous retrovirus in 12 mammals and 21 birds, separately, we detected genes that may have evolved in association with endogenous retrovirus loads. Birds have a higher proportion of genes with strong correlation between dN/dS and the endogenous retrovirus load than mammals. Strong evidence of association is found between the dN/dS of the coding gene for leucine-rich repeat-containing protein 23 and endogenous retrovirus load in birds. Gene set enrichment analysis shows that gene silencing rather than immunity and DNA recombination may have a larger contribution to the association between dN/dS and the endogenous retrovirus load for both mammals and birds. The above results together showing different evolutionary patterns between bird and mammal genes can partially explain the apparently lower endogenous retrovirus loads of birds, while gene silencing may be a universal mechanism that plays a remarkable role in the evolutionary interaction between the host and endogenous retrovirus. In summary, our study presents signals that the host genes might have driven or responded to endogenous retrovirus load changes in long-term evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wanjing Zheng
- Department of Evolutionary Studies of Biosystems, School of Advanced Sciences, SOKENDAI (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies), Kanagawa 240-0193, Japan
- School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China
| | - Jun Gojobori
- Department of Evolutionary Studies of Biosystems, School of Advanced Sciences, SOKENDAI (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies), Kanagawa 240-0193, Japan
- Research Center for Integrative Evolutionary Science, SOKENDAI (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies), Kanagawa 240-0193, Japan
| | - Alexander Suh
- Department of Organismal Biology—Systematic Biology, Evolutionary Biology Centre (EBC), Uppsala University, Uppsala 75236, Sweden
- School of Biological Sciences—Organisms and the Environment, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
| | - Yoko Satta
- Department of Evolutionary Studies of Biosystems, School of Advanced Sciences, SOKENDAI (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies), Kanagawa 240-0193, Japan
- Research Center for Integrative Evolutionary Science, SOKENDAI (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies), Kanagawa 240-0193, Japan
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10
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Benham PM, Cicero C, Escalona M, Beraut E, Fairbairn C, Marimuthu MPA, Nguyen O, Sahasrabudhe R, King BL, Thomas WK, Kovach AI, Nachman MW, Bowie RCK. Remarkably High Repeat Content in the Genomes of Sparrows: The Importance of Genome Assembly Completeness for Transposable Element Discovery. Genome Biol Evol 2024; 16:evae067. [PMID: 38566597 PMCID: PMC11088854 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evae067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2023] [Revised: 03/01/2024] [Accepted: 03/23/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Transposable elements (TE) play critical roles in shaping genome evolution. Highly repetitive TE sequences are also a major source of assembly gaps making it difficult to fully understand the impact of these elements on host genomes. The increased capacity of long-read sequencing technologies to span highly repetitive regions promises to provide new insights into patterns of TE activity across diverse taxa. Here we report the generation of highly contiguous reference genomes using PacBio long-read and Omni-C technologies for three species of Passerellidae sparrow. We compared these assemblies to three chromosome-level sparrow assemblies and nine other sparrow assemblies generated using a variety of short- and long-read technologies. All long-read based assemblies were longer (range: 1.12 to 1.41 Gb) than short-read assemblies (0.91 to 1.08 Gb) and assembly length was strongly correlated with the amount of repeat content. Repeat content for Bell's sparrow (31.2% of genome) was the highest level ever reported within the order Passeriformes, which comprises over half of avian diversity. The highest levels of repeat content (79.2% to 93.7%) were found on the W chromosome relative to other regions of the genome. Finally, we show that proliferation of different TE classes varied even among species with similar levels of repeat content. These patterns support a dynamic model of TE expansion and contraction even in a clade where TEs were once thought to be fairly depauperate and static. Our work highlights how the resolution of difficult-to-assemble regions of the genome with new sequencing technologies promises to transform our understanding of avian genome evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Phred M Benham
- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Carla Cicero
- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Merly Escalona
- Department of Biomolecular Engineering, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
| | - Eric Beraut
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
| | - Colin Fairbairn
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
| | - Mohan P A Marimuthu
- DNA Technologies and Expression Analysis Core Laboratory, Genome Center, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Oanh Nguyen
- DNA Technologies and Expression Analysis Core Laboratory, Genome Center, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Ruta Sahasrabudhe
- DNA Technologies and Expression Analysis Core Laboratory, Genome Center, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Benjamin L King
- Department of Molecular and Biomedical Sciences, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, USA
| | - W Kelley Thomas
- Department of Molecular, Cellular and Biomedical Sciences, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824, USA
| | - Adrienne I Kovach
- Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824, USA
| | - Michael W Nachman
- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Rauri C K Bowie
- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
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11
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Sheppard EC, Martin CA, Armstrong C, González-Quevedo C, Illera JC, Suh A, Spurgin LG, Richardson DS. Genotype-environment associations reveal genes potentially linked to avian malaria infection in populations of an endemic island bird. Mol Ecol 2024; 33:e17329. [PMID: 38533805 DOI: 10.1111/mec.17329] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2023] [Revised: 01/29/2024] [Accepted: 03/01/2024] [Indexed: 03/28/2024]
Abstract
Patterns of pathogen prevalence are, at least partially, the result of coevolutionary host-pathogen interactions. Thus, exploring the distribution of host genetic variation in relation to infection by a pathogen within and across populations can provide important insights into mechanisms of host defence and adaptation. Here, we use a landscape genomics approach (Bayenv) in conjunction with genome-wide data (ddRADseq) to test for associations between avian malaria (Plasmodium) prevalence and host genetic variation across 13 populations of the island endemic Berthelot's pipit (Anthus berthelotii). Considerable and consistent spatial heterogeneity in malaria prevalence was observed among populations over a period of 15 years. The prevalence of malaria infection was also strongly positively correlated with pox (Avipoxvirus) prevalence. Multiple host loci showed significant associations with malaria prevalence after controlling for genome-wide neutral genetic structure. These sites were located near to or within genes linked to metabolism, stress response, transcriptional regulation, complement activity and the inflammatory response, many previously implicated in vertebrate responses to malarial infection. Our findings identify diverse genes - not just limited to the immune system - that may be involved in host protection against malaria and suggest that spatially variable pathogen pressure may be an important evolutionary driver of genetic divergence among wild animal populations, such as Berthelot's pipit. Furthermore, our data indicate that spatio-temporal variation in multiple different pathogens (e.g. malaria and pox in this case) may have to be studied together to develop a more holistic understanding of host pathogen-mediated evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Claudia A Martin
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norfolk, UK
- Terrestrial Ecology Unit, Biology Department, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Claire Armstrong
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norfolk, UK
| | - Catalina González-Quevedo
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norfolk, UK
- Grupo Ecología y Evolución de Vertebrados, Instituto de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Antioquia UdeA, Medellin, Colombia
| | - Juan Carlos Illera
- Biodiversity Research Institute (CSIC-Oviedo, University-Principality of Asturias), University of Oviedo, Mieres, Asturias, Spain
| | - Alexander Suh
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norfolk, UK
- Centre for Molecular Biodiversity Research, Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change, Bonn, Germany
- Department of Organismal Biology - Systematic Biology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Lewis G Spurgin
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norfolk, UK
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12
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Saatoglu D, Lundregan SL, Fetterplace E, Goedert D, Husby A, Niskanen AK, Muff S, Jensen H. The genetic basis of dispersal in a vertebrate metapopulation. Mol Ecol 2024; 33:e17295. [PMID: 38396362 DOI: 10.1111/mec.17295] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2023] [Revised: 01/18/2024] [Accepted: 01/22/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024]
Abstract
Dispersal affects evolutionary processes by changing population size and genetic composition, influencing the viability and persistence of populations. Investigating which mechanisms underlie variation in dispersal phenotypes and whether populations harbour adaptive potential for dispersal is crucial to understanding the eco-evolutionary dynamics of this important trait. Here, we investigate the genetic architecture of dispersal among successfully recruited individuals in an insular metapopulation of house sparrows. We use an extensive long-term individual-based ecological data set and high-density single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotypes for over 2500 individuals. We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS), and found a relationship between dispersal probability and a SNP located near genes known to regulate circadian rhythm, glycogenesis and exercise performance, among other functions. However, this SNP only explained 3.8% of variance, suggesting that dispersal is a polygenic trait. We then used an animal model to estimate heritable genetic variation (σA 2 ), which composes 10% of the total variation in dispersal probability. Finally, we investigated differences in σA 2 across populations occupying ecologically relevant habitat types (farm vs. non-farm) using a genetic groups animal model. We found different adaptive potentials across habitats, with higher mean breeding value, σA 2 , and heritability for the habitat presenting lower dispersal rates, suggesting also different roles of environmental variation. Our results suggest a complex genetic architecture of dispersal and demonstrate that adaptive potential may be environment dependent in key eco-evolutionary traits. The eco-evolutionary implications of such environment dependence and consequent spatial variation are likely to become ever more important with the increased fragmentation and loss of suitable habitats for many natural populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dilan Saatoglu
- Department of Biology, Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Sarah L Lundregan
- Department of Biology, Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Evelyn Fetterplace
- Department of Biology, Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Debora Goedert
- Department of Biology, Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Arild Husby
- Department of Biology, Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
- Evolutionary Biology, Department of Ecology and Genetics, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Alina K Niskanen
- Department of Biology, Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
- Ecology and Genetics Research Unit, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
| | - Stefanie Muff
- Department of Mathematical Sciences, Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Henrik Jensen
- Department of Biology, Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
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13
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Maclary ET, Holt C, Concepcion GT, Sović I, Vickrey AI, Yandell M, Kronenberg Z, Shapiro MD. Assembly and annotation of 2 high-quality columbid reference genomes from sequencing of a Columba livia × Columba guinea F1 hybrid. G3 (BETHESDA, MD.) 2024; 14:jkad280. [PMID: 38066578 PMCID: PMC10849363 DOI: 10.1093/g3journal/jkad280] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2023] [Revised: 11/28/2023] [Accepted: 12/01/2023] [Indexed: 12/19/2023]
Abstract
Pigeons and doves (family Columbidae) are one of the most diverse extant avian lineages, and many species have served as key models for evolutionary genomics, developmental biology, physiology, and behavioral studies. Building genomic resources for columbids is essential to further many of these studies. Here, we present high-quality genome assemblies and annotations for 2 columbid species, Columba livia and Columba guinea. We simultaneously assembled C. livia and C. guinea genomes from long-read sequencing of a single F1 hybrid individual. The new C. livia genome assembly (Cliv_3) shows improved completeness and contiguity relative to Cliv_2.1, with an annotation incorporating long-read IsoSeq data for more accurate gene models. Intensive selective breeding of C. livia has given rise to hundreds of breeds with diverse morphological and behavioral characteristics, and Cliv_3 offers improved tools for mapping the genomic architecture of interesting traits. The C. guinea genome assembly is the first for this species and is a new resource for avian comparative genomics. Together, these assemblies and annotations provide improved resources for functional studies of columbids and avian comparative genomics in general.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily T Maclary
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
| | - Carson Holt
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
| | | | - Ivan Sović
- Pacific Biosciences, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA
- Digital BioLogic d.o.o, Ivanić-Grad 10310, Croatia
| | - Anna I Vickrey
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
| | - Mark Yandell
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
| | | | - Michael D Shapiro
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
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14
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Kuttiyarthu Veetil N, Cedraz de Oliveira H, Gomez-Samblas M, Divín D, Melepat B, Voukali E, Świderská Z, Krajzingrová T, Těšický M, Jung F, Beneš V, Madsen O, Vinkler M. Peripheral inflammation-induced changes in songbird brain gene expression: 3' mRNA transcriptomic approach. DEVELOPMENTAL AND COMPARATIVE IMMUNOLOGY 2024; 151:105106. [PMID: 38013114 DOI: 10.1016/j.dci.2023.105106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2023] [Revised: 11/03/2023] [Accepted: 11/21/2023] [Indexed: 11/29/2023]
Abstract
Species-specific neural inflammation can be induced by profound immune signalling from periphery to brain. Recent advances in transcriptomics offer cost-effective approaches to study this regulation. In a population of captive zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata), we compare the differential gene expression patterns in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-triggered peripheral inflammation revealed by RNA-seq and QuantSeq. The RNA-seq approach identified more differentially expressed genes but failed to detect any inflammatory markers. In contrast, QuantSeq results identified specific expression changes in the genes regulating inflammation. Next, we adopted QuantSeq to relate peripheral and brain transcriptomes. We identified subtle changes in the brain gene expression during the peripheral inflammation (e.g. up-regulation in AVD-like and ACOD1 expression) and detected co-structure between the peripheral and brain inflammation. Our results suggest benefits of the 3'end transcriptomics for association studies between peripheral and neural inflammation in genetically heterogeneous models and identify potential targets for the future brain research in birds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nithya Kuttiyarthu Veetil
- Charles University, Faculty of Science, Department of Zoology, Viničná 7, 128 43, Prague, Czech Republic.
