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Zhang Z, Xia T, Zhou S, Yang X, Lyu T, Wang L, Fang J, Wang Q, Dou H, Zhang H. High-Quality Chromosome-Level Genome Assembly of the Corsac Fox ( Vulpes corsac) Reveals Adaptation to Semiarid and Harsh Environments. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24119599. [PMID: 37298549 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24119599] [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: 04/24/2023] [Revised: 05/24/2023] [Accepted: 05/29/2023] [Indexed: 06/12/2023] Open
Abstract
The Corsac fox (Vulpes corsac) is a species of fox distributed in the arid prairie regions of Central and Northern Asia, with distinct adaptations to dry environments. Here, we applied Oxford-Nanopore sequencing and a chromosome structure capture technique to assemble the first Corsac fox genome, which was then assembled into chromosome fragments. The genome assembly has a total length of 2.2 Gb with a contig N50 of 41.62 Mb and a scaffold N50 of 132.2 Mb over 18 pseudo-chromosomal scaffolds. The genome contained approximately 32.67% of repeat sequences. A total of 20,511 protein-coding genes were predicted, of which 88.9% were functionally annotated. Phylogenetic analyses indicated a close relation to the Red fox (Vulpes vulpes) with an estimated divergence time of ~3.7 million years ago (MYA). We performed separate enrichment analyses of species-unique genes, the expanded and contracted gene families, and positively selected genes. The results suggest an enrichment of pathways related to protein synthesis and response and an evolutionary mechanism by which cells respond to protein denaturation in response to heat stress. The enrichment of pathways related to lipid and glucose metabolism, potentially preventing stress from dehydration, and positive selection of genes related to vision, as well as stress responses in harsh environments, may reveal adaptive evolutionary mechanisms in the Corsac fox under harsh drought conditions. Additional detection of positive selection for genes associated with gustatory receptors may reveal a unique desert diet strategy for the species. This high-quality genome provides a valuable resource for studying mammalian drought adaptation and evolution in the genus Vulpes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhihao Zhang
- School of Life Science, Qufu Normal University, Qufu 273165, China
| | - Tian Xia
- School of Life Science, Qufu Normal University, Qufu 273165, China
| | - Shengyang Zhou
- School of Life Science, Qufu Normal University, Qufu 273165, China
| | - Xiufeng Yang
- School of Life Science, Qufu Normal University, Qufu 273165, China
| | - Tianshu Lyu
- School of Life Science, Qufu Normal University, Qufu 273165, China
| | - Lidong Wang
- School of Life Science, Qufu Normal University, Qufu 273165, China
| | - Jiaohui Fang
- School of Life Science, Qufu Normal University, Qufu 273165, China
| | - Qi Wang
- Hulunbuir Academy of Inland Lakes in Northern Cold & Arid Areas, Hulunbuir 021000, China
| | - Huashan Dou
- Hulunbuir Academy of Inland Lakes in Northern Cold & Arid Areas, Hulunbuir 021000, China
| | - Honghai Zhang
- School of Life Science, Qufu Normal University, Qufu 273165, China
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Veilleux CC, Dominy NJ, Melin AD. The sensory ecology of primate food perception, revisited. Evol Anthropol 2022; 31:281-301. [PMID: 36519416 DOI: 10.1002/evan.21967] [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: 11/17/2021] [Revised: 09/06/2022] [Accepted: 10/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Twenty years ago, Dominy and colleagues published "The sensory ecology of primate food perception," an impactful review that brought new perspectives to understanding primate foraging adaptations. Their review synthesized information on primate senses and explored how senses informed feeding behavior. Research on primate sensory ecology has seen explosive growth in the last two decades. Here, we revisit this important topic, focusing on the numerous new discoveries and lines of innovative research. We begin by reviewing each of the five traditionally recognized senses involved in foraging: audition, olfaction, vision, touch, and taste. For each sense, we provide an overview of sensory function and comparative ecology, comment on the state of knowledge at the time of the original review, and highlight advancements and lingering gaps in knowledge. Next, we provide an outline for creative, multidisciplinary, and innovative future research programs that we anticipate will generate exciting new discoveries in the next two decades.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carrie C Veilleux
- Department of Anatomy, Midwestern University, Glendale, Arizona, USA
