1
|
Ricker B, Castellanos Franco EA, de los Campos G, Pelled G, Gilad AA. A conserved phenylalanine motif among teleost fish provides insight for improving electromagnetic perception. Open Biol 2024; 14:240092. [PMID: 39043226 PMCID: PMC11265860 DOI: 10.1098/rsob.240092] [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: 04/10/2024] [Revised: 06/26/2024] [Accepted: 06/28/2024] [Indexed: 07/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Magnetoreceptive biology as a field remains relatively obscure; compared with the breadth of species believed to sense magnetic fields, it remains under-studied. Here, we present grounds for the expansion of magnetoreception studies among teleosts. We begin with the electromagnetic perceptive gene (EPG) from Kryptopterus vitreolus and expand to identify 72 teleosts with homologous proteins containing a conserved three-phenylalanine (3F) motif. Phylogenetic analysis provides insight as to how EPG may have evolved over time and indicates that certain clades may have experienced a loss of function driven by different fitness pressures. One potential factor is water type with freshwater fish significantly more likely to possess the functional motif version (FFF), and saltwater fish to have the non-functional variant (FXF). It was also revealed that when the 3F motif from the homologue of Brachyhypopomus gauderio (B.g.) is inserted into EPG-EPG(B.g.)-the response (as indicated by increased intracellular calcium) is faster. This indicates that EPG has the potential to be engineered to improve upon its response and increase its utility to be used as a controller for specific outcomes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Brianna Ricker
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | | | - Gustavo de los Campos
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
- Institute for Quantitative Health Science and Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
- Department of Statistics and Probability, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - Galit Pelled
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
- Department of Radiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - Assaf A. Gilad
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
- Department of Radiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Ricker B, Castellanos Franco EA, de los Campos G, Pelled G, Gilad AA. A conserved phenylalanine motif among Teleost fish provides insight for improving electromagnetic perception. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.04.04.588096. [PMID: 38617371 PMCID: PMC11014636 DOI: 10.1101/2024.04.04.588096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/16/2024]
Abstract
Magnetoreceptive biology as a field remains relatively obscure; compared to the breadth of species believed to sense magnetic fields, it remains under-studied. Here, we present grounds for the expansion of magnetoreception studies among Teleosts. We begin with the electromagnetic perceptive gene (EPG) from Kryptopterus vitreolus and expand to identify 72 Teleosts with homologous proteins containing a conserved three-phenylalanine (3F) motif. Phylogenetic analysis provides insight as to how EPG may have evolved over time, and indicates that certain clades may have experienced a loss of function driven by different fitness pressures. One potential factor is water type with freshwater fish significantly more likely to possess the functional motif version (FFF), and saltwater fish to have the non-functional variant (FXF). It was also revealed that when the 3F motif from the homolog of Brachyhypopomus gauderio (B.g.) is inserted into EPG - EPG(B.g.) - the response (as indicated by increased intracellular calcium) is faster. This indicates that EPG has the potential to be engineered to improve upon its response and increase its utility to be used as a controller for specific outcomes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Brianna Ricker
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing MI, USA
| | | | - Gustavo de los Campos
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Michigan State University, East Lansing MI, USA
- Institute for Quantitative Health Science and Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing MI, USA
- Department of Statistics and Probability, Michigan State University, East Lansing MI, USA
| | - Galit Pelled
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing MI, USA
- Department of Radiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - Assaf A. Gilad
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing MI, USA
- Department of Radiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Canitz J, Kirschbaum F, Tiedemann R. Transcriptome-wide single nucleotide polymorphisms related to electric organ discharge differentiation among African weakly electric fish species. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0240812. [PMID: 33108393 PMCID: PMC7591079 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0240812] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2020] [Accepted: 10/05/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