| | - Haniel Cedraz de Oliveira
- Wageningen University and Research, Department of Animal Sciences, Animal Breeding and Genomics, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708PB, Wageningen, the Netherlands; Federal University of Viçosa, Viçosa, MG, 36570-900, Brazil.
| | - Mercedes Gomez-Samblas
- Charles University, Faculty of Science, Department of Zoology, Viničná 7, 128 43, Prague, Czech Republic; Granada University, Science faculty, Department of Parasitology, CP:18071, Granada, Granada, Spain.
| | - Daniel Divín
- Charles University, Faculty of Science, Department of Zoology, Viničná 7, 128 43, Prague, Czech Republic.
| | - Balraj Melepat
- Charles University, Faculty of Science, Department of Zoology, Viničná 7, 128 43, Prague, Czech Republic.
| | - Eleni Voukali
- Charles University, Faculty of Science, Department of Zoology, Viničná 7, 128 43, Prague, Czech Republic.
| | - Zuzana Świderská
- Charles University, Faculty of Science, Department of Zoology, Viničná 7, 128 43, Prague, Czech Republic.
| | - Tereza Krajzingrová
- Charles University, Faculty of Science, Department of Zoology, Viničná 7, 128 43, Prague, Czech Republic.
| | - Martin Těšický
- Charles University, Faculty of Science, Department of Zoology, Viničná 7, 128 43, Prague, Czech Republic.
| | - Ferris Jung
- EMBL, Genomics Core Facility, Meyerhofstraße 1, 69117, Heidelberg, Germany.
| | - Vladimír Beneš
- EMBL, Genomics Core Facility, Meyerhofstraße 1, 69117, Heidelberg, Germany.
| | - Ole Madsen
- Wageningen University and Research, Department of Animal Sciences, Animal Breeding and Genomics, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708PB, Wageningen, the Netherlands.
| | - Michal Vinkler
- Charles University, Faculty of Science, Department of Zoology, Viničná 7, 128 43, Prague, Czech Republic.
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15
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Askelson KK, Spellman GM, Irwin D. Genomic divergence and introgression between cryptic species of a widespread North American songbird. Mol Ecol 2023; 32:6839-6853. [PMID: 37916530 DOI: 10.1111/mec.17169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2022] [Accepted: 09/20/2023] [Indexed: 11/03/2023]
Abstract
Analysis of genomic variation among related populations can sometimes reveal distinct species that were previously undescribed due to similar morphological appearances, and close examination of such cases can provide much insight regarding speciation. Genomic data can also reveal the role of reticulate evolution in differentiation and speciation. White-breasted nuthatches (Sitta carolinensis) are widely distributed North American songbirds that are currently classified as a single species but have been suspected to represent a case of cryptic speciation. Previous genetic analyses suggested four divergent groups, but it was unclear whether these represented multiple reproductively isolated species. Using extensive genomic sampling of over 350 white-breasted nuthatches from across North America and a new chromosome-level reference genome, we asked if white-breasted nuthatches are comprised of multiple species and whether introgression has occurred between divergent populations. Genomic variation of over 300,000 loci revealed four highly differentiated populations (Pacific, n = 45; Eastern, n = 23; Rocky Mountains North, n = 138; and Rocky Mountains South, n = 150) with geographic ranges that are adjacent. We observed a moderate degree of admixture between Rocky Mountain populations but only a small number of hybrids between the Rockies and the Eastern population. The rarity of hybrids together with high levels of differentiation between populations is supportive of populations having some level of reproductive isolation. Between populations, we show evidence for introgression from a divergent ghost lineage of white-breasted nuthatches into the Rocky Mountains South population, which is otherwise closely related to Rocky Mountains North. We conclude that white-breasted nuthatches are best considered at least three species and that ghost lineage introgression has contributed to differentiation between the two Rocky Mountain populations. White-breasted nuthatches provide a dramatic case of morphological similarity despite high genomic differentiation, and the varying levels of reproductive isolation among the four groups provide an example of the speciation continuum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenneth K Askelson
- Biodiversity Research Centre and Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Garth M Spellman
- Department of Zoology, Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Denver, Colorado, USA
| | - Darren Irwin
- Biodiversity Research Centre and Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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16
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Maclary ET, Holt C, Concepcion GT, Sović I, Vickrey AI, Yandell M, Kronenberg Z, Shapiro MD. Assembly and annotation of two high-quality columbid reference genomes from sequencing of a Columba livia x Columba guinea F 1 hybrid. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.10.11.561892. [PMID: 37873124 PMCID: PMC10592783 DOI: 10.1101/2023.10.11.561892] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2023]
Abstract
Pigeons and doves (family Columbidae) are one of the most diverse extant avian lineages, and many species have served as key models for evolutionary genomics, developmental biology, physiology, and behavioral studies. Building genomic resources for colubids is essential to further many of these studies. Here, we present high-quality genome assemblies and annotations for two columbid species, Columba livia and C. guinea. We simultaneously assembled C. livia and C. guinea genomes from long-read sequencing of a single F1 hybrid individual. The new C. livia genome assembly (Cliv_3) shows improved completeness and contiguity relative to Cliv_2.1, with an annotation incorporating long-read IsoSeq data for more accurate gene models. Intensive selective breeding of C. livia has given rise to hundreds of breeds with diverse morphological and behavioral characteristics, and Cliv_3 offers improved tools for mapping the genomic architecture of interesting traits. The C. guinea genome assembly is the first for this species and is a new resource for avian comparative genomics. Together, these assemblies and annotations provide improved resources for functional studies of columbids and avian comparative genomics in general.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily T. Maclary
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Carson Holt
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | | | - Ivan Sović
- Pacific Biosciences, Menlo Park, CA, USA
- Digital BioLogic d.o.o, Ivanić-Grad, Croatia
| | - Anna I. Vickrey
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Mark Yandell
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | | | - Michael D. Shapiro
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
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17
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Borodin PM. Germline-restricted chromosomes of the songbirds. Vavilovskii Zhurnal Genet Selektsii 2023; 27:641-650. [PMID: 38023808 PMCID: PMC10643108 DOI: 10.18699/vjgb-23-75] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2023] [Revised: 06/30/2023] [Accepted: 06/30/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Germline-restricted chromosomes (GRCs) are present in the genomes of germline cells and absent from somatic cells. A GRC is found in all species of the songbirds (Passeri) and in none of the other bird orders studied to date. This indicates that GRC originated in the common ancestor of the songbirds. The germline-restricted chromosome is permanently absent from somatic cells of the songbird, while female germline cells usually contain two copies of GRC and male ones have one copy. In females, GRCs undergo synapsis and restricted recombination in their terminal regions during meiotic prophase. In males, it is almost always eliminated from spermatocytes. Thus, GRC is inherited almost exclusively through the maternal lineage. The germline-restricted chromosome is a necessary genomic element in the germline cells of songbirds. To date, the GRC genetic composition has been studied in four species only. Some GRC genes are actively expressed in female and male gonads, controlling the development of germline cells and synthesis of the proteins involved in the organization of meiotic chromosomes. Songbird species vary in GRC size and genetic composition. The GRC of each bird species consists of amplified and modified copies of genes from the basic genome of that species. The level of homology between GRCs of different species is relatively low, indicating a high rate of genetic evolution of this chromosome. Transmission through the maternal lineage and suppression of the recombination contribute significantly to the accelerated evolution of GRCs. One may suggest that the rapid coordinated evolution between the GRC genes and the genes of the basic genome in the songbirds might be responsible for the explosive speciation and adaptive radiation of this most species-rich and diverse infraorder of birds.
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Affiliation(s)
- P M Borodin
- Institute of Cytology and Genetics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia
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18
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Jackson LR, Lopez MS, Alward B. Breaking Through the Bottleneck: Krogh's Principle in Behavioral Neuroendocrinology and the Potential of Gene Editing. Integr Comp Biol 2023; 63:428-443. [PMID: 37312279 PMCID: PMC10445420 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icad068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2023] [Revised: 06/06/2023] [Accepted: 06/08/2023] [Indexed: 06/15/2023] Open
Abstract
In 1929, August Krogh wrote that for every question in biology, there is a species or collection of species in which pursuing such questions is the most appropriate for achieving the deepest insights. Referred to as "Krogh's Principle," these words are a guiding force for many biologists. In practice, Krogh's principle might guide a biologist interested in studying bi-parental care to choose not to use lab mice, in which the female does most of the parenting, but instead study species in which bi-parental care is present and clearly observable, such as in certain poison dart frogs. This approach to pursuing biological questions has been fruitful, with more in-depth insights achievable with new technologies. However, up until recently, an important limitation of Krogh's principle for biologists interested in the functions of certain genes, was certain techniques were only available for a few traditional model organisms such as lab mice, fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster), zebrafish (Danio rerio) and C. elegans (Caenorhabditis elegans), in which testing the functions of molecular systems on biological processes can be achieved using genetic knockout (KO) and transgenic technology. These methods are typically more precise than other approaches (e.g., pharmacology) commonly used in nontraditional model organisms to address similar questions. Therefore, some of the most in-depth insights into our understanding of the molecular control of these mechanisms have come from a small number of genetically tractable species. Recent advances in gene editing technology such as CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspersed Short Palindromic Repeats)/Cas9 gene editing as a laboratory tool has changed the insights achievable for biologists applying Krogh's principle. In this review, we will provide a brief summary on how some researchers of nontraditional model organisms have been able to achieve different levels of experimental precision with limited genetic tractability in their non-traditional model organism in the field of behavioral neuroendocrinology, a field in which understanding tissue and brain-region specific actions of molecules of interest has been a major goal. Then, we will highlight the exciting potential of Krogh's principle using discoveries made in a popular model species of social behavior, the African cichlid fish Astatotilapia burtoni. Specifically, we will focus on insights gained from studies of the control of social status by sex steroid hormones (androgens and estrogens) in A. burtoni that originated during field observations during the 1970s, and have recently culminated in novel insights from CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing in laboratory studies. Our review highlighting discoveries in A. burtoni may function as a roadmap for others using Krogh's principle aiming to incorporate gene editing into their research program. Gene editing is thus a powerful complimentary laboratory tool researchers can use to yield novel insights into understanding the molecular mechanisms of physiology and behavior in non-traditional model organisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lillian R Jackson
- Department of Psychology, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77204USA
| | - Mariana S Lopez
- Department of Psychology, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77204USA
| | - Beau Alward
- Department of Psychology, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77204USA
- Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77004USA
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19
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Benham PM, Cicero C, DeRaad DA, McCormack JE, Wayne RK, Escalona M, Beraut E, Marimuthu MPA, Nguyen O, Nachman MW, Bowie RCK. A highly contiguous reference genome for the Steller's jay (Cyanocitta stelleri). J Hered 2023; 114:549-560. [PMID: 37395718 PMCID: PMC10445514 DOI: 10.1093/jhered/esad042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2023] [Accepted: 06/29/2023] [Indexed: 07/04/2023] Open
Abstract
The Steller's jay is a familiar bird of western forests from Alaska south to Nicaragua. Here, we report a draft reference assembly for the species generated from PacBio HiFi long-read and Omni-C chromatin-proximity sequencing data as part of the California Conservation Genomics Project (CCGP). Sequenced reads were assembled into 352 scaffolds totaling 1.16 Gb in length. Assembly metrics indicate a highly contiguous and complete assembly with a contig N50 of 7.8 Mb, scaffold N50 of 25.8 Mb, and BUSCO completeness score of 97.2%. Repetitive elements span 16.6% of the genome including nearly 90% of the W chromosome. Compared with high-quality assemblies from other members of the family Corvidae, the Steller's jay genome contains a larger proportion of repetitive elements than 4 crow species (Corvus), but a lower proportion of repetitive elements than the California scrub-jay (Aphelocoma californica). This reference genome will serve as an essential resource for future studies on speciation, local adaptation, phylogeography, and conservation genetics in this species of significant biological interest.