| | - Nathaniel J Dominy
- Department of Anthropology, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA
| | - Amanda D Melin
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.,Department of Medical Genetics, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.,Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
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Yan X, Terai Y, Widayati KA, Itoigawa A, Purba LHPS, Fahri F, Suryobroto B, Imai H. Functional divergence of the pigmentation gene melanocortin-1 receptor (MC1R) in six endemic Macaca species on Sulawesi Island. Sci Rep 2022; 12:7593. [PMID: 35534524 PMCID: PMC9085793 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-11681-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2021] [Accepted: 04/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Coat color is often highly variable within and between animal taxa. Among hundreds of pigmentation-related genes, melanocortin-1 receptor (MC1R) plays key roles in regulating the synthesis of the dark eumelanin and the red-yellow pheomelanin. The six species of macaques that inhabit Sulawesi Island diverged rapidly from their common ancestor, M. nemestrina. Unlike most macaques, Sulawesi macaques commonly have a dark coat color, with divergence in shade and color pattern. To clarify the genetic and evolutionary basis for coat color in Sulawesi macaques, we investigated the MC1R sequences and functional properties, including basal cAMP production and α-MSH-induced activity in vitro. We found fixed non-synonymous substitutions in MC1R in each species. Furthermore, we found that six species-specific variants corresponded with variation in agonist-induced and basal activity of MC1R. Inconsistent with the dark coat color, four substitutions independently caused decreases in the basal activity of MC1R in M. hecki, M. nigra, M. tonkeana, and M. ochreata. Selective analysis suggested MC1R of M. nigra and M. nigrescens underwent purifying selection. Overall, our results suggest that fixed differences in MC1R resulted in different functional characteristics and might contribute to divergence in color among the six Sulawesi macaque species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaochan Yan
- Molecular Biology Section, Center for the Evolutionary Origins of Human Behavior, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Japan
| | - Yohey Terai
- Department of Evolutionary Studies of Biosystems, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, Hayama, Japan
| | | | - Akihiro Itoigawa
- Molecular Biology Section, Center for the Evolutionary Origins of Human Behavior, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Japan
| | | | - Fahri Fahri
- Department of Biology, Tadulako University, Palu, Indonesia
| | | | - Hiroo Imai
- Molecular Biology Section, Center for the Evolutionary Origins of Human Behavior, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Japan.
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Yang H, Yang S, Fan F, Li Y, Dai S, Zhou X, Steiner CC, Coppedge B, Roos C, Cai X, Irwin DM, Shi P. A New World Monkey Resembles Human in Bitter Taste Receptor Evolution and Function via a Single Parallel Amino Acid Substitution. Mol Biol Evol 2021; 38:5472-5479. [PMID: 34469542 PMCID: PMC8662605 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msab263] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Bitter taste receptors serve as a vital component in the defense system against toxin intake by animals, and the family of genes encoding these receptors has been demonstrated, usually by family size variance, to correlate with dietary preference. However, few systematic studies of specific Tas2R to unveil their functional evolution have been conducted. Here, we surveyed Tas2R16 across all major clades of primates and reported a rare case of a convergent change to increase sensitivity to β-glucopyranosides in human and a New World monkey, the white-faced saki. Combining analyses at multiple levels, we demonstrate that a parallel amino acid substitution (K172N) shared by these two species is responsible for this functional convergence of Tas2R16. Considering the specialized feeding preference of the white-faced saki, the K172N change likely played an important adaptive role in its early evolution to avoid potentially toxic cyanogenic glycosides, as suggested for the human TAS2R16 gene.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hui Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650223, China
| | - Songlin Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650223, China.,University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Fei Fan
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650223, China.,University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Yun Li