African weakly electric fish of the mormyrid genus Campylomormyrus generate pulse-type electric organ discharges (EODs) for orientation and communication. Their pulse durations are species-specific and elongated EODs are a derived trait. So far, differential gene expression among tissue-specific transcriptomes across species with different pulses and point mutations in single ion channel genes indicate a relation of pulse duration and electrocyte geometry/excitability. However, a comprehensive assessment of expressed Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) throughout the entire transcriptome of African weakly electric fish, with the potential to identify further genes influencing EOD duration, is still lacking. This is of particular value, as discharge duration is likely based on multiple cellular mechanisms and various genes. Here we provide the first transcriptome-wide SNP analysis of African weakly electric fish species (genus Campylomormyrus) differing by EOD duration to identify candidate genes and cellular mechanisms potentially involved in the determination of an elongated discharge of C. tshokwe. Non-synonymous substitutions specific to C. tshokwe were found in 27 candidate genes with inferred positive selection among Campylomormyrus species. These candidate genes had mainly functions linked to transcriptional regulation, cell proliferation and cell differentiation. Further, by comparing gene annotations between C. compressirostris (ancestral short EOD) and C. tshokwe (derived elongated EOD), we identified 27 GO terms and 2 KEGG pathway categories for which C. tshokwe significantly more frequently exhibited a species-specific expressed substitution than C. compressirostris. The results indicate that transcriptional regulation as well cell proliferation and differentiation take part in the determination of elongated pulse durations in C. tshokwe. Those cellular processes are pivotal for tissue morphogenesis and might determine the shape of electric organs supporting the observed correlation between electrocyte geometry/tissue structure and discharge duration. The inferred expressed SNPs and their functional implications are a valuable resource for future investigations on EOD durations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Julia Canitz
- Unit of Evolutionary Biology/Systematic Zoology, Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Frank Kirschbaum
- Unit of Evolutionary Biology/Systematic Zoology, Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
- Department of Crop and Animal Science, Faculty of Life Science, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Ralph Tiedemann
- Unit of Evolutionary Biology/Systematic Zoology, Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Alshami IJJ, Ono Y, Correia A, Hacker C, Lange A, Scholpp S, Kawasaki M, Ingham PW, Kudoh T. Development of the electric organ in embryos and larvae of the knifefish, Brachyhypopomus gauderio. Dev Biol 2020; 466:99-108. [PMID: 32687892 PMCID: PMC7507958 DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2020.06.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2019] [Revised: 06/04/2020] [Accepted: 06/23/2020] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
South American Gymnotiform knifefish possess electric organs that generate electric fields for electro-location and electro-communication. Electric organs in fish can be derived from either myogenic cells (myogenic electric organ/mEO) or neurogenic cells (neurogenic electric organ/nEO). To date, the embryonic development of EOs has remained obscure. Here we characterize the development of the mEO in the Gymnotiform bluntnose knifefish, Brachyhypopomus gauderio. We find that EO primordial cells arise during embryonic stages in the ventral edge of the tail myotome, translocate into the ventral fin and develop into syncytial electrocytes at early larval stages. We also describe a pair of thick nerve cords that flank the dorsal aorta, the location and characteristic morphology of which are reminiscent of the nEO in Apteronotid species, suggesting a common evolutionary origin of these tissues. Taken together, our findings reveal the embryonic origins of the mEO and provide a basis for elucidating the mechanisms of evolutionary diversification of electric charge generation by myogenic and neurogenic EOs. Developmental staging of the electric bluntnose knifefish, Brachyhypopomus gauderio embryos and larvae. The primordia of the myogenic electric organ originate in the ventral somite, migrate in the ventral fin and develop to the electric organ. Evolutionary conservation between the nerve codes in the B. gauderio and the neurogenic electric organs in the Apteronotidae.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ilham J J Alshami
- Biosciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QD, UK
| | - Yosuke Ono
- Biosciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QD, UK; Living Systems Institute, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QD, UK
| | - Ana Correia
- Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, CB2 3EG, UK
| | - Christian Hacker
- Biosciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QD, UK
| | - Anke Lange
- Biosciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QD, UK
| | - Steffen Scholpp
- Living Systems Institute, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QD, UK
| | - Masashi Kawasaki
- Department of Biology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, 22904, USA
| | - Philip W Ingham
- Living Systems Institute, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QD, UK; Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
| | - Tetsuhiro Kudoh
- Biosciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QD, UK.
| |
Collapse
|