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Affiliation(s)
- Phred M Benham
- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States
| | - Carla Cicero
- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States
| | - Devon A DeRaad
- Biodiversity Institute and Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, United States
| | - John E McCormack
- Moore Laboratory of Zoology, Occidental College, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Robert K Wayne
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Merly Escalona
- Department of Biomolecular Engineering, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, United States
| | - Eric Beraut
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, United States
| | - Mohan P A Marimuthu
- DNA Technologies and Expression Analysis Core Laboratory, Genome Center, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Oanh Nguyen
- DNA Technologies and Expression Analysis Core Laboratory, Genome Center, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Michael W Nachman
- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States
| | - Rauri C K Bowie
- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States
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20
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Gable SM, Mendez JM, Bushroe NA, Wilson A, Byars MI, Tollis M. The State of Squamate Genomics: Past, Present, and Future of Genome Research in the Most Speciose Terrestrial Vertebrate Order. Genes (Basel) 2023; 14:1387. [PMID: 37510292 PMCID: PMC10379679 DOI: 10.3390/genes14071387] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2023] [Revised: 06/28/2023] [Accepted: 06/29/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Squamates include more than 11,000 extant species of lizards, snakes, and amphisbaenians, and display a dazzling diversity of phenotypes across their over 200-million-year evolutionary history on Earth. Here, we introduce and define squamates (Order Squamata) and review the history and promise of genomic investigations into the patterns and processes governing squamate evolution, given recent technological advances in DNA sequencing, genome assembly, and evolutionary analysis. We survey the most recently available whole genome assemblies for squamates, including the taxonomic distribution of available squamate genomes, and assess their quality metrics and usefulness for research. We then focus on disagreements in squamate phylogenetic inference, how methods of high-throughput phylogenomics affect these inferences, and demonstrate the promise of whole genomes to settle or sustain persistent phylogenetic arguments for squamates. We review the role transposable elements play in vertebrate evolution, methods of transposable element annotation and analysis, and further demonstrate that through the understanding of the diversity, abundance, and activity of transposable elements in squamate genomes, squamates can be an ideal model for the evolution of genome size and structure in vertebrates. We discuss how squamate genomes can contribute to other areas of biological research such as venom systems, studies of phenotypic evolution, and sex determination. Because they represent more than 30% of the living species of amniote, squamates deserve a genome consortium on par with recent efforts for other amniotes (i.e., mammals and birds) that aim to sequence most of the extant families in a clade.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simone M Gable
- School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA
| | - Jasmine M Mendez
- School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA
| | - Nicholas A Bushroe
- School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA
| | - Adam Wilson
- School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA
| | - Michael I Byars
- School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA
| | - Marc Tollis
- School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA
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21
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Benham PM, Cicero C, Escalona M, Beraut E, Marimuthu MPA, Nguyen O, Nachman MW, Bowie RCK. A highly contiguous genome assembly for the California quail (Callipepla californica). J Hered 2023; 114:418-427. [PMID: 36763048 PMCID: PMC10287149 DOI: 10.1093/jhered/esad008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2022] [Accepted: 02/09/2023] [Indexed: 02/11/2023] Open
Abstract
The California quail (Callipepla californica) is an iconic native bird of scrub and oak woodlands in California and the Baja Peninsula of Mexico. Here, we report a draft reference assembly for the species generated from PacBio HiFi long read and Omni-C chromatin-proximity sequencing data as part of the California Conservation Genomics Project (CCGP). Sequenced reads were assembled into 321 scaffolds totaling 1.08 Gb in length. Assembly metrics indicate a highly contiguous and complete assembly with a contig N50 of 5.5 Mb, scaffold N50 of 19.4 Mb, and BUSCO completeness score of 96.5%. Transposable elements (TEs) occupy 16.5% of the genome, more than previous Odontophoridae quail assemblies but in line with estimates of TE content for recent long-read assemblies of chicken and Peking duck. Together these metrics indicate that the present assembly is more complete than prior reference assemblies generated for Odontophoridae quail. This reference will serve as an essential resource for studies on local adaptation, phylogeography, and conservation genetics in this species of significant biological and recreational interest.
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Affiliation(s)
- Phred M Benham
- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States
| | - Carla Cicero
- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States
| | - Merly Escalona
- Department of Biomolecular Engineering, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, United States
| | - Eric Beraut
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, United States
- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States
| | - Mohan P A Marimuthu
- DNA Technologies and Expression Analysis Core Laboratory, Genome Center, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA, United States
- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States
| | - Oanh Nguyen
- DNA Technologies and Expression Analysis Core Laboratory, Genome Center, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA, United States
- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States
| | - Michael W Nachman
- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States
| | - Rauri C K Bowie
- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States
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22
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Colquitt BM, Li K, Green F, Veline R, Brainard MS. Neural circuit-wide analysis of changes to gene expression during deafening-induced birdsong destabilization. eLife 2023; 12:e85970. [PMID: 37284822 PMCID: PMC10259477 DOI: 10.7554/elife.85970] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2023] [Accepted: 04/17/2023] [Indexed: 06/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Sensory feedback is required for the stable execution of learned motor skills, and its loss can severely disrupt motor performance. The neural mechanisms that mediate sensorimotor stability have been extensively studied at systems and physiological levels, yet relatively little is known about how disruptions to sensory input alter the molecular properties of associated motor systems. Songbird courtship song, a model for skilled behavior, is a learned and highly structured vocalization that is destabilized following deafening. Here, we sought to determine how the loss of auditory feedback modifies gene expression and its coordination across the birdsong sensorimotor circuit. To facilitate this system-wide analysis of transcriptional responses, we developed a gene expression profiling approach that enables the construction of hundreds of spatially-defined RNA-sequencing libraries. Using this method, we found that deafening preferentially alters gene expression across birdsong neural circuitry relative to surrounding areas, particularly in premotor and striatal regions. Genes with altered expression are associated with synaptic transmission, neuronal spines, and neuromodulation and show a bias toward expression in glutamatergic neurons and Pvalb/Sst-class GABAergic interneurons. We also found that connected song regions exhibit correlations in gene expression that were reduced in deafened birds relative to hearing birds, suggesting that song destabilization alters the inter-region coordination of transcriptional states. Finally, lesioning LMAN, a forebrain afferent of RA required for deafening-induced song plasticity, had the largest effect on groups of genes that were also most affected by deafening. Combined, this integrated transcriptomics analysis demonstrates that the loss of peripheral sensory input drives a distributed gene expression response throughout associated sensorimotor neural circuitry and identifies specific candidate molecular and cellular mechanisms that support the stability and plasticity of learned motor skills.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bradley M Colquitt
- Howard Hughes Medical InstituteChevy ChaseUnited States
- Department of Physiology, University of California, San FranciscoSan FranciscoUnited States
| | - Kelly Li
- Howard Hughes Medical InstituteChevy ChaseUnited States
- Department of Physiology, University of California, San FranciscoSan FranciscoUnited States
| | - Foad Green
- Howard Hughes Medical InstituteChevy ChaseUnited States
- Department of Physiology, University of California, San FranciscoSan FranciscoUnited States
| | - Robert Veline
- Howard Hughes Medical InstituteChevy ChaseUnited States
- Department of Physiology, University of California, San FranciscoSan FranciscoUnited States
| | - Michael S Brainard
- Howard Hughes Medical InstituteChevy ChaseUnited States
- Department of Physiology, University of California, San FranciscoSan FranciscoUnited States
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23
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Zemel BM, Nevue AA, Tavares LES, Dagostin A, Lovell PV, Jin DZ, Mello CV, von Gersdorff H. Motor cortex analogue neurons in songbirds utilize Kv3 channels to generate ultranarrow spikes. eLife 2023; 12:e81992. [PMID: 37158590 PMCID: PMC10241522 DOI: 10.7554/elife.81992] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2022] [Accepted: 05/08/2023] [Indexed: 05/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Complex motor skills in vertebrates require specialized upper motor neurons with precise action potential (AP) firing. To examine how diverse populations of upper motor neurons subserve distinct functions and the specific repertoire of ion channels involved, we conducted a thorough study of the excitability of upper motor neurons controlling somatic motor function in the zebra finch. We found that robustus arcopallialis projection neurons (RAPNs), key command neurons for song production, exhibit ultranarrow spikes and higher firing rates compared to neurons controlling non-vocal somatic motor functions (dorsal intermediate arcopallium [AId] neurons). Pharmacological and molecular data indicate that this striking difference is associated with the higher expression in RAPNs of high threshold, fast-activating voltage-gated Kv3 channels, that likely contain Kv3.1 (KCNC1) subunits. The spike waveform and Kv3.1 expression in RAPNs mirror properties of Betz cells, specialized upper motor neurons involved in fine digit control in humans and other primates but absent in rodents. Our study thus provides evidence that songbirds and primates have convergently evolved the use of Kv3.1 to ensure precise, rapid AP firing in upper motor neurons controlling fast and complex motor skills.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin M Zemel
- Vollum Institute, Oregon Health and Science UniversityPortlandUnited States
| | - Alexander A Nevue
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health and Science UniversityPortlandUnited States
| | - Leonardo ES Tavares
- Vollum Institute, Oregon Health and Science UniversityPortlandUnited States
- Department of Physics, Pennsylvania State UniversityUniversity ParkUnited States
| | - Andre Dagostin
- Vollum Institute, Oregon Health and Science UniversityPortlandUnited States
| | - Peter V Lovell
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health and Science UniversityPortlandUnited States
| | - Dezhe Z Jin
- Department of Physics, Pennsylvania State UniversityUniversity ParkUnited States
| | - Claudio V Mello
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health and Science UniversityPortlandUnited States
| | - Henrique von Gersdorff
- Vollum Institute, Oregon Health and Science UniversityPortlandUnited States
- Oregon Hearing Research Center, Oregon Health and Science UniversityPortlandUnited States
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24
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Gershman A, Hauck Q, Dick M, Jamison JM, Tassia M, Agirrezabala X, Muhammad S, Ali R, Workman RE, Valle M, Wong GW, Welch KC, Timp W. Genomic insights into metabolic flux in hummingbirds. Genome Res 2023; 33:703-714. [PMID: 37156619 PMCID: PMC10317124 DOI: 10.1101/gr.276779.122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2022] [Accepted: 04/26/2023] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
Hummingbirds are very well adapted to sustain efficient and rapid metabolic shifts. They oxidize ingested nectar to directly fuel flight when foraging but have to switch to oxidizing stored lipids derived from ingested sugars during the night or long-distance migratory flights. Understanding how this organism moderates energy turnover is hampered by a lack of information regarding how relevant enzymes differ in sequence, expression, and regulation. To explore these questions, we generated a chromosome-scale genome assembly of the ruby-throated hummingbird (A. colubris) using a combination of long- and short-read sequencing, scaffolding it using existing assemblies. We then used hybrid long- and short-read RNA sequencing of liver and muscle tissue in fasted and fed metabolic states for a comprehensive transcriptome assembly and annotation. Our genomic and transcriptomic data found positive selection of key metabolic genes in nectivorous avian species and deletion of critical genes (SLC2A4, GCK) involved in glucostasis in other vertebrates. We found expression of a fructose-specific version of SLC2A5 putatively in place of insulin-sensitive SLC2A5, with predicted protein models suggesting affinity for both fructose and glucose. Alternative isoforms may even act to sequester fructose to preclude limitations from transport in metabolism. Finally, we identified differentially expressed genes from fasted and fed hummingbirds, suggesting key pathways for the rapid metabolic switch hummingbirds undergo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ariel Gershman
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, USA
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21287, USA
| | - Quinn Hauck
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, USA
| | - Morag Dick
- Cell & Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G5, Canada
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, M1C 1A4, Canada
| | - Jerrica M Jamison
- Cell & Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G5, Canada
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, M1C 1A4, Canada
| | - Michael Tassia
- Department of Biology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, USA
| | - Xabier Agirrezabala
- CIC bioGUNE, Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), 48160 Derio, Spain
| | - Saad Muhammad
- Cell & Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G5, Canada
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, M1C 1A4, Canada
| | - Raafay Ali
- Cell & Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G5, Canada
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, M1C 1A4, Canada
| | - Rachael E Workman
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21287, USA
| | - Mikel Valle
- CIC bioGUNE, Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), 48160 Derio, Spain
| | - G William Wong
- Department of Physiology and Center for Metabolism and Obesity Research, School of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA
| | - Kenneth C Welch
- Cell & Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G5, Canada
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, M1C 1A4, Canada
| | - Winston Timp
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, USA;
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21287, USA
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25
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Mizushima S, Sasanami T, Ono T, Kuroiwa A. Current Approaches to and the Application of Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) for Avian Genome Editing. Genes (Basel) 2023; 14:genes14030757. [PMID: 36981028 PMCID: PMC10048369 DOI: 10.3390/genes14030757] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2023] [Revised: 03/10/2023] [Accepted: 03/17/2023] [Indexed: 03/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Poultry are one of the most valuable resources for human society. They are also recognized as a powerful experimental animal for basic research on embryogenesis. Demands for the supply of low-allergen eggs and bioreactors have increased with the development of programmable genome editing technology. The CRISPR/Cas9 system has recently been used to produce transgenic animals and various animals in the agricultural industry and has also been successfully adopted for the modification of chicken and quail genomes. In this review, we describe the successful establishment of genome-edited lines combined with germline chimera production systems mediated by primordial germ cells and by viral infection in poultry. The avian intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) system that we previously established and recent advances in ICSI for genome editing are also summarized.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shusei Mizushima
- Faculty of Science, Hokkaido University, Kita 10 Nishi 8, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-0810, Japan
| | - Tomohiro Sasanami
- Faculty of Agriculture, Shizuoka University, 836 Ohya, Shizuoka 422-8529, Japan
| | - Tamao Ono
- Matsumoto Dental University, 1780 Gobara, Hiro-oka, Shiojiri 399-0781, Nagano, Japan
| | - Asato Kuroiwa
- Faculty of Science, Hokkaido University, Kita 10 Nishi 8, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-0810, Japan
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26
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Integrative comparative analysis of avian chromosome evolution by in-silico mapping of the gene ontology of homologous synteny blocks and evolutionary breakpoint regions. Genetica 2023:10.1007/s10709-023-00185-x. [PMID: 36940055 DOI: 10.1007/s10709-023-00185-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2023] [Accepted: 03/14/2023] [Indexed: 03/21/2023]
Abstract
Avian chromosomes undergo more intra- than interchromosomal rearrangements, which either induce or are associated with genome variations among birds. Evolving from a common ancestor with a karyotype not dissimilar from modern chicken, two evolutionary elements characterize evolutionary change: homologous synteny blocks (HSBs) constitute common conserved parts at the sequence level, while evolutionary breakpoint regions (EBRs) occur between HSBs, defining the points where rearrangement occurred. Understanding the link between the structural organization and functionality of HSBs and EBRs provides insight into the mechanistic basis of chromosomal change. Previously, we identified gene ontology (GO) terms associated with both; however, here we revisit our analyses in light of newly developed bioinformatic algorithms and the chicken genome assembly galGal6. We aligned genomes available for six birds and one lizard species, identifying 630 HSBs and 19 EBRs. We demonstrate that HSBs hold vast functionality expressed by GO terms that have been largely conserved through evolution. Particularly, we found that genes within microchromosomal HSBs had specific functionalities relevant to neurons, RNA, cellular transport and embryonic development, and other associations. Our findings suggest that microchromosomes may have conserved throughout evolution due to the specificity of GO terms within their HSBs. The detected EBRs included those found in the genome of the anole lizard, meaning they were shared by all saurian descendants, with others being unique to avian lineages. Our estimate of gene richness in HSBs supported the fact that microchromosomes contain twice as many genes as macrochromosomes.
