1
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Brownstein CD, Near TJ. Colonization of the ocean floor by jawless vertebrates across three mass extinctions. BMC Ecol Evol 2024; 24:79. [PMID: 38867201 PMCID: PMC11170801 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-024-02253-y] [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: 01/16/2024] [Accepted: 05/07/2024] [Indexed: 06/14/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The deep (> 200 m) ocean floor is often considered to be a refugium of biodiversity; many benthic marine animals appear to share ancient common ancestry with nearshore and terrestrial relatives. Whether this pattern holds for vertebrates is obscured by a poor understanding of the evolutionary history of the oldest marine vertebrate clades. Hagfishes are jawless vertebrates that are either the living sister to all vertebrates or form a clade with lampreys, the only other surviving jawless fishes. RESULTS We use the hagfish fossil record and molecular data for all recognized genera to construct a novel hypothesis for hagfish relationships and diversification. We find that crown hagfishes persisted through three mass extinctions after appearing in the Permian ~ 275 Ma, making them one of the oldest living vertebrate lineages. In contrast to most other deep marine vertebrates, we consistently infer a deep origin of continental slope occupation by hagfishes that dates to the Paleozoic. Yet, we show that hagfishes have experienced marked body size diversification over the last hundred million years, contrasting with a view of this clade as morphologically stagnant. CONCLUSION Our results establish hagfishes as ancient members of demersal continental slope faunas and suggest a prolonged accumulation of deep sea jawless vertebrate biodiversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chase Doran Brownstein
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA.
| | - Thomas J Near
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA
- Yale Peabody Museum, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA
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2
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Yu D, Ren Y, Uesaka M, Beavan AJS, Muffato M, Shen J, Li Y, Sato I, Wan W, Clark JW, Keating JN, Carlisle EM, Dearden RP, Giles S, Randle E, Sansom RS, Feuda R, Fleming JF, Sugahara F, Cummins C, Patricio M, Akanni W, D'Aniello S, Bertolucci C, Irie N, Alev C, Sheng G, de Mendoza A, Maeso I, Irimia M, Fromm B, Peterson KJ, Das S, Hirano M, Rast JP, Cooper MD, Paps J, Pisani D, Kuratani S, Martin FJ, Wang W, Donoghue PCJ, Zhang YE, Pascual-Anaya J. Hagfish genome elucidates vertebrate whole-genome duplication events and their evolutionary consequences. Nat Ecol Evol 2024; 8:519-535. [PMID: 38216617 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-023-02299-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2023] [Accepted: 12/04/2023] [Indexed: 01/14/2024]
Abstract
Polyploidy or whole-genome duplication (WGD) is a major event that drastically reshapes genome architecture and is often assumed to be causally associated with organismal innovations and radiations. The 2R hypothesis suggests that two WGD events (1R and 2R) occurred during early vertebrate evolution. However, the timing of the 2R event relative to the divergence of gnathostomes (jawed vertebrates) and cyclostomes (jawless hagfishes and lampreys) is unresolved and whether these WGD events underlie vertebrate phenotypic diversification remains elusive. Here we present the genome of the inshore hagfish, Eptatretus burgeri. Through comparative analysis with lamprey and gnathostome genomes, we reconstruct the early events in cyclostome genome evolution, leveraging insights into the ancestral vertebrate genome. Genome-wide synteny and phylogenetic analyses support a scenario in which 1R occurred in the vertebrate stem-lineage during the early Cambrian, and 2R occurred in the gnathostome stem-lineage, maximally in the late Cambrian-earliest Ordovician, after its divergence from cyclostomes. We find that the genome of stem-cyclostomes experienced an additional independent genome triplication. Functional genomic and morphospace analyses demonstrate that WGD events generally contribute to developmental evolution with similar changes in the regulatory genome of both vertebrate groups. However, appreciable morphological diversification occurred only in the gnathostome but not in the cyclostome lineage, calling into question the general expectation that WGDs lead to leaps of bodyplan complexity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daqi Yu
- Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution and State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yandong Ren
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China
- School of Ecology and Environment, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Masahiro Uesaka
- Laboratory for Evolutionary Morphology, RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research (BDR), Kobe, Japan
- Department of Ecological Developmental Adaptability Life Sciences, Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
| | - Alan J S Beavan
- Bristol Palaeobiology Group, School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
| | - Matthieu Muffato
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, UK
- Tree of Life, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Hinxton, UK
| | - Jieyu Shen
- Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution and State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yongxin Li
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China
- School of Ecology and Environment, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Iori Sato
- Laboratory for Evolutionary Morphology, RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research (BDR), Kobe, Japan
- iPS Cell Advanced Characterization and Development Team, RIKEN BioResource Research Center, Tsukuba, Japan
| | - Wenting Wan
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China
- School of Ecology and Environment, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, China
| | - James W Clark
- Bristol Palaeobiology Group, School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
- Milner Centre for Evolution, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath, UK
| | - Joseph N Keating
- Bristol Palaeobiology Group, School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Emily M Carlisle
- Bristol Palaeobiology Group, School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Richard P Dearden
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, UK
- Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Sam Giles
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, UK
| | - Emma Randle
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Robert S Sansom
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Roberto Feuda
- Department of Genetics and Genome Biology, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
| | - James F Fleming
- Keio University Institute for Advanced Biosciences, Tsuruoka, Japan
- Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Fumiaki Sugahara
- Division of Biology, Hyogo Medical University, Nishinomiya, Japan
- Evolutionary Morphology Laboratory, RIKEN Cluster for Pioneering Research (CPR), Kobe, Japan
| | - Carla Cummins
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, UK
| | - Mateus Patricio
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, UK
| | - Wasiu Akanni
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, UK
| | - Salvatore D'Aniello
- Biology and Evolution of Marine Organisms, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn Napoli, Villa Comunale, Napoli, Italy
| | - Cristiano Bertolucci
- Biology and Evolution of Marine Organisms, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn Napoli, Villa Comunale, Napoli, Italy
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Naoki Irie
- Research Center for Integrative Evolutionary Science, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, SOKENDAI, Hayama, Japan
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Cantas Alev
- Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Biology (ASHBi), Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Guojun Sheng
- International Research Center for Medical Sciences (IRCMS), Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan
| | - Alex de Mendoza
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Ignacio Maeso
- Department of Genetics, Microbiology and Statistics, Faculty of Biology, University of Barcelona (UB), Barcelona, Spain
- Institut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat (IRBio), Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Manuel Irimia
- Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST), Barcelona, Spain
- Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain
- ICREA, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Bastian Fromm
- The Arctic University Museum of Norway, UiT - The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway
| | - Kevin J Peterson
- Department of Biological Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA
| | - Sabyasachi Das
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Emory Vaccine Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Masayuki Hirano
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Emory Vaccine Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Jonathan P Rast
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Emory Vaccine Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Max D Cooper
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Emory Vaccine Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Jordi Paps
- Bristol Palaeobiology Group, School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Davide Pisani
- Bristol Palaeobiology Group, School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
- Bristol Palaeobiology Group, School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Shigeru Kuratani
- Laboratory for Evolutionary Morphology, RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research (BDR), Kobe, Japan
- Evolutionary Morphology Laboratory, RIKEN Cluster for Pioneering Research (CPR), Kobe, Japan
| | - Fergal J Martin
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, UK.
