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Cvekl A, Zhao Y, McGreal R, Xie Q, Gu X, Zheng D. Evolutionary Origins of Pax6 Control of Crystallin Genes. Genome Biol Evol 2018; 9:2075-2092. [PMID: 28903537 PMCID: PMC5737492 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evx153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/14/2017] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The birth of novel genes, including their cell-specific transcriptional control, is a major source of evolutionary innovation. The lens-preferred proteins, crystallins (vertebrates: α- and β/γ-crystallins), provide a gateway to study eye evolution. Diversity of crystallins was thought to originate from convergent evolution through multiple, independent formation of Pax6/PaxB-binding sites within the promoters of genes able to act as crystallins. Here, we propose that αB-crystallin arose from a duplication of small heat shock protein (Hspb1-like) gene accompanied by Pax6-site and heat shock element (HSE) formation, followed by another duplication to generate the αA-crystallin gene in which HSE was converted into another Pax6-binding site. The founding β/γ-crystallin gene arose from the ancestral Hspb1-like gene promoter inserted into a Ca2+-binding protein coding region, early in the cephalochordate/tunicate lineage. Likewise, an ancestral aldehyde dehydrogenase (Aldh) gene, through multiple gene duplications, expanded into a multigene family, with specific genes expressed in invertebrate lenses (Ω-crystallin/Aldh1a9) and both vertebrate lenses (η-crystallin/Aldh1a7 and Aldh3a1) and corneas (Aldh3a1). Collectively, the present data reconstruct the evolution of diverse crystallin gene families.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ales Cvekl
- Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York.,Department of Genetics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York
| | - Yilin Zhao
- Department of Genetics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York
| | - Rebecca McGreal
- Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York.,Department of Genetics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York
| | - Qing Xie
- Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York.,Department of Genetics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York
| | - Xun Gu
- Program in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, Department of Genetics, Development, and Cell Biology, Iowa State University
| | - Deyou Zheng
- Department of Genetics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York.,Department of Neurology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York.,Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York
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Yang Y, Cvekl A. Large Maf Transcription Factors: Cousins of AP-1 Proteins and Important Regulators of Cellular Differentiation. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2016; 23:2-11. [PMID: 18159220 DOI: 10.23861/ejbm20072347] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
A large number of mammalian transcription factors possess the evolutionary conserved basic and leucine zipper domain (bZIP). The basic domain interacts with DNA while the leucine zipper facilitates homo- and hetero-dimerization. These factors can be grouped into at least seven families: AP-1, ATF/CREB, CNC, C/EBP, Maf, PAR, and virus-encoded bZIPs. Here, we focus on a group of four large Maf proteins: MafA, MafB, c-Maf, and NRL. They act as key regulators of terminal differentiation in many tissues such as bone, brain, kidney, lens, pancreas, and retina, as well as in blood. The DNA-binding mechanism of large Mafs involves cooperation between the basic domain and an adjacent ancillary DNA-binding domain. Many genes regulated by Mafs during cellular differentiation use functional interactions between the Pax/Maf, Sox/Maf, and Ets/Maf promoter and enhancer modules. The prime examples are crystallin genes in lens and glucagon and insulin in pancreas. Novel roles for large Mafs emerged from studying generations of MafA and MafB knockouts and analysis of combined phenotypes in double or triple null mice. In addition, studies of this group of factors in invertebrates revealed the evolutionarily conserved function of these genes in the development of multicellular organisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying Yang
- Departments of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences and Molecular Genetics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York 10461
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Yoshida MA, Ogura A, Ikeo K, Shigeno S, Moritaki T, Winters GC, Kohn AB, Moroz LL. Molecular Evidence for Convergence and Parallelism in Evolution of Complex Brains of Cephalopod Molluscs: Insights from Visual Systems. Integr Comp Biol 2015; 55:1070-83. [PMID: 26002349 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icv049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Coleoid cephalopods show remarkable evolutionary convergence with vertebrates in their neural organization, including (1) eyes and visual system with optic lobes, (2) specialized parts of the brain controlling learning and memory, such as vertical lobes, and (3) unique vasculature supporting such complexity of the central nervous system. We performed deep sequencing of eye transcriptomes of pygmy squids (Idiosepius paradoxus) and chambered nautiluses (Nautilus pompilius) to decipher the molecular basis of convergent evolution in cephalopods. RNA-seq was complemented by in situ hybridization to localize the expression of selected genes. We found three types of genomic innovations in the evolution of complex brains: (1) recruitment of novel genes into morphogenetic pathways, (2) recombination of various coding and regulatory regions of different genes, often called "evolutionary tinkering" or "co-option", and (3) duplication and divergence of genes. Massive recruitment of novel genes occurred in the evolution of the "camera" eye from nautilus' "pinhole" eye. We also showed that the type-2 co-option of transcription factors played important roles in the evolution of the lens and visual neurons. In summary, the cephalopod convergent morphological evolution of the camera eyes was driven by a mosaic of all types of gene recruitments. In addition, our analysis revealed unexpected variations of squids' opsins, retinochromes, and arrestins, providing more detailed information, valuable for further research on intra-ocular and extra-ocular photoreception of the cephalopods.