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27
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Zuccolo A, Mfarrej S, Celii M, Mussurova S, Rivera LF, Llaca V, Mohammed N, Pain A, Alrefaei AF, Alrefaei AF, Wing RA. The gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus) genome. G3 (BETHESDA, MD.) 2023; 13:6972330. [PMID: 36611193 PMCID: PMC9997569 DOI: 10.1093/g3journal/jkad001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2022] [Revised: 12/22/2022] [Accepted: 12/26/2022] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
High-quality genome assemblies are characterized by high-sequence contiguity, completeness, and a low error rate, thus providing the basis for a wide array of studies focusing on natural species ecology, conservation, evolution, and population genomics. To provide this valuable resource for conservation projects and comparative genomics studies on gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus), we sequenced and assembled the genome of this species using third-generation sequencing strategies and optical maps. Here, we describe a highly contiguous and complete genome assembly comprising 20 scaffolds and 13 contigs with a total size of 1.193 Gbp, including 8,064 complete Benchmarking Universal Single-Copy Orthologs (BUSCOs) of the total 8,338 BUSCO groups present in the library aves_odb10. Of these BUSCO genes, 96.7% were complete, 96.1% were present as a single copy, and 0.6% were duplicated. Furthermore, 0.8% of BUSCO genes were fragmented and 2.5% (210) were missing. A de novo search for transposable elements (TEs) identified 5,716 TEs that masked 7.61% of the F. rusticolus genome assembly when combined with publicly available TE collections. Long interspersed nuclear elements, in particular, the element Chicken-repeat 1 (CR1), were the most abundant TEs in the F. rusticolus genome. A de novo first-pass gene annotation was performed using 293,349 PacBio Iso-Seq transcripts and 496,195 transcripts derived from the assembly of 42,429,525 Illumina PE RNA-seq reads. In all, 19,602 putative genes, of which 59.31% were functionally characterized and associated with Gene Ontology terms, were annotated. A comparison of the gyrfalcon genome assembly with the publicly available assemblies of the domestic chicken (Gallus gallus), zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata), and hummingbird (Calypte anna) revealed several genome rearrangements. In particular, nine putative chromosome fusions were identified in the gyrfalcon genome assembly compared with those in the G. gallus genome assembly. This genome assembly, its annotation for TEs and genes, and the comparative analyses presented, complement and strength the base of high-quality genome assemblies and associated resources available for comparative studies focusing on the evolution, ecology, and conservation of Aves.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Zuccolo
- Center for Desert Agriculture (CDA), Biological and Environmental Sciences & Engineering Division (BESE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.,Crop Science Research Center, Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Piazza Martiri della Libertà 33, 56127 Pisa, Italy
| | - Sara Mfarrej
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Pathogen Genomics Laboratory, Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering (BESE), Thuwal-Jeddah 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mirko Celii
- Center for Desert Agriculture (CDA), Biological and Environmental Sciences & Engineering Division (BESE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Saule Mussurova
- Center for Desert Agriculture (CDA), Biological and Environmental Sciences & Engineering Division (BESE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Luis F Rivera
- Center for Desert Agriculture (CDA), Biological and Environmental Sciences & Engineering Division (BESE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Victor Llaca
- Research and Development, Corteva Agriscience, Johnston, IA 50131, USA
| | - Nahed Mohammed
- Center for Desert Agriculture (CDA), Biological and Environmental Sciences & Engineering Division (BESE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Arnab Pain
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Pathogen Genomics Laboratory, Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering (BESE), Thuwal-Jeddah 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | | | - Abdulwahed Fahad Alrefaei
- Department of Zoology, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Rod A Wing
- Center for Desert Agriculture (CDA), Biological and Environmental Sciences & Engineering Division (BESE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.,School of Plant Sciences, Arizona Genomics Institute, University of Arizona, 24 Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA
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28
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Kunchala SR, van Dijk A, Veldhuizen EJA, Donnellan SC, Haagsman HP, Orgeig S. Avian surfactant protein (SP)-A2 first arose in an early tetrapod before the divergence of amphibians and gradually lost the collagen domain. DEVELOPMENTAL AND COMPARATIVE IMMUNOLOGY 2023; 139:104582. [PMID: 36306971 DOI: 10.1016/j.dci.2022.104582] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2022] [Revised: 10/20/2022] [Accepted: 10/20/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
The air-liquid interface of the mammalian lung is lined with pulmonary surfactants, a mixture of specific proteins and lipids that serve a dual purpose-enabling air-breathing and protection against pathogens. In mammals, surfactant proteins A (SP-A) and D (SP -D) are involved in innate defence of the lung. Birds seem to lack the SP-D gene, but possess SP-A2, an additional SP-A-like gene. Here we investigated the evolution of the SP-A and SP-D genes using computational gene prediction, homology, simulation modelling and phylogeny with published avian and other vertebrate genomes. PCR was used to confirm the identity and expression of SP-A analogues in various tissue homogenates of zebra finch and turkey. In silico analysis confirmed the absence of SP-D-like genes in all 47 published avian genomes. Zebra finch and turkey SP-A1 and SP-A2 sequences, confirmed by PCR of lung homogenates, were compared with sequenced and in silico predicted vertebrate homologs to construct a phylogenetic tree. The collagen domain of avian SP-A1, especially that of zebra finch, was dramatically shorter than that of mammalian SP-A. Amphibian and reptilian genomes also contain avian-like SP-A2 protein sequences with a collagen domain. NCBI Gnomon-predicted avian and alligator SP-A2 proteins all lacked the collagen domain completely. Both avian SP-A1 and SP-A2 sequences form separate clades, which are most closely related to their closest relatives, the alligators. The C-terminal carbohydrate recognition domain (CRD) of zebra finch SP-A1 was structurally almost identical to that of rat SP-A. In fact, the CRD of SP-A is highly conserved among all the vertebrates. Birds retained a truncated version of mammalian type SP-A1 as well as a non-collagenous C-type lectin, designated SP-A2, while losing the large collagenous SP-D lectin, reflecting their evolutionary trajectory towards a unidirectional respiratory system. In the context of zoonotic infections, how these evolutionary changes affect avian pulmonary surface protection is not clear.
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Affiliation(s)
- Srinivasa Reddy Kunchala
- Centre for Cancer Diagnostics and Therapeutics, UniSA Cancer Research Institute, UniSA Clinical and Health Sciences, University of South Australia, SA, 5001, Australia
| | - Albert van Dijk
- Department of Biomolecular Health Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Edwin J A Veldhuizen
- Department of Biomolecular Health Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
| | | | - Henk P Haagsman
- Department of Biomolecular Health Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Sandra Orgeig
- Centre for Cancer Diagnostics and Therapeutics, UniSA Cancer Research Institute, UniSA Clinical and Health Sciences, University of South Australia, SA, 5001, Australia.
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29
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Genome Evolution and the Future of Phylogenomics of Non-Avian Reptiles. Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:ani13030471. [PMID: 36766360 PMCID: PMC9913427 DOI: 10.3390/ani13030471] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2022] [Revised: 01/13/2023] [Accepted: 01/15/2023] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Non-avian reptiles comprise a large proportion of amniote vertebrate diversity, with squamate reptiles-lizards and snakes-recently overtaking birds as the most species-rich tetrapod radiation. Despite displaying an extraordinary diversity of phenotypic and genomic traits, genomic resources in non-avian reptiles have accumulated more slowly than they have in mammals and birds, the remaining amniotes. Here we review the remarkable natural history of non-avian reptiles, with a focus on the physical traits, genomic characteristics, and sequence compositional patterns that comprise key axes of variation across amniotes. We argue that the high evolutionary diversity of non-avian reptiles can fuel a new generation of whole-genome phylogenomic analyses. A survey of phylogenetic investigations in non-avian reptiles shows that sequence capture-based approaches are the most commonly used, with studies of markers known as ultraconserved elements (UCEs) especially well represented. However, many other types of markers exist and are increasingly being mined from genome assemblies in silico, including some with greater information potential than UCEs for certain investigations. We discuss the importance of high-quality genomic resources and methods for bioinformatically extracting a range of marker sets from genome assemblies. Finally, we encourage herpetologists working in genomics, genetics, evolutionary biology, and other fields to work collectively towards building genomic resources for non-avian reptiles, especially squamates, that rival those already in place for mammals and birds. Overall, the development of this cross-amniote phylogenomic tree of life will contribute to illuminate interesting dimensions of biodiversity across non-avian reptiles and broader amniotes.