| | - Wen Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China.
- School of Ecology and Environment, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, China.
- CAS Center for Excellence in Animal Evolution and Genetics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China.
| | - Philip C J Donoghue
- Bristol Palaeobiology Group, School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
| | - Yong E Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution and State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
- CAS Center for Excellence in Animal Evolution and Genetics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China.
| | - Juan Pascual-Anaya
- Evolutionary Morphology Laboratory, RIKEN Cluster for Pioneering Research (CPR), Kobe, Japan.
- Department of Animal Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Málaga (UMA), Málaga, Spain.
- Edificio de Bioinnovación, Universidad de Málaga, Málaga, Spain.
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3
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Marlétaz F, Timoshevskaya N, Timoshevskiy VA, Parey E, Simakov O, Gavriouchkina D, Suzuki M, Kubokawa K, Brenner S, Smith JJ, Rokhsar DS. The hagfish genome and the evolution of vertebrates. Nature 2024; 627:811-820. [PMID: 38262590 PMCID: PMC10972751 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07070-3] [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: 04/17/2023] [Accepted: 01/15/2024] [Indexed: 01/25/2024]
Abstract
As the only surviving lineages of jawless fishes, hagfishes and lampreys provide a crucial window into early vertebrate evolution1-3. Here we investigate the complex history, timing and functional role of genome-wide duplications4-7 and programmed DNA elimination8,9 in vertebrates in the light of a chromosome-scale genome sequence for the brown hagfish Eptatretus atami. Combining evidence from syntenic and phylogenetic analyses, we establish a comprehensive picture of vertebrate genome evolution, including an auto-tetraploidization (1RV) that predates the early Cambrian cyclostome-gnathostome split, followed by a mid-late Cambrian allo-tetraploidization (2RJV) in gnathostomes and a prolonged Cambrian-Ordovician hexaploidization (2RCY) in cyclostomes. Subsequently, hagfishes underwent extensive genomic changes, with chromosomal fusions accompanied by the loss of genes that are essential for organ systems (for example, genes involved in the development of eyes and in the proliferation of osteoclasts); these changes account, in part, for the simplification of the hagfish body plan1,2. Finally, we characterize programmed DNA elimination in hagfish, identifying protein-coding genes and repetitive elements that are deleted from somatic cell lineages during early development. The elimination of these germline-specific genes provides a mechanism for resolving genetic conflict between soma and germline by repressing germline and pluripotency functions, paralleling findings in lampreys10,11. Reconstruction of the early genomic history of vertebrates provides a framework for further investigations of the evolution of cyclostomes and jawed vertebrates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ferdinand Marlétaz
- Centre for Life's Origins and Evolution, Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, UK.
- Molecular Genetics Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Okinawa, Japan.
| | | | | | - Elise Parey
- Centre for Life's Origins and Evolution, Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, UK
| | - Oleg Simakov
- Molecular Genetics Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Okinawa, Japan
- Department for Neurosciences and Developmental Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Daria Gavriouchkina
- Molecular Genetics Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Okinawa, Japan
- UK Dementia Research Institute, University College London, London, UK
| | - Masakazu Suzuki
- Department of Science, Graduate School of Integrated Science and Technology, Shizuoka University, Shizuoka, Japan
| | - Kaoru Kubokawa
- Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Sydney Brenner
- Comparative and Medical Genomics Laboratory, Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, A*STAR, Biopolis, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Jeramiah J Smith
- Department of Biology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA.
| | - Daniel S Rokhsar
- Molecular Genetics Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Okinawa, Japan.
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
- Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, CA, USA.
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4
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Kastner P, Aukenova A, Chan S. Evolution of the Ikaros family transcription factors: From a deuterostome ancestor to humans. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2024; 694:149399. [PMID: 38134477 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2023.149399] [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: 12/08/2023] [Accepted: 12/17/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023]
Abstract
Ikaros family proteins (Ikaros, Helios, Aiolos, Eos) are zinc finger transcription factors essential for the development and function of the adaptive immune system. They also control developmental events in neurons and other cell types, suggesting that they possess crucial functions across disparate cell types. These functions are likely shared among the organisms in which these factors exist, and it is thus important to obtain a view of their distribution and conservation across organisms. How this family evolved remains poorly understood. Here we mined protein, mRNA and DNA databases to identify proteins with DNA-binding domains homologous to that of Ikaros. We show that Ikaros-related proteins exist in organisms from all four deuterostome phyla (chordates, echinoderms, hemichordates, xenacoelomorpha), but not in more distant groups. While most non-vertebrates have a single family member, this family grew to six members in the acoel worm Hofstenia miamia, three in jawless and four in jawed vertebrates. Most residues involved in DNA contact from zinc fingers 2 to 4 were identical across the Ikaros family, suggesting conserved mechanisms for target sequence recognition. Further, we identified a novel KRKxxxPxK/R motif that inhibits DNA binding in vitro which was conserved across the deuterostome phyla. We also identified a EψψxxxψM(D/E)QAIxxAIxYLGA(D/E)xL motif conserved among human Ikaros, Aiolos, Helios and subsets of chordate proteins, and motifs that are specific to subsets of vertebrate family members. Some of these motifs are targets of mutations in human patients. Finally we show that the atypical family member Pegasus emerged only in vertebrates, which is consistent with its function in bone. Our data provide a novel evolutionary perspective for Ikaros family proteins and suggest that they have conserved regulatory functions across deuterostomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philippe Kastner
- Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire (IGBMC), ILLKIRCH, France; Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), U1258, ILLKIRCH, France; Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), UMR7104, ILLKIRCH, France; Université de Strasbourg, ILLKIRCH, France; Faculté de Médecine, Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France.