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650223, China.,University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Shaoxing Dai
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650223, China
| | - Xin Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650223, China
| | - Cynthia C Steiner
- San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, Beckman Center for Conservation Research, San Pasqual Valley Road, Escondido, CA, 15600, United States 92027
| | - Bretton Coppedge
- San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, Beckman Center for Conservation Research, San Pasqual Valley Road, Escondido, CA, 15600, United States 92027
| | - Christian Roos
- Gene Bank of Primates and Primate Genetics Laboratory, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Kellnerweg 4, Göttingen, 37077, Germany
| | - Xianghai Cai
- State Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Plant Resources in West China, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, China
| | - David M Irwin
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Peng Shi
- 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
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Purba LHPS, Widayati KA, Suzuki-Hashido N, Itoigawa A, Hayakawa T, Nila S, Juliandi B, Suryobroto B, Imai H. Evolution of the bitter taste receptor TAS2R38 in colobines. Primates 2020; 61:485-494. [PMID: 32006126 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-020-00799-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2019] [Accepted: 01/21/2020] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Bitter taste perception enables the detection of potentially toxic molecules and thus evokes avoidance behavior in vertebrates. It is mediated by bitter taste receptors, TAS2Rs. One of the best-studied TAS2R is TAS2R38. Phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) perception and TAS2R38 receptors vary across primate species, and this variation may be related to variation in dietary preferences. In particular, we previously found that the low sensitivity of TAS2R38s in Asian colobines likely evolved as an adaptation to their leaf-eating behavior. However, it remains unclear whether this low PTC sensitivity is a general characteristic of the subfamily Colobinae, a primate group that feeds predominantly on leaves. We performed genetic analyses, functional assays with mutant proteins, and behavioral analyses to evaluate the general characteristics of TAS2R38 in colobines. We found that PTC sensitivity is lower in TAS2R38s of African colobines than in TAS2R38s of omnivorous macaques. Furthermore, two amino acids shared between Asian and African colobines were responsible for low sensitivity to PTC, suggesting that the last common ancestor of extant colobines had this phenotype. We also detected amino acid differences between TAS2R38s in Asian and African colobines, indicating that they evolved independently after the separation of these groups.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Kanthi Arum Widayati
- Department of Biology, Bogor Agricultural University, Kampus IPB Darmaga, Bogor, 16680, Indonesia.
| | - Nami Suzuki-Hashido
- Academy of Emerging Sciences, Chubu University, 1200 Matsumoto-cho, Kasugai, Aichi, 487-8501, Japan.,Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Kojimachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 102-0083, Japan
| | - Akihiro Itoigawa
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Kojimachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 102-0083, Japan.,Molecular Biology Section, Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Primates Research Institute, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Aichi, 484-8506, Japan
| | - Takashi Hayakawa
- Faculty of Environmental Earth Science, Hokkaido University, N10W5, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, 060-0810, Japan.,Department of Wildlife Science (Nagoya Railroad Co., Ltd.), Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, 41-2 Kanrin, Inuyama, Aichi, 484-8506, Japan.,Japan Monkey Centre, Inuyama, Aichi, 484-0081, Japan
| | - Sarah Nila
- Department of Biology, Bogor Agricultural University, Kampus IPB Darmaga, Bogor, 16680, Indonesia
| | - Berry Juliandi
- Department of Biology, Bogor Agricultural University, Kampus IPB Darmaga, Bogor, 16680, Indonesia
| | - Bambang Suryobroto
- Department of Biology, Bogor Agricultural University, Kampus IPB Darmaga, Bogor, 16680, Indonesia
| | - Hiroo Imai
- Molecular Biology Section, Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Primates Research Institute, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Aichi, 484-8506, Japan.
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