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30
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Martin CA, Sheppard EC, Illera JC, Suh A, Nadachowska-Brzyska K, Spurgin LG, Richardson DS. Runs of homozygosity reveal past bottlenecks and contemporary inbreeding across diverging populations of an island-colonizing bird. Mol Ecol 2023; 32:1972-1989. [PMID: 36704917 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16865] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2022] [Revised: 01/11/2023] [Accepted: 01/20/2023] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
Genomes retain evidence of the demographic history and evolutionary forces that have shaped populations and drive speciation. Across island systems, contemporary patterns of genetic diversity reflect population demography, including colonization events, bottlenecks, gene flow and genetic drift. Here, we investigate genome-wide diversity and the distribution of runs of homozygosity (ROH) using whole-genome resequencing of individuals (>22× coverage) from six populations across three archipelagos of Berthelot's pipit (Anthus berthelotii)-a passerine that has recently undergone island speciation. We show the most dramatic reduction in diversity occurs between the mainland sister species (the tawny pipit) and Berthelot's pipit and is lowest in the populations that have experienced sequential bottlenecks (i.e., the Madeiran and Selvagens populations). Pairwise sequential Markovian coalescent (PSMC) analyses estimated that Berthelot's pipit diverged from its sister species ~2 million years ago, with the Madeiran archipelago founded 50,000 years ago, and the Selvagens colonized 8000 years ago. We identify many long ROH (>1 Mb) in these most recently colonized populations. Population expansion within the last 100 years may have eroded long ROH in the Madeiran archipelago, resulting in a prevalence of short ROH (<1 Mb). However, the extensive long and short ROH detected in the Selvagens suggest strong recent inbreeding and bottleneck effects, with as much as 38% of the autosomes consisting of ROH >250 kb. These findings highlight the importance of demographic history, as well as selection and genetic drift, in shaping contemporary patterns of genomic diversity across diverging populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia A Martin
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norfolk, UK.,Terrestrial Ecology Unit, Biology Department, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | | | - Juan Carlos Illera
- Biodiversity Research Institute (CSIC-Oviedo University-Principality of Asturias), University of Oviedo, Mieres, Asturias, Spain
| | - Alexander Suh
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norfolk, UK.,Department of Organismal Biology - Systematic Biology, Evolutionary Biology Centre (EBC), Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | | | - Lewis G Spurgin
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norfolk, UK
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Nikelski E, Rubtsov AS, Irwin D. High heterogeneity in genomic differentiation between phenotypically divergent songbirds: a test of mitonuclear co-introgression. Heredity (Edinb) 2023; 130:1-13. [PMID: 36463372 PMCID: PMC9814147 DOI: 10.1038/s41437-022-00580-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2022] [Revised: 11/23/2022] [Accepted: 11/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Comparisons of genomic variation among closely related species often show more differentiation in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and sex chromosomes than in autosomes, a pattern expected due to the differing effective population sizes and evolutionary dynamics of these genomic components. Yet, introgression can cause species pairs to deviate dramatically from general differentiation trends. The yellowhammer (Emberiza citrinella) and pine bunting (E. leucocephalos) are hybridizing avian sister species that differ greatly in appearance and moderately in nuclear DNA, but that show no mtDNA differentiation. This discordance is best explained by adaptive mtDNA introgression-a process that can select for co-introgression at nuclear genes with mitochondrial functions (mitonuclear genes). To better understand these discordant differentiation patterns and characterize nuclear differentiation in this system, we investigated genome-wide differentiation between allopatric yellowhammers and pine buntings and compared it to what was seen previously in mtDNA. We found significant nuclear differentiation that was highly heterogeneous across the genome, with a particularly wide differentiation peak on the sex chromosome Z. We further investigated mitonuclear gene co-introgression between yellowhammers and pine buntings and found support for this process in the direction of pine buntings into yellowhammers. Genomic signals indicative of co-introgression were common in mitonuclear genes coding for subunits of the mitoribosome and electron transport chain complexes. Such introgression of mitochondrial DNA and mitonuclear genes provides a possible explanation for the patterns of high genomic heterogeneity in genomic differentiation seen among some species groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ellen Nikelski
- Department of Zoology, and Biodiversity Research Centre, 6270 University Blvd., University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
| | | | - Darren Irwin
- Department of Zoology, and Biodiversity Research Centre, 6270 University Blvd., University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
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32
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Woo C, Kumari P, Eo KY, Lee WS, Kimura J, Yamamoto N. Combining vertebrate mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene sequencing and shotgun metagenomic sequencing to investigate the diet of the leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis) in Korea. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0281245. [PMID: 36719887 PMCID: PMC9888693 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0281245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2022] [Accepted: 01/18/2023] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis), an endangered species in South Korea, is a small feline widely distributed in Asia. Here, we investigated the diet of leopard cats in the inland areas of Korea by examining their fecal contents using vertebrate mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene sequencing and shotgun metagenomic sequencing. Shotgun metagenomic sequencing revealed that the feces were rich in DNA not only of vertebrates but also of arthropods and plants, but care should be taken when using shotgun metagenomic sequencing to identify vertebrates at low taxonomic levels (e.g., genus level), as it was often erroneous. Meanwhile, vertebrate mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene sequencing was found to be accurate in the genus-level identification, as the genera identified were consistent with the Korean fauna. We found that small mammals such as murids were their main prey. By using these two sequencing methods in combination, this study demonstrated that accurate information about the overall dietary content and vertebrate prey of leopard cats could be obtained. We expect that the continued community efforts to expand the genome database of wildlife, including vertebrates, will alleviate the problem of erroneous identification of prey at low taxonomic levels by shotgun metagenomic sequencing in the near future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cheolwoon Woo
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Priyanka Kumari
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- Institute of Health and Environment, Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Kyung Yeon Eo
- Department of Animal Health and Welfare, College of Healthcare and Biotechnology, Semyung University, Jecheon, Republic of Korea
| | - Woo-Shin Lee
- Department of Forest Sciences, College of Agriculture and Life Science, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Junpei Kimura
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Naomichi Yamamoto
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- Institute of Health and Environment, Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- * E-mail:
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Barros CP, Derks MFL, Mohr J, Wood BJ, Crooijmans RPMA, Megens HJ, Bink MCAM, Groenen MAM. A new haplotype-resolved turkey genome to enable turkey genetics and genomics research. Gigascience 2022; 12:giad051. [PMID: 37489751 PMCID: PMC10360393 DOI: 10.1093/gigascience/giad051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2022] [Revised: 12/12/2022] [Accepted: 06/27/2023] [Indexed: 07/26/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The domesticated turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) is a species of significant agricultural importance and is the second largest contributor, behind broiler chickens, to world poultry meat production. The previous genome is of draft quality and partly based on the chicken (Gallus gallus) genome. A high-quality reference genome of M. gallopavo is essential for turkey genomics and genetics research and the breeding industry. RESULTS By adopting the trio-binning approach, we were able to assemble a high-quality chromosome-level F1 assembly and 2 parental haplotype assemblies, leveraging long-read technologies and genome-wide chromatin interaction data (Hi-C). From a total of 40 chromosomes (2n = 80), we captured 35 chromosomes in a single scaffold, showing much improved genome completeness and continuity compared to the old assembly build. The 3 assemblies are of higher quality than the previous draft quality assembly and comparable to the chicken assemblies (GRCg7) shown by the largest contig N50 (26.6 Mb) and comparable BUSCO gene set completeness scores (96-97%). Comparative analyses confirm a previously identified large inversion of around 19 Mbp on the Z chromosome not found in other Galliformes. Structural variation between the parent haplotypes was identified, which poses potential new target genes for breeding. CONCLUSIONS We contribute a new high-quality turkey genome at the chromosome level, benefiting turkey genetics and other avian genomics research as well as the turkey breeding industry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carolina P Barros
- Wageningen University and Research, P.O. Box 338, 6700 AH, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Martijn F L Derks
- Wageningen University and Research, P.O. Box 338, 6700 AH, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Jeff Mohr
- Hybrid Turkeys, 650 Riverbend Drive Suite C, Kitchener, ON N2K 3S2, Canada
| | - Benjamin J Wood
- Hybrid Turkeys, 650 Riverbend Drive Suite C, Kitchener, ON N2K 3S2, Canada
- School of Veterinary Science, University of Queensland, Gatton, QLD 4343, Australia
| | | | - Hendrik-Jan Megens
- Wageningen University and Research, P.O. Box 338, 6700 AH, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Marco C A M Bink
- Hendrix Genetics Research, Technology & Services, Boxmeer, AC 5830, The Netherlands
| | - Martien A M Groenen
- Wageningen University and Research, P.O. Box 338, 6700 AH, Wageningen, The Netherlands
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34
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Toomey MB, Marques CI, Araújo PM, Huang D, Zhong S, Liu Y, Schreiner GD, Myers CA, Pereira P, Afonso S, Andrade P, Gazda MA, Lopes RJ, Viegas I, Koch RE, Haynes ME, Smith DJ, Ogawa Y, Murphy D, Kopec RE, Parichy DM, Carneiro M, Corbo JC. A mechanism for red coloration in vertebrates. Curr Biol 2022; 32:4201-4214.e12. [PMID: 36049480 PMCID: PMC9588406 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.08.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2022] [Revised: 06/19/2022] [Accepted: 08/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Red coloration is a salient feature of the natural world. Many vertebrates produce red color by converting dietary yellow carotenoids into red ketocarotenoids via an unknown mechanism. Here, we show that two enzymes, cytochrome P450 2J19 (CYP2J19) and 3-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase 1-like (BDH1L), are sufficient to catalyze this conversion. In birds, both enzymes are expressed at the sites of ketocarotenoid biosynthesis (feather follicles and red cone photoreceptors), and genetic evidence implicates these enzymes in yellow/red color variation in feathers. In fish, the homologs of CYP2J19 and BDH1L are required for ketocarotenoid production, and we show that these enzymes are sufficient to produce ketocarotenoids in cell culture and when ectopically expressed in fish skin. Finally, we demonstrate that the red-cone-enriched tetratricopeptide repeat protein 39B (TTC39B) enhances ketocarotenoid production when co-expressed with CYP2J19 and BDH1L. The discovery of this mechanism of ketocarotenoid biosynthesis has major implications for understanding the evolution of color diversity in vertebrates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew B Toomey
- Department of Biological Science, University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK, USA.
| | - Cristiana I Marques
- CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO, Universidade do Porto, Vairão, Portugal; BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, CIBIO, Vairão, Portugal; Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Pedro M Araújo
- CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO, Universidade do Porto, Vairão, Portugal; BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, CIBIO, Vairão, Portugal; University of Coimbra, MARE - Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, Department of Life Sciences, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Delai Huang
- Department of Biology and Department of Cell Biology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - Siqiong Zhong
- Program in Human Nutrition, Department of Human Sciences, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Yu Liu
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA
| | - Gretchen D Schreiner
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA
| | - Connie A Myers
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA
| | - Paulo Pereira
- CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO, Universidade do Porto, Vairão, Portugal; BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, CIBIO, Vairão, Portugal; Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Sandra Afonso
- CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO, Universidade do Porto, Vairão, Portugal; BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, CIBIO, Vairão, Portugal
| | - Pedro Andrade
- CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO, Universidade do Porto, Vairão, Portugal; BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, CIBIO, Vairão, Portugal
| | - Małgorzata A Gazda
- CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO, Universidade do Porto, Vairão, Portugal
| | - Ricardo J Lopes
- CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO, Universidade do Porto, Vairão, Portugal; BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, CIBIO, Vairão, Portugal; MHNC-UP, Natural History and Science Museum of the University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Ivan Viegas
- University of Coimbra, Centre for Functional Ecology, Department of Life Sciences, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Rebecca E Koch
- Department of Biological Science, University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK, USA
| | - Maureen E Haynes
- Department of Biological Science, University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK, USA
| | - Dustin J Smith
- Department of Biological Science, University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK, USA
| | - Yohey Ogawa
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA
| | - Daniel Murphy
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA
| | - Rachel E Kopec
- Program in Human Nutrition, Department of Human Sciences, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - David M Parichy
- Department of Biology and Department of Cell Biology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - Miguel Carneiro
- CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO, Universidade do Porto, Vairão, Portugal; BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, CIBIO, Vairão, Portugal.
| | - Joseph C Corbo
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA.