| | - Adina Aukenova
- Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire (IGBMC), ILLKIRCH, France; Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), U1258, ILLKIRCH, France; Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), UMR7104, ILLKIRCH, France; Université de Strasbourg, ILLKIRCH, France
| | - Susan Chan
- Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire (IGBMC), ILLKIRCH, France; Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), U1258, ILLKIRCH, France; Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), UMR7104, ILLKIRCH, France; Université de Strasbourg, ILLKIRCH, France.
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5
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Muramatsu B, Suzuki DG, Suzuki M, Higashiyama H. Gross anatomy of the Pacific hagfish, Eptatretus burgeri, with special reference to the coelomic viscera. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2024; 307:155-171. [PMID: 36958942 DOI: 10.1002/ar.25208] [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: 12/15/2022] [Revised: 02/06/2023] [Accepted: 03/08/2023] [Indexed: 03/25/2023]
Abstract
Hagfish (Myxinoidea) are a deep-sea taxon of cyclostomes, the extant jawless vertebrates. Many researchers have examined the anatomy and embryology of hagfish to shed light on the early evolution of vertebrates; however, the diversity within hagfish is often overlooked. Hagfish have three lineages, Myxininae, Eptatretinae, and Rubicundinae. Usually, textbook illustrations of hagfish anatomy reflect the morphology of the Myxininae lineage, especially Myxine glutinosa, with its single pair of external branchial pores. Here, we instead report the gross anatomy of an Eptatretinae, Eptatretus burgeri, which has six pairs of branchial pores, especially focusing on the coelomic organs. Dissections were performed on fixed and unfixed specimens to provide a guide for those doing organ- or tissue-specific molecular experiments. Our dissections revealed that the ventral aorta is Y-branched in E. burgeri, which differs from the unbranched morphology of Myxine. Otherwise, there were no differences in the morphology of the lingual apparatus or heart in the pharyngeal domain. The thyroid follicles were scattered around the ventral aorta, as has been reported for adult lampreys. The hepatobiliary system more closely resembled those of jawed vertebrates than those of adult lampreys, with the liver having two lobes and a bile duct connecting the gallbladder to each lobe. Overall, the visceral morphology of E. burgeri does not differ significantly from that of the known Myxine at the level of gross anatomy, although the branchial morphology is phylogenetically ancestral compared to Myxine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Banri Muramatsu
- Department of Biological Science, Graduate School of Science, Shizuoka University, Shizuoka, 422-8529, Japan
| | - Daichi G Suzuki
- Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tennodai, Tsukuba, 305-8572, Japan
| | - Masakazu Suzuki
- Department of Biological Science, Graduate School of Science, Shizuoka University, Shizuoka, 422-8529, Japan
| | - Hiroki Higashiyama
- Department of Physiological Chemistry and Metabolism, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan
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6
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Onai T, Adachi N, Urakubo H, Sugahara F, Aramaki T, Matsumoto M, Ohno N. Ultrastructure of the lamprey head mesoderm reveals evolution of the vertebrate head. iScience 2023; 26:108338. [PMID: 38187188 PMCID: PMC10767164 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.108338] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2023] [Revised: 09/20/2023] [Accepted: 10/23/2023] [Indexed: 01/09/2024] Open
Abstract
The cranial muscle is a critical component in the vertebrate head for a predatory lifestyle. However, its evolutionary origin and possible segmental nature during embryogenesis have been controversial. In jawed vertebrates, the presence of pre-otic segments similar to trunk somites has been claimed based on developmental observations. However, evaluating such arguments has been hampered by the paucity of research on jawless vertebrates. Here, we discovered different cellular arrangements in the head mesoderm in lamprey embryos (Lethenteron camtschaticum) using serial block-face scanning electron and laser scanning microscopies. These cell populations were morphologically and molecularly different from somites. Furthermore, genetic comparison among deuterostomes revealed that mesodermal gene expression domains were segregated antero-posteriorly in vertebrates, whereas such segregation was not recognized in invertebrate deuterostome embryos. These findings indicate that the vertebrate head mesoderm evolved from the anteroposterior repatterning of an ancient mesoderm and developmentally diversified before the split of jawless and jawed vertebrates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takayuki Onai
- Department of Anatomy, University of Fukui, School of Medical Sciences, 23-3, Matsuokashimoaizuki, Eiheiji, Yoshida, Fukui, Japan
- Life Science Innovation Center, University of Fukui, 23-3, Matsuokashimoaizuki, Eiheiji, Yoshida, Fukui, Japan
| | - Noritaka Adachi
- Aix-Marseille Université, IBDM, CNRS UMR 7288, Campus De Luminy Case 907, 13288 Marseille Cedex 9, France
| | - Hidetoshi Urakubo
- Section of Electron Microscopy, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, 38, Nishigonaka, Myodaiji, Okazaki, Aichi, Japan
| | - Fumiaki Sugahara
- Division of Biology, Hyogo Medical University, 1-1, Mukogawa, Nishinomiya, Hyogo, Japan
| | - Toshihiro Aramaki
- Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, 1-1, Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka, Japan
| | - Mami Matsumoto
- Section of Electron Microscopy, Supportive Center for Brain Research, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, 38, Nishigonaka, Myodaiji, Okazaki, Aichi, Japan
- Department of Developmental and Regenerative Biology, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, 1, Kawasumi, Mizuho, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan
| | - Nobuhiko Ohno
- Department of Anatomy, Division of Histology and Cell Biology, School of Medicine, Jichi Medical University, 3311-1, Yakushiji, Shimotsuke, Tochigi, Japan
- Division of Ultrastructural Research, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, 38, Nishigonaka, Myodaiji, Okazaki, Aichi, Japan