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Affiliation(s)
- M A Yoshida
- *Research Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science; Center for Information Biology, National Institute of Genetics, 1111 Yata, Mishima, Shizuoka 411-8540, Japan; Center for Information Biology, National Institute of Genetics, 1111 Yata, Mishima, Shizuoka 411-8540, Japan
| | - A Ogura
- Department of Computer Bioscience, Nagahama Institute of Bio-science and Technology, 1266 Tamura, Nagahama, Shiga 526-0829 Japan
| | - K Ikeo
- Center for Information Biology, National Institute of Genetics, 1111 Yata, Mishima, Shizuoka 411-8540, Japan
| | - S Shigeno
- Department for Marine Biodiversity Research, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, 2-15, Natsushima, Yokosuka, Kanagawa 237-0061, Japan
| | - T Moritaki
- Toba Aquarium, 3-3-6 Toba, Toba, Mie 517-8517, Japan
| | - G C Winters
- The Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience, University of Florida, 9505 Ocean Shore Blvd, St Augustine, FL 32080, USA; Department of Neuroscience, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - A B Kohn
- The Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience, University of Florida, 9505 Ocean Shore Blvd, St Augustine, FL 32080, USA
| | - L L Moroz
- The Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience, University of Florida, 9505 Ocean Shore Blvd, St Augustine, FL 32080, USA; Department of Neuroscience, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA; **McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
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Weston CR, Wong A, Hall JP, Goad MEP, Flavell RA, Davis RJ. JNK initiates a cytokine cascade that causes Pax2 expression and closure of the optic fissure. Genes Dev 2003; 17:1271-80. [PMID: 12756228 PMCID: PMC196061 DOI: 10.1101/gad.1087303] [Citation(s) in RCA: 76] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
The c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase (JNK) group of mitogen-activated protein kinases is stimulated in response to a wide array of cellular stresses and proinflammatory cytokines. Mice lacking individual members of the Jnk family (Jnk1, Jnk2, and Jnk3) are viable and survive without overt structural abnormalities. Here we show that mice with a compound deficiency in Jnk expression can survive to birth, but fail to close the optic fissure (retinal coloboma). We demonstrate that JNK initiates a cytokine cascade of bone morphogenetic protein-4 (BMP4) and sonic hedgehog (Shh) that induces the expression of the paired-like homeobox transcription factor Pax2 and closure of the optic fissure. Interestingly, the role of JNK to regulate BMP4 expression during optic fissure closure is conserved in Drosophila during dorsal closure, a related morphogenetic process that requires JNK-regulated expression of the BMP4 ortholog Decapentaplegic (Dpp).
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Affiliation(s)
- Claire R Weston
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Program in Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts 01605, USA
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Duncan MK, Haynes JI, Cvekl A, Piatigorsky J. Dual roles for Pax-6: a transcriptional repressor of lens fiber cell-specific beta-crystallin genes. Mol Cell Biol 1998; 18:5579-86. [PMID: 9710641 PMCID: PMC109142 DOI: 10.1128/mcb.18.9.5579] [Citation(s) in RCA: 109] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
It has been demonstrated previously that Pax-6, a paired domain (PD)/homeodomain (HD) transcription factor critical for eye development, contributes to the activation of the alphaB-, alphaA-, delta1-, and zeta-crystallin genes in the lens. Here we have examined the possibility that the inverse relationship between the expression of Pax-6 and beta-crystallin genes within the developing chicken lens reflects a negative regulatory role of Pax-6. Cotransfection of a plasmid containing the betaB1-crystallin promoter fused to the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase reporter gene and a plasmid containing the full-length mouse Pax-6 coding sequences into primary embryonic chicken lens epithelial cells or fibroblasts repressed the activity of this promoter by as much as 90%. Pax-6 constructs lacking the C-terminal activation domain repressed betaB1-crystallin promoter activity as effectively as the full-length protein, but the PD alone or Pax-6 (5a), a splice variant with an altered PD affecting its DNA binding specificity, did not. DNase footprinting analysis revealed that truncated Pax-6 (PD+HD) binds to three regions (-183 to -152, -120 to -48, and -30 to +1) of the betaB1-crystallin promoter. Earlier experiments showed that the betaB1-crystallin promoter sequence from -120 to -48 contains a cis element (PL2 at -90 to -76) that stimulates the activity of a heterologous promoter in lens cells but not in fibroblasts. In the present study, we show by electrophoretic mobility shift assay and cotransfection that Pax-6 binds to PL2 and represses its ability to activate promoter activity; moreover, mutation of PL2 eliminated binding by Pax-6. Taken together, our data indicate that Pax-6 (via its PD and HD) represses the betaB1-crystallin promoter by direct interaction with the PL2 element. We thus suggest that the relatively high concentration of Pax-6 contributes to the absence of betaB1-crystallin gene expression in lens epithelial cells and that diminishing amounts of Pax-6 in lens fiber cells during development allow activation of this gene.