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Kim J, Lee C, Ko BJ, Yoo DA, Won S, Phillippy AM, Fedrigo O, Zhang G, Howe K, Wood J, Durbin R, Formenti G, Brown S, Cantin L, Mello CV, Cho S, Rhie A, Kim H, Jarvis ED. False gene and chromosome losses in genome assemblies caused by GC content variation and repeats. Genome Biol 2022; 23:204. [PMID: 36167554 PMCID: PMC9516821 DOI: 10.1186/s13059-022-02765-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2021] [Accepted: 09/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Many short-read genome assemblies have been found to be incomplete and contain mis-assemblies. The Vertebrate Genomes Project has been producing new reference genome assemblies with an emphasis on being as complete and error-free as possible, which requires utilizing long reads, long-range scaffolding data, new assembly algorithms, and manual curation. A more thorough evaluation of the recent references relative to prior assemblies can provide a detailed overview of the types and magnitude of improvements. RESULTS Here we evaluate new vertebrate genome references relative to the previous assemblies for the same species and, in two cases, the same individuals, including a mammal (platypus), two birds (zebra finch, Anna's hummingbird), and a fish (climbing perch). We find that up to 11% of genomic sequence is entirely missing in the previous assemblies. In the Vertebrate Genomes Project zebra finch assembly, we identify eight new GC- and repeat-rich micro-chromosomes with high gene density. The impact of missing sequences is biased towards GC-rich 5'-proximal promoters and 5' exon regions of protein-coding genes and long non-coding RNAs. Between 26 and 60% of genes include structural or sequence errors that could lead to misunderstanding of their function when using the previous genome assemblies. CONCLUSIONS Our findings reveal novel regulatory landscapes and protein coding sequences that have been greatly underestimated in previous assemblies and are now present in the Vertebrate Genomes Project reference genomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juwan Kim
- Interdisciplinary Program in Bioinformatics, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Chul Lee
- Interdisciplinary Program in Bioinformatics, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Byung June Ko
- Department of Agricultural Biotechnology and Research Institute of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Dong Ahn Yoo
- Interdisciplinary Program in Bioinformatics, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Sohyoung Won
- Interdisciplinary Program in Bioinformatics, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Adam M Phillippy
- Genome Informatics Section, Computational and Statistical Genomics Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Olivier Fedrigo
- Vertebrate Genome Lab, The Rockefeller University, New York City, USA
| | - Guojie Zhang
- BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen, 518083, China
- Villum Centre for Biodiversity Genomics, Section for Ecology and Evolution, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, 2100, Copenhagen, Denmark
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650223, China
- Center for Excellence in Animal Evolution and Genetics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650223, China
| | | | | | - Richard Durbin
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Cambridge, UK
- Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Giulio Formenti
- Vertebrate Genome Lab, The Rockefeller University, New York City, USA
- Laboratory of Neurogenetics of Language, The Rockefeller University, New York City, USA
| | - Samara Brown
- Laboratory of Neurogenetics of Language, The Rockefeller University, New York City, USA
| | - Lindsey Cantin
- Laboratory of Neurogenetics of Language, The Rockefeller University, New York City, USA
| | - Claudio V Mello
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, 97239, USA
| | - Seoae Cho
- eGnome, Inc, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Arang Rhie
- Genome Informatics Section, Computational and Statistical Genomics Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Heebal Kim
- Interdisciplinary Program in Bioinformatics, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
- Department of Agricultural Biotechnology and Research Institute of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
- eGnome, Inc, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
| | - Erich D Jarvis
- Vertebrate Genome Lab, The Rockefeller University, New York City, USA.
- Laboratory of Neurogenetics of Language, The Rockefeller University, New York City, USA.
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD, USA.
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36
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Ko BJ, Lee C, Kim J, Rhie A, Yoo DA, Howe K, Wood J, Cho S, Brown S, Formenti G, Jarvis ED, Kim H. Widespread false gene gains caused by duplication errors in genome assemblies. Genome Biol 2022; 23:205. [PMID: 36167596 PMCID: PMC9516828 DOI: 10.1186/s13059-022-02764-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2021] [Accepted: 09/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Background False duplications in genome assemblies lead to false biological conclusions. We quantified false duplications in popularly used previous genome assemblies for platypus, zebra finch, and Anna’s Hummingbird, and their new counterparts of the same species generated by the Vertebrate Genomes Project, of which the Vertebrate Genomes Project pipeline attempted to eliminate false duplications through haplotype phasing and purging. These assemblies are among the first generated by the Vertebrate Genomes Project where there was a prior chromosomal level reference assembly to compare with. Results Whole genome alignments revealed that 4 to 16% of the sequences are falsely duplicated in the previous assemblies, impacting hundreds to thousands of genes. These lead to overestimated gene family expansions. The main source of the false duplications is heterotype duplications, where the haplotype sequences were relatively more divergent than other parts of the genome leading the assembly algorithms to classify them as separate genes or genomic regions. A minor source is sequencing errors. Ancient ATP nucleotide binding gene families have a higher prevalence of false duplications compared to other gene families. Although present in a smaller proportion, we observe false duplications remaining in the Vertebrate Genomes Project assemblies that can be identified and purged. Conclusions This study highlights the need for more advanced assembly methods that better separate haplotypes and sequence errors, and the need for cautious analyses on gene gains. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13059-022-02764-1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Byung June Ko
- Department of Agricultural Biotechnology and Research Institute of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Chul Lee
- Interdisciplinary Program in Bioinformatics, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Juwan Kim
- Interdisciplinary Program in Bioinformatics, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Arang Rhie
- Genome Informatics Section, Computational and Statistical Genomics Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, USA
| | - Dong Ahn Yoo
- Interdisciplinary Program in Bioinformatics, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | | | | | - Seoae Cho
- eGnome, Inc, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Samara Brown
- Laboratory of the Neurogenetics of Language, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA.,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD, USA
| | - Giulio Formenti
- Laboratory of the Neurogenetics of Language, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Erich D Jarvis
- Laboratory of the Neurogenetics of Language, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA. .,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD, USA.
| | - Heebal Kim
- Department of Agricultural Biotechnology and Research Institute of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea. .,Interdisciplinary Program in Bioinformatics, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea. .,eGnome, Inc, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
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37
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Sigeman H, Zhang H, Ali Abed S, Hansson B. A novel neo-sex chromosome in Sylvietta brachyura (Macrosphenidae) adds to the extraordinary avian sex chromosome diversity among Sylvioidea songbirds. J Evol Biol 2022; 35:1797-1805. [PMID: 36156325 PMCID: PMC10087220 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.14096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2022] [Revised: 06/03/2022] [Accepted: 07/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
We report the discovery of a novel neo-sex chromosome in an African warbler, Sylvietta brachyura (northern crombec; Macrosphenidae). This species is part of the Sylvioidea superfamily, where four separate autosome-sex chromosome translocation events have previously been discovered via comparative genomics of 11 of the 22 families in this clade. Our discovery here resulted from analyses of genomic data of single species-representatives from three additional Sylvioidea families (Macrosphenidae, Pycnonotidae and Leiothrichidae). In all three species, we confirmed the translocation of a part of chromosome 4A to the sex chromosomes, which originated basally in Sylvioidea. In S. brachyura, we found that a part of chromosome 8 has been translocated to the sex chromosomes, forming a unique neo-sex chromosome in this lineage. Furthermore, the non-recombining part of 4A in S. brachyura is smaller than in other Sylvioidea species, which suggests that recombination continued along this region after the fusion event in the Sylvioidea ancestor. These findings reveal additional sex chromosome diversity among the Sylvioidea, where five separate translocation events are now confirmed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hanna Sigeman
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.,Ecology and Genetics Research Unit, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
| | - Hongkai Zhang
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | | | - Bengt Hansson
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
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38
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Hidalgo M, Curantz C, Quenech’Du N, Neguer J, Beck S, Mohammad A, Manceau M. A conserved molecular template underlies color pattern diversity in estrildid finches. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2022; 8:eabm5800. [PMID: 36044564 PMCID: PMC9432839 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abm5800] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2021] [Accepted: 07/13/2022] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
The color patterns that adorn animals' coats not only exhibit extensive diversity linked to various ecological functions but also display recurrences in geometry, orientation, or body location. How processes of pattern formation shape such phenotypic trends remains a mystery. Here, we surveyed plumage color patterns in passerine finches displaying extreme apparent variation and identified a conserved set of color domains. We linked these domains to putative embryonic skin regions instructed by early developmental tissues and outlined by the combinatory expression of few genetic markers. We found that this embryonic prepattern is largely conserved in birds displaying drastic color differences in the adult, interspecies variation resulting from the masking or display of each domain depending on their coloration. This work showed that a simple molecular landscape serves as common spatial template to extensive color pattern variation in finches, revealing that early conserved landmarks and molecular pathways are a major cause of phenotypic trends.
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Affiliation(s)
- Magdalena Hidalgo
- Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Biology, Collège de France, CNRS, INSERM, Université PSL, Paris, France
| | - Camille Curantz
- Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Biology, Collège de France, CNRS, INSERM, Université PSL, Paris, France
- Sorbonne University, UPMC Paris VI, Paris, France
| | - Nicole Quenech’Du
- Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Biology, Collège de France, CNRS, INSERM, Université PSL, Paris, France
| | - Julia Neguer
- Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Biology, Collège de France, CNRS, INSERM, Université PSL, Paris, France
| | - Samantha Beck
- Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Biology, Collège de France, CNRS, INSERM, Université PSL, Paris, France
| | - Ammara Mohammad
- Genomic Facility, Institute of Biology of the Ecole Normale Supérieure, CNRS, INSERM Paris, France
| | - Marie Manceau
- Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Biology, Collège de France, CNRS, INSERM, Université PSL, Paris, France
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Kvistad L, Falk S, Austin L. Widespread genomic signatures of reproductive isolation and sex-specific selection in the Eastern Yellow Robin, Eopsaltria australis. G3 GENES|GENOMES|GENETICS 2022; 12:6605223. [PMID: 35686912 PMCID: PMC9438485 DOI: 10.1093/g3journal/jkac145] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2021] [Accepted: 05/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
How new species evolve is one of the most fundamental questions in biology. Population divergence, which may lead to speciation, may be occurring in the Eastern Yellow Robin, a common passerine that lives along the eastern coast of Australia. This species is composed of 2 parapatric lineages that have highly divergent mitochondrial DNA; however, similar levels of divergence have not been observed in the nuclear genome. Here we re-examine the nuclear genomes of these mitolineages to test potential mechanisms underlying the discordance between nuclear and mitochondrial divergence. We find that nuclear admixture occurs in a narrow hybrid zone, although the majority of markers across the genome show evidence of reproductive isolation between populations of opposing mitolineages. There is an 8 MB section of a previously identified putative neo-sex chromosome that is highly diverged between allopatric but not parapatric populations, which may be the result of a chromosomal inversion. The neo-sex chromosomal nature of this region, as well as the geographic patterns in which it exhibits divergence, suggest it is unlikely to be contributing to reproductive isolation through mitonuclear incompatibilities as reported in earlier studies. In addition, there are sex differences in the number of markers that are differentiated between populations of opposite mitolineages, with greater differentiation occurring in females, which are heterozygous, than males. These results suggest that, despite the absence of previously observed assortative mating, mitolineages of Eastern Yellow Robin experience at least some postzygotic isolation from each other, in a pattern consistent with Haldane’s Rule.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lynna Kvistad
- Biological Sciences, Monash University , Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
| | - Stephanie Falk
- Biological Sciences, Monash University , Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
- Deep Sequencing Facility, Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics , Freiburg D-79108, Germany
| | - Lana Austin
- Biological Sciences, Monash University , Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
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40