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7
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Wiener SV. Effects of the environment on the evolution of the vertebrate urinary tract. Nat Rev Urol 2023; 20:719-738. [PMID: 37443264 DOI: 10.1038/s41585-023-00794-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/12/2023] [Indexed: 07/15/2023]
Abstract
Evolution of the vertebrate urinary system occurs in response to numerous selective pressures, which have been incompletely characterized. Developing research into urinary evolution led to the occurrence of clinical applications and insights in paediatric urology, reproductive medicine, urolithiasis and other domains. Each nephron segment and urinary organ has functions that can be contextualized within an evolutionary framework. For example, the structure and function of the glomerulus and proximal tubule are highly conserved, enabling blood cells and proteins to be retained, and facilitating the elimination of oceanic Ca+ and Mg+. Urea emerged as an osmotic mediator during evolution, as cells of large organisms required increased precision in the internal regulation of salinity and solutes. As the first vertebrates moved from water to land, acid-base regulation was shifted from gills to skin and kidneys in amphibians. In reptiles and birds, solute regulation no longer occurred through the skin but through nasal salt glands and post-renally, within the cloaca and the rectum. In placental mammals, nasal salt glands are absent and the rectum and urinary tracts became separate, which limited post-renal urine concentration and led to the necessity of a kidney capable of high urine concentration. Considering the evolutionary and environmental selective pressures that have contributed to renal evolution can help to gain an increased understanding of renal physiology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Scott V Wiener
- Department of Urology, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USA.
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8
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Wu F, Janvier P, Zhang C. The rise of predation in Jurassic lampreys. Nat Commun 2023; 14:6652. [PMID: 37907522 PMCID: PMC10618186 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-42251-0] [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: 01/06/2023] [Accepted: 09/29/2023] [Indexed: 11/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Lampreys, one of two living lineages of jawless vertebrates, are always intriguing for their feeding behavior via the toothed suctorial disc and life cycle comprising the ammocoete, metamorphic, and adult stages. However, they left a meager fossil record, and their evolutionary history remains elusive. Here we report two superbly preserved large lampreys from the Middle-Late Jurassic Yanliao Biota of North China and update the interpretations of the evolution of the feeding apparatus, the life cycle, and the historic biogeography of the group. These fossil lampreys' extensively toothed feeding apparatus differs radically from that of their Paleozoic kin but surprisingly resembles the Southern Hemisphere pouched lamprey, which foreshadows an ancestral flesh-eating habit for modern lampreys. Based on the revised petromyzontiform timetree, we argued that modern lampreys' three-staged life cycle might not be established until the Jurassic when they evolved enhanced feeding structures, increased body size and encountered more penetrable host groups. Our study also places modern lampreys' origin in the Southern Hemisphere of the Late Cretaceous, followed by an early Cenozoic anti-tropical disjunction in distribution, hence challenging the conventional wisdom of their biogeographical pattern arising from a post-Cretaceous origin in the Northern Hemisphere or the Pangean fragmentation in the Early Mesozoic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feixiang Wu
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of VertebratePaleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100044, Beijing, China.
| | - Philippe Janvier
- Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, UMR 7207, CP38, 8, rue Buffon 75231, Paris, Cedex 05, France
| | - Chi Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of VertebratePaleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100044, Beijing, China.
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9
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Dearden RP, Lanzetti A, Giles S, Johanson Z, Jones AS, Lautenschlager S, Randle E, Sansom IJ. The oldest three-dimensionally preserved vertebrate neurocranium. Nature 2023; 621:782-787. [PMID: 37730987 PMCID: PMC10533405 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06538-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2023] [Accepted: 08/14/2023] [Indexed: 09/22/2023]
Abstract
The neurocranium is an integral part of the vertebrate head, itself a major evolutionary innovation1,2. However, its early history remains poorly understood, with great dissimilarity in form between the two living vertebrate groups: gnathostomes (jawed vertebrates) and cyclostomes (hagfishes and lampreys)2,3. The 100 Myr gap separating the Cambrian appearance of vertebrates4-6 from the earliest three-dimensionally preserved vertebrate neurocrania7 further obscures the origins of modern states. Here we use computed tomography to describe the cranial anatomy of an Ordovician stem-group gnathostome: Eriptychius americanus from the Harding Sandstone of Colorado, USA8. A fossilized head of Eriptychius preserves a symmetrical set of cartilages that we interpret as the preorbital neurocranium, enclosing the fronts of laterally placed orbits, terminally located mouth, olfactory bulbs and pineal organ. This suggests that, in the earliest gnathostomes, the neurocranium filled out the space between the dermal skeleton and brain, like in galeaspids, osteostracans and placoderms and unlike in cyclostomes2. However, these cartilages are not fused into a single neurocranial unit, suggesting that this is a derived gnathostome trait. Eriptychius fills a major temporal and phylogenetic gap in our understanding of the evolution of the gnathostome head, revealing a neurocranium with an anatomy unlike that of any previously described vertebrate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard P Dearden
- School of Geography, Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
- Naturalis Biodiversity Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands.