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Affiliation(s)
- M K Duncan
- Department of Biological Sciences, The University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, USA
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Cvekl A, Sax CM, Li X, McDermott JB, Piatigorsky J. Pax-6 and lens-specific transcription of the chicken delta 1-crystallin gene. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 1995; 92:4681-5. [PMID: 7753864 PMCID: PMC42008 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.92.10.4681] [Citation(s) in RCA: 85] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
The abundance of delta-crystallin in the chicken eye lens provides an advantageous marker for tissue-specific gene expression during cellular differentiation. The lens-specific expression of the delta 1-crystallin gene is governed by an enhancer in the third intron, which binds a positive (delta EF2) and negative (delta EF1) factor in its core region. Here we show by DNase I footprinting, electrophoretic mobility-shift assays, and cotransfection experiments with the delta 1-promoter/enhancer fused to the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase reporter gene that the delta 1-crystallin enhancer has two adjacent functional Pax-6 binding sites. We also demonstrate by DNase I footprinting that the delta EF1 site can bind the transcription factor USF, raising the possibility that USF may cooperate with Pax-6 in activation of the chicken delta 1- and alpha A-crystallin genes. These data, coupled with our recent demonstration that Pax-6 activates the alpha A-crystallin gene, suggest that Pax-6 may have been used extensively throughout evolution to recruit and express crystallin genes in the lens.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Cvekl
- Laboratory of Molecular and Developmental Biology, National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-2730, USA
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Zuckerkandl E. Molecular pathways to parallel evolution: I. Gene nexuses and their morphological correlates. J Mol Evol 1994; 39:661-78. [PMID: 7807554 DOI: 10.1007/bf00160412] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Aspects of the regulatory interactions among genes are probably as old as most genes are themselves. Correspondingly, similar predispositions to changes in such interactions must have existed for long evolutionary periods. Features of the structure and the evolution of the system of gene regulation furnish the background necessary for a molecular understanding of parallel evolution. Patently "unrelated" organs, such as the fat body of a fly and the liver of a mammal, can exhibit fractional homology, a fraction expected to become subject to quantitation. This also seems to hold for different organs in the same organism, such as wings and legs of a fly. In informational macromolecules, on the other hand, homology is indeed all or none. In the quite different case of organs, analogy is expected usually to represent attenuated homology. Many instances of putative convergence are likely to turn out to be predominantly parallel evolution, presumably including the case of the vertebrate and cephalopod eyes. Homology in morphological features reflects a similarity in networks of active genes. Similar nexuses of active genes can be established in cells of different embryological origins. Thus, parallel development can be considered a counterpart to parallel evolution. Specific macromolecular interactions leading to the regulation of the c-fos gene are given as an example of a "controller node" defined as a regulatory unit. Quantitative changes in gene control are distinguished from relational changes, and frequent parallelism in quantitative changes is noted in Drosophila enzymes. Evolutionary reversions in quantitative gene expression are also expected. The evolution of relational patterns is attributed to several distinct mechanisms, notably the shuffling of protein domains. The growth of such patterns may in part be brought about by a particular process of compensation for "controller gene diseases," a process that would spontaneously tend to lead to increased regulatory and organismal complexity. Despite the inferred increase in gene interaction complexity, whose course over evolutionary time is unknown, the number of homology groups for the functional and structural protein units designated as domains has probably remained rather constant, even as, in some of its branches, evolution moved toward "higher" organisms. In connection with this process, the question is raised of parallel evolution within the purview of activating and repressing master switches and in regard to the number of levels into which the hierarchies of genic master switches will eventually be resolved.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Zuckerkandl
- Institute of Molecular Medical Sciences, Palo Alto, CA 94306
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