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Dahn HA, Mountcastle J, Balacco J, Winkler S, Bista I, Schmitt AD, Pettersson OV, Formenti G, Oliver K, Smith M, Tan W, Kraus A, Mac S, Komoroske LM, Lama T, Crawford AJ, Murphy RW, Brown S, Scott AF, Morin PA, Jarvis ED, Fedrigo O. Benchmarking ultra-high molecular weight DNA preservation methods for long-read and long-range sequencing. Gigascience 2022; 11:6659719. [PMID: 35946988 PMCID: PMC9364683 DOI: 10.1093/gigascience/giac068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2021] [Revised: 01/26/2022] [Accepted: 06/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Studies in vertebrate genomics require sampling from a broad range of tissue types, taxa, and localities. Recent advancements in long-read and long-range genome sequencing have made it possible to produce high-quality chromosome-level genome assemblies for almost any organism. However, adequate tissue preservation for the requisite ultra-high molecular weight DNA (uHMW DNA) remains a major challenge. Here we present a comparative study of preservation methods for field and laboratory tissue sampling, across vertebrate classes and different tissue types. RESULTS We find that storage temperature was the strongest predictor of uHMW fragment lengths. While immediate flash-freezing remains the sample preservation gold standard, samples preserved in 95% EtOH or 20-25% DMSO-EDTA showed little fragment length degradation when stored at 4°C for 6 hours. Samples in 95% EtOH or 20-25% DMSO-EDTA kept at 4°C for 1 week after dissection still yielded adequate amounts of uHMW DNA for most applications. Tissue type was a significant predictor of total DNA yield but not fragment length. Preservation solution had a smaller but significant influence on both fragment length and DNA yield. CONCLUSION We provide sample preservation guidelines that ensure sufficient DNA integrity and amount required for use with long-read and long-range sequencing technologies across vertebrates. Our best practices generated the uHMW DNA needed for the high-quality reference genomes for phase 1 of the Vertebrate Genomes Project, whose ultimate mission is to generate chromosome-level reference genome assemblies of all ∼70,000 extant vertebrate species.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Sylke Winkler
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Saxony 01307, Germany
| | - Iliana Bista
- Tree of Life Program, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire CB10 1SA, UK
- Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire CB2 3EH, UK
| | | | | | | | - Karen Oliver
- Tree of Life Program, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire CB10 1SA, UK
| | - Michelle Smith
- Tree of Life Program, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire CB10 1SA, UK
| | - Wenhua Tan
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Saxony 01307, Germany
| | - Anne Kraus
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Saxony 01307, Germany
| | - Stephen Mac
- Arima Genomics, Inc., San Diego, CA 92121, USA
| | - Lisa M Komoroske
- Department of Environmental Conservation, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA 01003-9285, USA
| | - Tanya Lama
- Department of Environmental Conservation, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA 01003-9285, USA
| | - Andrew J Crawford
- Department of Biological Sciences, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá 111711, Colombia
| | - Robert W Murphy
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3B2, Canada
| | - Samara Brown
- The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Alan F Scott
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Phillip A Morin
- Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Erich D Jarvis
- The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD 20815, USA
| | - Olivier Fedrigo
- Correspondence address. Olivier Fedrigo, Vertebrate Genome Laboratory, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, Box 366, New York, NY 10065, USA. E-mail:
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He J, Fu T, Zhang L, Wanrong Gao L, Rensel M, Remage-Healey L, White SA, Gedman G, Whitelegge J, Xiao X, Schlinger BA. Improved zebra finch brain transcriptome identifies novel proteins with sex differences. Gene 2022; 843:146803. [PMID: 35961439 DOI: 10.1016/j.gene.2022.146803] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2022] [Revised: 07/18/2022] [Accepted: 08/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata), a representative oscine songbird species, has been widely studied to investigate behavioral neuroscience, most notably the neurobiological basis of vocal learning, a rare trait shared in only a few animal groups including humans. In 2019, an updated zebra finch genome annotation (bTaeGut1_v1.p) was released from the Ensembl database and is substantially more comprehensive than the first version published in 2010. In this study, we utilized the publicly available RNA-seq data generated from Illumina-based short-reads and PacBio single-molecule real-time (SMRT) long-reads to assess the bird transcriptome. To analyze the high-throughput RNA-seq data, we adopted a hybrid bioinformatic approach combining short and long-read pipelines. From our analysis, we added 220 novel genes and 8,134 transcript variants to the Ensembl annotation, and predicted a new proteome based on the refined annotation. We further validated 18 different novel proteins by using mass-spectrometry data generated from zebra finch caudal telencephalon tissue. Our results provide additional resources for future studies of zebra finches utilizing this improved bird genome annotation and proteome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingyan He
- Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, University of California, Los Angeles 90095, United States
| | - Ting Fu
- Molecular, Cellular and Integrative Physiology Interdepartmental Program, University of California, Los Angeles 90095, United States
| | - Ling Zhang
- Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, University of California, Los Angeles 90095, United States
| | - Lucy Wanrong Gao
- The Pasarow Mass Spectrometry Laboratory, The Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Brain Research Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles 90095, United States
| | - Michelle Rensel
- The Institute for Society and Genetics, University of California, Los Angeles 90095, United States
| | - Luke Remage-Healey
- Center for Neuroendocrine Studies, Neuroscience and Behavior, 639 N. Pleasant St, Morrill IVN Neuroscience, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, United States
| | - Stephanie A White
- Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, University of California, Los Angeles 90095, United States
| | - Gregory Gedman
- Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, University of California, Los Angeles 90095, United States
| | - Julian Whitelegge
- The Pasarow Mass Spectrometry Laboratory, The Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Brain Research Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles 90095, United States
| | - Xinshu Xiao
- Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, University of California, Los Angeles 90095, United States
| | - Barney A Schlinger
- Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, University of California, Los Angeles 90095, United States.
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42
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Hu T, Chen G, Xu Z, Luo S, Wang H, Li C, Shan L, Zhang B. De Novo Whole-Genome Sequencing and Assembly of the Yellow-Throated Bunting (Emberiza elegans) Provides Insights into Its Evolutionary Adaptation. Animals (Basel) 2022; 12:ani12152004. [PMID: 35953992 PMCID: PMC9367368 DOI: 10.3390/ani12152004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2022] [Revised: 07/06/2022] [Accepted: 08/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary We report the genomic sequence of Emberiza elegans for understanding the evolutionary mechanisms of environmental adaptation and for studying a more effective genetic monitoring of this species. The E. elegans assembly was approximately 1.14 Gb, with a scaffold N50 of 28.94 Mb. About 15,868 protein-coding genes were predicted, and 16.62% of the genome was identified as having repetitive elements. Our genomic evolution analyses found considerable numbers of adaptive genes that may help the yellow-throated bunting cope with migratory behavior and environmental stressors of diseases. These results provide us with new insights into genomic evolution and adaptation, thus providing a valuable resource for further studies of population genetic diversity and genome evolution in this species. Abstract Yellow-throated bunting is a small migratory songbird unique to the Palearctic region. However, the genetic studies of this species remain limited, with no nuclear genomic sequence reported to date. In this study, the genomic DNA from the bird was sequenced in long reads using Nanopore sequencing technology. Combining short-read sequencing, the genome was well-assembled and annotated. The final length of the assembly is approximately 1.14 Gb, with a scaffold N50 of 28.94 Mb. About 15,868 protein-coding genes were predicted, and 16.62% of the genome was identified as having repetitive elements. Comparative genomic analysis showed numerous expanded gene families and positively selected genes significantly enriched in those KEGG pathways that are associated with migratory behavior adaptation and immune response. Here, this newly generated de novo genome of the yellow-throated bunting using long reads provide the research community with a valuable resource for further studies of population genetic diversity and genome evolution in this species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tingli Hu
- School of Life Sciences, Anhui University, Hefei 230601, China
| | - Guotao Chen
- School of Life Sciences, Anhui University, Hefei 230601, China
| | - Zhen Xu
- School of Life Sciences, Anhui University, Hefei 230601, China
| | - Site Luo
- School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China
| | - Hui Wang
- College of Food and Bioengineering, Bengbu University, Bengbu 233030, China
| | - Chunlin Li
- School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Anhui University, Hefei 230601, China
| | - Lei Shan
- School of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210023, China
- Correspondence: (L.S.); (B.Z.)
| | - Baowei Zhang
- School of Life Sciences, Anhui University, Hefei 230601, China
- Correspondence: (L.S.); (B.Z.)
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43
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Enbody ED, Sin SYW, Boersma J, Edwards SV, Ketaloya S, Schwabl H, Webster MS, Karubian J. The evolutionary history and mechanistic basis of female ornamentation in a tropical songbird. Evolution 2022; 76:1720-1736. [PMID: 35748580 PMCID: PMC9543242 DOI: 10.1111/evo.14545] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2021] [Revised: 05/26/2022] [Accepted: 05/31/2022] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Ornamentation, such as the showy plumage of birds, is widespread among female vertebrates, yet the evolutionary pressures shaping female ornamentation remain uncertain. In part this is due to a poor understanding of the mechanistic route to ornamentation in females. To address this issue, we evaluated the evolutionary history of ornament expression in a tropical passerine bird, the White-shouldered Fairywren, whose females, but not males, strongly vary between populations in occurrence of ornamented black-and-white plumage. We first use phylogenomic analysis to demonstrate that female ornamentation is derived and that female ornamentation evolves independently of changes in male plumage. We then use exogenous testosterone in a field experiment to induce partial ornamentation in naturally unornamented females. By sequencing the transcriptome of experimentally induced ornamented and natural feathers, we identify genes expressed during ornament production and evaluate the degree to which female ornamentation in this system is associated with elevated testosterone, as is common in males. We reveal that some ornamentation in females is linked to testosterone and that sexes differ in ornament-linked gene expression. Lastly, using genomic outlier analysis we identify a candidate melanogenesis gene that lies in a region of high genomic divergence among populations that is also differentially expressed in feather follicles of different female plumages. Taken together, these findings are consistent with sex-specific selection favoring the evolution of female ornaments and demonstrate a key role for testosterone in generating population divergence in female ornamentation through gene regulation. More broadly, our work highlights similarities and differences in how ornamentation evolves in the sexes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erik D. Enbody
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyTulane UniversityNew OrleansLouisiana70118,Department of Medical Biochemistry and MicrobiologyUppsala UniversityUppsalaSE‐75123Sweden
| | - Simon Y. W. Sin
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary BiologyHarvard UniversityCambridgeMassachusetts02138,School of Biological SciencesThe University of Hong KongPok Fu Lam RoadHong Kong
| | - Jordan Boersma
- School of Biological Sciences, Center for Reproductive BiologyWashington State UniversityPullmanWashington99164,Department of Neurobiology and BehaviorCornell UniversityIthacaNew York14853,Macaulay LibraryCornell Lab of OrnithologyIthacaNew York14850
| | - Scott V. Edwards
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary BiologyHarvard UniversityCambridgeMassachusetts02138
| | - Serena Ketaloya
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyTulane UniversityNew OrleansLouisiana70118
| | - Hubert Schwabl
- School of Biological Sciences, Center for Reproductive BiologyWashington State UniversityPullmanWashington99164
| | - Michael S. Webster
- Department of Neurobiology and BehaviorCornell UniversityIthacaNew York14853,Macaulay LibraryCornell Lab of OrnithologyIthacaNew York14850
| | - Jordan Karubian
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyTulane UniversityNew OrleansLouisiana70118
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44
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Herman RW, Winger BM, Dittmann DL, Harvey MG. Fine-scale population genetic structure and barriers to gene flow in a widespread seabird ( Ardenna pacifica). Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2022. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blac091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Pelagic seabirds are highly mobile, reducing opportunities for population isolation that might promote differentiation and speciation. At the same time, many seabirds are philopatric, and their tendency to return to their natal islands to breed might reduce gene flow sufficiently to permit local adaptation and differentiation. To test the net impact of these competing processes, estimates of differentiation and gene flow based on comprehensive geographical sampling are required. We leveraged diverse source material to achieve comprehensive geographical sampling in a widespread seabird, the Wedge-tailed Shearwater (Ardenna pacifica). Using data from sequence capture and high-throughput sequencing of 2402 loci containing 20 780 single nucleotide polymorphisms, we tested for population differentiation and gene flow among breeding areas. We found little evidence of deep divergences within A. pacifica but were able to resolve fine-scale differentiation across island groups. This differentiation was sufficient to assign individuals sampled away from breeding areas to their likely source populations. Estimated effective migration surfaces revealed reduced migration between the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean, presumably owing to land barriers, and across the equatorial Pacific Ocean, perhaps associated with differences in breeding schedule. Our results reveal that, despite their mobility, pelagic seabirds can exhibit fine-scale population differentiation and reduced gene flow among ocean basins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachael W Herman
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Stony Brook University , Stony Brook, NY , USA
| | - Benjamin M Winger
- Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan , Ann Arbor, MI , USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan , Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Donna L Dittmann
- Museum of Natural Science, Louisiana State University , Baton Rouge, LA, USA
| | - Michael G Harvey
- Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan , Ann Arbor, MI , USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan , Ann Arbor, MI, USA
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45