| | - Agnese Lanzetti
- School of Geography, Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
- Natural History Museum, London, UK
| | - Sam Giles
- School of Geography, Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
- Natural History Museum, London, UK
| | | | - Andy S Jones
- School of Geography, Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Stephan Lautenschlager
- School of Geography, Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Emma Randle
- School of Geography, Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Ivan J Sansom
- School of Geography, Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
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10
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Stundl J, Martik ML, Chen D, Raja DA, Franěk R, Pospisilova A, Pšenička M, Metscher BD, Braasch I, Haitina T, Cerny R, Ahlberg PE, Bronner ME. Ancient vertebrate dermal armor evolved from trunk neural crest. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2221120120. [PMID: 37459514 PMCID: PMC10372632 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2221120120] [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: 12/15/2022] [Accepted: 04/26/2023] [Indexed: 07/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Bone is an evolutionary novelty of vertebrates, likely to have first emerged as part of ancestral dermal armor that consisted of osteogenic and odontogenic components. Whether these early vertebrate structures arose from mesoderm or neural crest cells has been a matter of considerable debate. To examine the developmental origin of the bony part of the dermal armor, we have performed in vivo lineage tracing in the sterlet sturgeon, a representative of nonteleost ray-finned fish that has retained an extensive postcranial dermal skeleton. The results definitively show that sterlet trunk neural crest cells give rise to osteoblasts of the scutes. Transcriptional profiling further reveals neural crest gene signature in sterlet scutes as well as bichir scales. Finally, histological and microCT analyses of ray-finned fish dermal armor show that their scales and scutes are formed by bone, dentin, and hypermineralized covering tissues, in various combinations, that resemble those of the first armored vertebrates. Taken together, our results support a primitive skeletogenic role for the neural crest along the entire body axis, that was later progressively restricted to the cranial region during vertebrate evolution. Thus, the neural crest was a crucial evolutionary innovation driving the origin and diversification of dermal armor along the entire body axis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan Stundl
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA91125
- Faculty of Fisheries and Protection of Waters, University of South Bohemia in Ceske Budejovice, 38925Vodnany, Czech Republic
| | - Megan L. Martik
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA91125
| | - Donglei Chen
- Department of Organismal Biology, Uppsala University, SE-75236Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Desingu Ayyappa Raja
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA91125
| | - Roman Franěk
- Faculty of Fisheries and Protection of Waters, University of South Bohemia in Ceske Budejovice, 38925Vodnany, Czech Republic
| | - Anna Pospisilova
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, 128 00Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Martin Pšenička
- Faculty of Fisheries and Protection of Waters, University of South Bohemia in Ceske Budejovice, 38925Vodnany, Czech Republic
| | - Brian D. Metscher
- Department of Evolutionary Biology, Theoretical Biology Unit, University of Vienna, 1010Vienna, Austria
| | - Ingo Braasch
- Department of Integrative Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI48824
- Ecology, Evolution and Behavior Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI48824
| | - Tatjana Haitina
- Department of Organismal Biology, Uppsala University, SE-75236Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Robert Cerny
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, 128 00Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Per E. Ahlberg
- Department of Organismal Biology, Uppsala University, SE-75236Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Marianne E. Bronner
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA91125
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11
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Maxson Jones K, Morgan JR. Lampreys and spinal cord regeneration: "a very special claim on the interest of zoologists," 1830s-present. Front Cell Dev Biol 2023; 11:1113961. [PMID: 37228651 PMCID: PMC10203415 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2023.1113961] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2022] [Accepted: 04/24/2023] [Indexed: 05/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Employing history of science methods, including analyses of the scientific literature, archival documents, and interviews with scientists, this paper presents a history of lampreys in neurobiology from the 1830s to the present. We emphasize the lamprey's roles in helping to elucidate spinal cord regeneration mechanisms. Two attributes have long perpetuated studies of lampreys in neurobiology. First, they possess large neurons, including multiple classes of stereotypically located, 'identified' giant neurons in the brain, which project their large axons into the spinal cord. These giant neurons and their axonal fibers have facilitated electrophysiological recordings and imaging across biological scales, ranging from molecular to circuit-level analyses of nervous system structures and functions and including their roles in behavioral output. Second, lampreys have long been considered amongst the most basal extant vertebrates on the planet, so they have facilitated comparative studies pointing to conserved and derived characteristics of vertebrate nervous systems. These features attracted neurologists and zoologists to studies of lampreys between the 1830s and 1930s. But, the same two attributes also facilitated the rise of the lamprey in neural regeneration research after 1959, when biologists first wrote about the spontaneous, robust regeneration of some identified CNS axons in larvae after spinal cord injuries, coupled with recovery of normal swimming. Not only did large neurons promote fresh insights in the field, enabling studies incorporating multiple scales with existing and new technologies. But investigators also were able to attach a broad scope of relevance to their studies, interpreting them as suggesting conserved features of successful, and sometimes even unsuccessful, CNS regeneration. Lamprey research demonstrated that functional recovery takes place without the reformation of the original neuronal connections, for instance, by way of imperfect axonal regrowth and compensatory plasticity. Moreover, research performed in the lamprey model revealed that factors intrinsic to neurons are integral in promoting or hindering regeneration. As this work has helped illuminate why basal vertebrates accomplish CNS regeneration so well, whereas mammals do it so poorly, this history presents a case study in how biological and medical value have been, and could continue to be, gleaned from a non-traditional model organism for which molecular tools have been developed only relatively recently.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathryn Maxson Jones
- Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States
- Department of History, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, United States
- Marine Biological Laboratory, The Eugene Bell Center for Regenerative Biology and Tissue Engineering, Woods Hole, MA, United States
| | - Jennifer R. Morgan
- Marine Biological Laboratory, The Eugene Bell Center for Regenerative Biology and Tissue Engineering, Woods Hole, MA, United States
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12
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Root ZD, Jandzik D, Gould C, Allen C, Brewer M, Medeiros DM. Cartilage diversification and modularity drove the evolution of the ancestral vertebrate head skeleton. EvoDevo 2023; 14:8. [PMID: 37147719 PMCID: PMC10161429 DOI: 10.1186/s13227-023-00211-1] [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: 10/03/2022] [Accepted: 04/04/2023] [Indexed: 05/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The vertebrate head skeleton has evolved a myriad of forms since their divergence from invertebrate chordates. The connection between novel gene expression and cell types is therefore of importance in this process. The transformation of the jawed vertebrate (gnathostome) head skeleton from oral cirri to jointed jaw elements required a diversity of cartilages as well as changes in the patterning of these tissues. Although lampreys are a sister clade to gnathostomes, they display skeletal diversity with distinct gene expression and histologies, a useful model for addressing joint evolution. Specifically, the lamprey tissue known as mucocartilage has noted similarities with the jointed elements of the mandibular arch in jawed vertebrates. We thus asked whether the cells in lamprey mucocartilage and gnathostome joint tissue could be considered homologous. To do this, we characterized new genes that are involved in gnathostome joint formation and characterized the histochemical properties of lamprey skeletal types. We find that most of these genes are minimally found in mucocartilage and are likely later innovations, but we do identify new activity for gdf5/6/7b in both hyaline and mucocartilage, supporting its role as a chondrogenic regulator. Contrary to previous works, our histological assays do not find any perichondrial fibroblasts surrounding mucocartilage, suggesting that mucocartilage is non-skeletogenic tissue that is partially chondrified. Interestingly, we also identify new histochemical features of the lamprey otic capsule that diverge from normal hyaline. Paired with our new insights into lamprey mucocartilage, we propose a broader framework for skeletal evolution in which an ancestral soxD/E and gdf5/6/7 network directs mesenchyme along a spectrum of cartilage-like features.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zachary D. Root
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309 USA
| | - David Jandzik
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309 USA
- Department of Zoology, Comenius University in Bratislava, Bratislava, 84215 Slovakia
| | - Claire Gould
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309 USA
| | - Cara Allen
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309 USA
| | - Margaux Brewer
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309 USA
| | - Daniel M. Medeiros
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309 USA
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13
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García-España A, Philips MR. Origin and Evolution of RAS Membrane Targeting. Oncogene 2023; 42:1741-1750. [PMID: 37031342 PMCID: PMC10413328 DOI: 10.1038/s41388-023-02672-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2023] [Revised: 03/08/2023] [Accepted: 03/15/2023] [Indexed: 04/10/2023]
Abstract
KRAS, HRAS and NRAS proto-oncogenes belong to a family of 40 highly homologous genes, which in turn are a subset of a superfamily of >160 genes encoding small GTPases. RAS proteins consist of a globular G-domain (aa1-166) and a 22-23 aa unstructured hypervariable region (HVR) that mediates membrane targeting. The evolutionary origins of the RAS isoforms, their HVRs and alternative splicing of the KRAS locus has not been explored. We found that KRAS is basal to the RAS proto-oncogene family and its duplication generated HRAS in the common ancestor of vertebrates. In a second round of duplication HRAS generated NRAS and KRAS generated an additional RAS gene we have designated KRASBL, absent in mammals and birds. KRAS4A arose through a duplication and insertion of the 4th exon of NRAS into the 3rd intron of KRAS. We found evolutionary conservation of a short polybasic region (PBR1) in HRAS, NRAS and KRAS4A, a second polybasic region (PBR2) in KRAS4A, two neutralized basic residues (NB) and a serine in KRAS4B and KRASBL, and a modification of the CaaX motif in vertebrates with farnesyl rather than geranylgeranyl polyisoprene lipids, suggesting that a less hydrophobic membrane anchor is critical to RAS protein function. The persistence of four RAS isoforms through >400 million years of evolution argues strongly for differential function.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Mark R Philips
- Perlmutter Cancer Center, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
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14
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van Dijk A, Guabiraba R, Bailleul G, Schouler C, Haagsman HP, Lalmanach AC. Evolutionary diversification of defensins and cathelicidins in birds and primates. Mol Immunol 2023; 157:53-69. [PMID: 36996595 DOI: 10.1016/j.molimm.2023.03.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2022] [Revised: 03/09/2023] [Accepted: 03/14/2023] [Indexed: 03/30/2023]
Abstract
Divergent evolution for more than 310 million years has resulted in an avian immune system that is complex and more compact than that of primates, sharing much of its structure and functions. Not surprisingly, well conserved ancient host defense molecules, such as defensins and cathelicidins, have diversified over time. In this review, we describe how evolution influenced the host defense peptides repertoire, its distribution, and the relationship between structure and biological functions. Marked features of primate and avian HDPs are linked to species-specific characteristics, biological requirements, and environmental challenge.