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Schield DR, Perry BW, Card DC, Pasquesi GIM, Westfall AK, Mackessy SP, Castoe TA. The rattlesnake W chromosome: A GC-rich retroelement refugium with retained gene function across ancient evolutionary strata. Genome Biol Evol 2022; 14:6648526. [PMID: 35867356 PMCID: PMC9447483 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evac116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Sex chromosomes diverge after the establishment of recombination suppression, resulting in differential sex-linkage of genes involved in genetic sex determination and dimorphic traits. This process produces systems of male or female heterogamety wherein the Y and W chromosomes are only present in one sex and are often highly degenerated. Sex-limited Y and W chromosomes contain valuable information about the evolutionary transition from autosomes to sex chromosomes, yet detailed characterizations of the structure, composition, and gene content of sex-limited chromosomes are lacking for many species. In this study, we characterize the female-specific W chromosome of the prairie rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis) and evaluate how recombination suppression and other processes have shaped sex chromosome evolution in ZW snakes. Our analyses indicate that the rattlesnake W chromosome is over 80% repetitive and that an abundance of GC-rich mdg4 elements has driven an overall high degree of GC-richness despite a lack of recombination. The W chromosome is also highly enriched for repeat sequences derived from endogenous retroviruses and likely acts as a “refugium” for these and other retroelements. We annotated 219 putatively functional W-linked genes across at least two evolutionary strata identified based on estimates of sequence divergence between Z and W gametologs. The youngest of these strata is relatively gene-rich, however gene expression across strata suggests retained gene function amidst a greater degree of degeneration following ancient recombination suppression. Functional annotation of W-linked genes indicates a specialization of the W chromosome for reproductive and developmental function since recombination suppression from the Z chromosome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Drew R Schield
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Blair W Perry
- Department of Biology, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX, USA.,School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA
| | - Daren C Card
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.,Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Giulia I M Pasquesi
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Aundrea K Westfall
- Department of Biology, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX, USA
| | - Stephen P Mackessy
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, CO, USA
| | - Todd A Castoe
- Department of Biology, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX, USA
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46
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Friis G, Vizueta J, Ketterson ED, Milá B. A high-quality genome assembly and annotation of the dark-eyed junco Junco hyemalis, a recently diversified songbird. G3 (BETHESDA, MD.) 2022; 12:jkac083. [PMID: 35404451 PMCID: PMC9157146 DOI: 10.1093/g3journal/jkac083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2022] [Accepted: 03/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
The dark-eyed junco (Junco hyemalis) is one of the most common passerines of North America, and has served as a model organism in studies related to ecophysiology, behavior, and evolutionary biology for over a century. It is composed of at least 6 distinct, geographically structured forms of recent evolutionary origin, presenting remarkable variation in phenotypic traits, migratory behavior, and habitat. Here, we report a high-quality genome assembly and annotation of the dark-eyed junco generated using a combination of shotgun libraries and proximity ligation Chicago and Dovetail Hi-C libraries. The final assembly is ∼1.03 Gb in size, with 98.3% of the sequence located in 30 full or nearly full chromosome scaffolds, and with a N50/L50 of 71.3 Mb/5 scaffolds. We identified 19,026 functional genes combining gene prediction and similarity approaches, of which 15,967 were associated to GO terms. The genome assembly and the set of annotated genes yielded 95.4% and 96.2% completeness scores, respectively when compared with the BUSCO avian dataset. This new assembly for J. hyemalis provides a valuable resource for genome evolution analysis, and for identifying functional genes involved in adaptive processes and speciation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guillermo Friis
- Department of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, National Museum of Natural Sciences, Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Madrid 28006, Spain
| | - Joel Vizueta
- Centre for Social Evolution, University of Copenhaguen, Copenhaguen 1165, Denmark
| | - Ellen D Ketterson
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
| | - Borja Milá
- Department of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, National Museum of Natural Sciences, Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Madrid 28006, Spain
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47
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Ponnikas S, Sigeman H, Lundberg M, Hansson B. Extreme variation in recombination rate and genetic diversity along the Sylvioidea neo-sex chromosome. Mol Ecol 2022; 31:3566-3583. [PMID: 35578784 PMCID: PMC9327509 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16532] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2020] [Revised: 04/13/2022] [Accepted: 05/04/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
Abstract
Recombination strongly impacts sequence evolution by affecting the extent of linkage and the efficiency of selection. Here, we study recombination over the Z chromosome in great reed warblers (Acrocephalus arundinaceus) using pedigree‐based linkage mapping. This species has extended Z and W chromosomes (“neo‐sex chromosomes”) formed by a fusion between a part of chromosome 4A and the ancestral sex chromosomes, which provides a unique opportunity to assess recombination and sequence evolution in sex‐linked regions of different ages. We assembled an 87.54 Mbp and 90.19 cM large Z with a small pseudoautosomal region (0.89 Mbp) at one end and the fused Chr4A‐part at the other end of the chromosome. A prominent feature in our data was an extreme variation in male recombination rate along Z with high values at both chromosome ends, but an apparent lack of recombination over a substantial central section, covering 78% of the chromosome. The nonrecombining region showed a drastic loss of genetic diversity and accumulation of repeats compared to the recombining parts. Thus, our data emphasize a key role of recombination in affecting local levels of polymorphism. Nonetheless, the evolutionary rate of genes (dN/dS) did not differ between high and low recombining regions, suggesting that the efficiency of selection on protein‐coding sequences can be maintained also at very low levels of recombination. Finally, the Chr4A‐derived part showed a similar recombination rate as the part of the ancestral Z that did recombine, but its sequence characteristics reflected both its previous autosomal, and current Z‐linked, recombination patterns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Suvi Ponnikas
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.,Ecology and Genetics Research Unit, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
| | - Hanna Sigeman
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Max Lundberg
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Bengt Hansson
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
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48
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Lipshutz SE, Howell CR, Buechlein AM, Rusch DB, Rosvall KA, Derryberry EP. How thermal challenges change gene regulation in the songbird brain and gonad: implications for sexual selection in our changing world. Mol Ecol 2022; 31:3613-3626. [PMID: 35567363 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16506] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2021] [Revised: 04/15/2022] [Accepted: 05/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
In a rapidly warming world, exposure to high temperatures may impact fitness, but the gene regulatory mechanisms that link sublethal heat to sexually selected traits are not well understood, particularly in endothermic animals. Our experiment used zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata), songbirds that experience extreme temperature fluctuations in their native Australia. We exposed captive males to an acute thermal challenge (43°C) compared with thermoneutral (35°C) and lower (27°C) temperatures. We found significantly more heat dissipation behaviors at 43°C, a temperature previously shown to reduce song production and fertility, and more heat retention behaviors at 27°C. Next, we characterized transcriptomic responses in tissues important for mating effort - the posterior telencephalon, for its role in song production, and the testis, for its role in fertility and hormone production. Differential expression of hundreds of genes in the testes, but few in the brain, suggest the brain is less responsive to extreme temperatures. Nevertheless, gene network analyses revealed that expression related to dopaminergic signaling in the brain co-varied with heat dissipation behaviors, providing a mechanism by which temporary thermal challenges may alter motivational circuits for song production. In both brain and testis, we observed correlations between thermally sensitive gene networks and individual differences in thermoregulatory behavior. Although we cannot directly relate these gene regulatory changes to mating success, our results suggest that individual variation in response to thermal challenges could impact sexually selected traits in a warming world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara E Lipshutz
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA.,Department of Biology, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Clara R Howell
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA.,Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Aaron M Buechlein
- Center for Genomics and Bioinformatics, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
| | - Douglas B Rusch
- Center for Genomics and Bioinformatics, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
| | | | - Elizabeth P Derryberry
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA
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49
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Spottiswoode CN, Tong W, Jamie GA, Stryjewski KF, DaCosta JM, Kuras ER, Green A, Hamama S, Taylor IG, Moya C, Sorenson MD. Genetic architecture facilitates then constrains adaptation in a host-parasite coevolutionary arms race. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2121752119. [PMID: 35412865 PMCID: PMC9170059 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2121752119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2021] [Accepted: 02/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
In coevolutionary arms races, interacting species impose selection on each other, generating reciprocal adaptations and counter adaptations. This process is typically enhanced by genetic recombination and heterozygosity, but these sources of evolutionary novelty may be secondarily lost when uniparental inheritance evolves to ensure the integrity of sex-linked adaptations. We demonstrate that host-specific egg mimicry in the African cuckoo finch Anomalospiza imberbis is maternally inherited, confirming the validity of an almost century-old hypothesis. We further show that maternal inheritance not only underpins the mimicry of different host species but also additional mimetic diversification that approximates the range of polymorphic egg “signatures” that have evolved within host species as an escalated defense against parasitism. Thus, maternal inheritance has enabled the evolution and maintenance of nested levels of mimetic specialization in a single parasitic species. However, maternal inheritance and the lack of sexual recombination likely disadvantage cuckoo finches by stifling further adaptation in the ongoing arms races with their individual hosts, which we show have retained biparental inheritance of egg phenotypes. The inability to generate novel genetic combinations likely prevents cuckoo finches from mimicking certain host phenotypes that are currently favored by selection (e.g., the olive-green colored eggs laid by some tawny-flanked prinia, Prinia subflava, females). This illustrates an important cost of coding coevolved adaptations on the nonrecombining sex chromosome, which may impede further coevolutionary change by effectively reversing the advantages of sexual reproduction in antagonistic coevolution proposed by the Red Queen hypothesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claire N. Spottiswoode
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, United Kingdom
- FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, Department of Science and Technology–National Research Foundation Centre of Excellence, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
| | - Wenfei Tong
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, United Kingdom
| | - Gabriel A. Jamie
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, United Kingdom
- FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, Department of Science and Technology–National Research Foundation Centre of Excellence, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
| | | | - Jeffrey M. DaCosta
- Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215
- Biology Department, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
| | - Evan R. Kuras
- Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215
| | - Ailsa Green
- Chenga Farm, Choma, Southern Province, Zambia
| | - Silky Hamama
- Musumanene Farm, Choma, Southern Province, Zambia
| | | | - Collins Moya
- Musumanene Farm, Choma, Southern Province, Zambia
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Sheppard EC, Martin CA, Armstrong C, González-Quevedo C, Illera JC, Suh A, Spurgin LG, Richardson DS. Genomic associations with poxvirus across divergent island populations in Berthelot's pipit. Mol Ecol 2022; 31:3154-3173. [PMID: 35395699 PMCID: PMC9321574 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16461] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2021] [Revised: 03/04/2022] [Accepted: 04/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Understanding the mechanisms and genes that enable animal populations to adapt to pathogens is important from an evolutionary, health and conservation perspective. Berthelot's pipit (Anthus berthelotii) experiences extensive and consistent spatial heterogeneity in avian pox infection pressure across its range of island populations, thus providing an excellent system with which to examine how pathogen-mediated selection drives spatial variation in immunogenetic diversity. Here we test for evidence of genetic variation associated with avian pox at both an individual and population-level. At the individual level, we find no evidence that variation in MHC class I and TLR4 (both known to be important in recognising viral infection) was associated with pox infection within two separate populations. However, using genotype-environment association (Bayenv) in conjunction with genome-wide (ddRAD-seq) data, we detected strong associations between population-level avian pox prevalence and allele frequencies of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at a number of sites across the genome. These sites were located within genes involved in cellular stress signalling and immune responses, many of which have previously been associated with responses to viral infection in humans and other animals. Consequently, our analyses indicates that pathogen-mediated selection may play a role in shaping genomic variation among relatively recently colonised island bird populations and highlights the utility of genotype-environment associations for identifying candidate genes potentially involved in host-pathogen interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eleanor C Sheppard
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norfolk, NR4 7TJ, UK
| | - Claudia A Martin
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norfolk, NR4 7TJ, UK
| | - Claire Armstrong
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norfolk, NR4 7TJ, UK
| | - Catalina González-Quevedo
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norfolk, NR4 7TJ, UK.,Grupo Ecología y Evolución de Vertebrados, Instituto de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Antioquia UdeA, Calle 70 No. 52-21, Medellín, Colombia
| | - Juan Carlos Illera
- Biodiversity Research Institute (CSIC-Oviedo University-Principality of Asturias), University of Oviedo, Campus of Mieres, Research Building, 5th Floor, c/ Gonzalo Gutiérrez Quirós, s/n, 33600 Mieres, Asturias, Spain
| | - Alexander Suh
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norfolk, NR4 7TJ, UK.,Department of Ecology and Genetics - Evolutionary Biology, Evolutionary Biology Centre (EBC), Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Lewis G Spurgin
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norfolk, NR4 7TJ, UK
| | - David S Richardson
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norfolk, NR4 7TJ, UK
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