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15
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Marlétaz F, Timoshevskaya N, Timoshevskiy V, Simakov O, Parey E, Gavriouchkina D, Suzuki M, Kubokawa K, Brenner S, Smith J, Rokhsar DS. The hagfish genome and the evolution of vertebrates. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.04.17.537254. [PMID: 37131617 PMCID: PMC10153176 DOI: 10.1101/2023.04.17.537254] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
As the only surviving lineages of jawless fishes, hagfishes and lampreys provide a critical window into early vertebrate evolution. Here, we investigate the complex history, timing, and functional role of genome-wide duplications in vertebrates in the light of a chromosome-scale genome of the brown hagfish Eptatretus atami. Using robust chromosome-scale (paralogon-based) phylogenetic methods, we confirm the monophyly of cyclostomes, document an auto-tetraploidization (1RV) that predated the origin of crown group vertebrates ~517 Mya, and establish the timing of subsequent independent duplications in the gnathostome and cyclostome lineages. Some 1RV gene duplications can be linked to key vertebrate innovations, suggesting that this early genomewide event contributed to the emergence of pan-vertebrate features such as neural crest. The hagfish karyotype is derived by numerous fusions relative to the ancestral cyclostome arrangement preserved by lampreys. These genomic changes were accompanied by the loss of genes essential for organ systems (eyes, osteoclast) that are absent in hagfish, accounting in part for the simplification of the hagfish body plan; other gene family expansions account for hagfishes' capacity to produce slime. Finally, we characterise programmed DNA elimination in somatic cells of hagfish, identifying protein-coding and repetitive elements that are deleted during development. As in lampreys, the elimination of these genes provides a mechanism for resolving genetic conflict between soma and germline by repressing germline/pluripotency functions. Reconstruction of the early genomic history of vertebrates provides a framework for further exploration of vertebrate novelties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ferdinand Marlétaz
- Centre for Life's Origins and Evolution, Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, UK
- Molecular Genetics Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Okinawa, Japan
| | | | | | - Oleg Simakov
- Molecular Genetics Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Okinawa, Japan
- Department of Molecular Evolution and Development, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Elise Parey
- Centre for Life's Origins and Evolution, Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, UK
| | - Daria Gavriouchkina
- Molecular Genetics Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Okinawa, Japan
- Present address: UK Dementia Research Institute, University College London, London, UK
| | - Masakazu Suzuki
- Department of Science, Graduate School of Integrated Science and Technology, Shizuoka University, Shizuoka, Japan
| | - Kaoru Kubokawa
- Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Sydney Brenner
- Comparative and Medical Genomics Laboratory, Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, A*STAR, Biopolis, Singapore 138673, Singapore
- Deceased
| | - Jeramiah Smith
- Department of Biology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA
| | - Daniel S Rokhsar
- Molecular Genetics Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Okinawa, Japan
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, CA, USA
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16
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Zeng Y, Plachetzki DC, Nieders K, Campbell H, Cartee M, Pankey MS, Guillen K, Fudge D. Epidermal threads reveal the origin of hagfish slime. eLife 2023; 12:81405. [PMID: 36897815 PMCID: PMC10005773 DOI: 10.7554/elife.81405] [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: 06/25/2022] [Accepted: 01/22/2023] [Indexed: 03/11/2023] Open
Abstract
When attacked, hagfishes produce a soft, fibrous defensive slime within a fraction of a second by ejecting mucus and threads into seawater. The rapid setup and remarkable expansion of the slime make it a highly effective and unique form of defense. How this biomaterial evolved is unknown, although circumstantial evidence points to the epidermis as the origin of the thread- and mucus-producing cells in the slime glands. Here, we describe large intracellular threads within a putatively homologous cell type from hagfish epidermis. These epidermal threads averaged ~2 mm in length and ~0.5 μm in diameter. The entire hagfish body is covered by a dense layer of epidermal thread cells, with each square millimeter of skin storing a total of ~96 cm threads. Experimentally induced damage to a hagfish's skin caused the release of threads, which together with mucus, formed an adhesive epidermal slime that is more fibrous and less dilute than the defensive slime. Transcriptome analysis further suggests that epidermal threads are ancestral to the slime threads, with duplication and diversification of thread genes occurring in parallel with the evolution of slime glands. Our results support an epidermal origin of hagfish slime, which may have been driven by selection for stronger and more voluminous slime.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Zeng
- Schmid College of Science and Technology, Chapman University, Orange, United States
| | - David C Plachetzki
- Department of Molecular, Cellular and Biomedical Sciences, University of New Hampshire, Durham, United States
| | - Kristen Nieders
- Schmid College of Science and Technology, Chapman University, Orange, United States
| | - Hannah Campbell
- Schmid College of Science and Technology, Chapman University, Orange, United States
| | - Marissa Cartee
- Department of Molecular, Cellular and Biomedical Sciences, University of New Hampshire, Durham, United States.,Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology, University of California at Riverside, Riverside, United States
| | - M Sabrina Pankey
- Department of Molecular, Cellular and Biomedical Sciences, University of New Hampshire, Durham, United States
| | - Kennedy Guillen
- Schmid College of Science and Technology, Chapman University, Orange, United States
| | - Douglas Fudge
- Schmid College of Science and Technology, Chapman University, Orange, United States
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17
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Smith LC, Crow RS, Franchi N, Schrankel CS. The echinoid complement system inferred from genome sequence searches. DEVELOPMENTAL AND COMPARATIVE IMMUNOLOGY 2023; 140:104584. [PMID: 36343741 DOI: 10.1016/j.dci.2022.104584] [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: 06/30/2022] [Revised: 10/01/2022] [Accepted: 10/31/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
The vertebrate complement cascade is an essential host protection system that functions at the intersection of adaptive and innate immunity. However, it was originally assumed that complement was present only in vertebrates because it was activated by antibodies and functioned with adaptive immunity. Subsequently, the identification of the key component, SpC3, in sea urchins plus a wide range of other invertebrates significantly expanded the concepts of how complement functions. Because there are few reports on the echinoid complement system, an alternative approach to identify complement components in echinoderms is to search the deduced proteins encoded in the genomes. This approach identified known and putative members of the lectin and alternative activation pathways, but members of the terminal pathway are absent. Several types of complement receptors are encoded in the genomes. Complement regulatory proteins composed of complement control protein (CCP) modules are identified that may control the activation pathways and the convertases. Other regulatory proteins without CCP modules are also identified, however regulators of the terminal pathway are absent. The expansion of genes encoding proteins with Macpf domains is noteworthy because this domain is a signature of perforin and proteins in the terminal pathway. The results suggest that the major functions of the echinoid complement system are detection of foreign targets by the proteins that initiate the activation pathways resulting in opsonization by SpC3b fragments to augment phagocytosis and destruction of the foreign targets by the immune cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- L Courtney Smith
- Department of Biological Sciences, George Washington University, Washington DC, USA.
| | - Ryley S Crow
- Department of Biological Sciences, George Washington University, Washington DC, USA
| | - Nicola Franchi
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
| | - Catherine S Schrankel
- Center for Marine Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, La Jolla, CA, USA
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18
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Anné J, Canoville A, Edwards NP, Schweitzer MH, Zanno LE. Independent Evidence for the Preservation of Endogenous Bone Biochemistry in a Specimen of Tyrannosaurus rex. BIOLOGY 2023; 12:biology12020264. [PMID: 36829540 PMCID: PMC9953530 DOI: 10.3390/biology12020264] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2022] [Revised: 02/03/2023] [Accepted: 02/04/2023] [Indexed: 02/11/2023]
Abstract
Biomolecules preserved in deep time have potential to shed light on major evolutionary questions, driving the search for new and more rigorous methods to detect them. Despite the increasing body of evidence from a wide variety of new, high resolution/high sensitivity analytical techniques, this research is commonly met with skepticism, as the long standing dogma persists that such preservation in very deep time (>1 Ma) is unlikely. The Late Cretaceous dinosaur Tyrannosaurus rex (MOR 1125) has been shown, through multiple biochemical studies, to preserve original bone chemistry. Here, we provide additional, independent support that deep time bimolecular preservation is possible. We use synchrotron X-ray fluorescence imaging (XRF) and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) to investigate a section from the femur of this dinosaur, and demonstrate preservation of elements (S, Ca, and Zn) associated with bone remodeling and redeposition. We then compare these data to the bone of an extant dinosaur (bird), as well as a second non-avian dinosaur, Tenontosaurus tilletti (OMNH 34784) that did not preserve any sign of original biochemistry. Our data indicate that MOR 1125 bone cortices have similar bone elemental distributions to that of an extant bird, which supports preservation of original endogenous chemistry in this specimen.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer Anné
- The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN 46208, USA
- Correspondence:
| | | | - Nicholas P. Edwards
- Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Light Source, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA
| | - Mary H. Schweitzer
- Department of Biological Sciences, Campus Box 7617, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
- Paleontology, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, 11 W. Jones St., Raleigh, NC 27601, USA
- Department of Geology, Lund University, Sölvegatan 12, 223 62 Lund, Sweden
| | - Lindsay E. Zanno
- Department of Biological Sciences, Campus Box 7617, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
- Paleontology, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, 11 W. Jones St., Raleigh, NC 27601, USA
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19
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Evans RG. Evolution of the glomerulus in a marine environment and its implications for renal function in terrestrial vertebrates. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 2023; 324:R143-R151. [PMID: 36534585 DOI: 10.1152/ajpregu.00210.2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Nearly a century ago, Homer Smith proposed that the glomerulus evolved to meet the challenge of excretion of water in freshwater vertebrates. This hypothesis has been repeatedly restated in the nephrology and renal physiology literature, even though we now know that vertebrates evolved and diversified in marine (saltwater) environments. A more likely explanation is that the vertebrate glomerulus evolved from the meta-nephridium of marine invertebrates, with the driving force for ultrafiltration being facilitated by the apposition of the filtration barrier to the vasculature (in vertebrates) rather than the coelom (in invertebrates) and the development of a true heart and the more complex vertebrate vascular system. In turn, glomerular filtration aided individual regulation of divalent ions like magnesium, calcium, and sulfate compatible with the function of cardiac and skeletal muscle required for mobile predators. The metabolic cost, imposed by reabsorption of the small amounts of sodium required to drive secretion of these over-abundant divalent ions, was small. This innovation, developed in a salt-water environment, provided a preadaptation for life in freshwater, in which the glomerulus was co-opted to facilitate water excretion, albeit with the additional metabolic demand imposed by the need to reabsorb the majority of filtered sodium. The evolution of the glomerulus in saltwater also provided preadaptation for terrestrial life, where the imperative is conservation of both water and electrolytes. The historical contingencies of this scenario may explain why the mammalian kidney is so metabolically inefficient, with ∼80% of oxygen consumption being used to drive reabsorption of filtered sodium.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roger G Evans
- Cardiovascular Disease Program, Biomedicine Discovery Institute, and Department of Physiology, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.,Preclinical Critical Care Unit, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
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20
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Nanglu K, Cole SR, Wright DF, Souto C. Worms and gills, plates and spines: the evolutionary origins and incredible disparity of deuterostomes revealed by fossils, genes, and development. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2023; 98:316-351. [PMID: 36257784 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12908] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2022] [Revised: 09/23/2022] [Accepted: 09/28/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Deuterostomes are the major division of animal life which includes sea stars, acorn worms, and humans, among a wide variety of ecologically and morphologically disparate taxa. However, their early evolution is poorly understood, due in part to their disparity, which makes identifying commonalities difficult, as well as their relatively poor early fossil record. Here, we review the available morphological, palaeontological, developmental, and molecular data to establish a framework for exploring the origins of this important and enigmatic group. Recent fossil discoveries strongly support a vermiform ancestor to the group Hemichordata, and a fusiform active swimmer as ancestor to Chordata. The diverse and anatomically bewildering variety of forms among the early echinoderms show evidence of both bilateral and radial symmetry. We consider four characteristics most critical for understanding the form and function of the last common ancestor to Deuterostomia: Hox gene expression patterns, larval morphology, the capacity for biomineralization, and the morphology of the pharyngeal region. We posit a deuterostome last common ancestor with a similar antero-posterior gene regulatory system to that found in modern acorn worms and cephalochordates, a simple planktonic larval form, which was later elaborated in the ambulacrarian lineage, the ability to secrete calcium minerals in a limited fashion, and a pharyngeal respiratory region composed of simple pores. This animal was likely to be motile in adult form, as opposed to the sessile origins that have been historically suggested. Recent debates regarding deuterostome monophyly as well as the wide array of deuterostome-affiliated problematica further suggest the possibility that those features were not only present in the last common ancestor of Deuterostomia, but potentially in the ur-bilaterian. The morphology and development of the early deuterostomes, therefore, underpin some of the most significant questions in the study of metazoan evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karma Nanglu
- Museum of Comparative Zoology and Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
| | - Selina R Cole
- Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, 10th & Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC, 20560, USA.,Sam Noble Museum, University of Oklahoma, 2401 Chautauqua Avenue, Norman, OK, 73072, USA.,School of Geosciences, University of Oklahoma, 100 E Boyd Street, Norman, OK, 73019, USA
| | - David F Wright
- Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, 10th & Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC, 20560, USA.,Sam Noble Museum, University of Oklahoma, 2401 Chautauqua Avenue, Norman, OK, 73072, USA.,School of Geosciences, University of Oklahoma, 100 E Boyd Street, Norman, OK, 73019, USA
| | - Camilla Souto
- Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, 10th & Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC, 20560, USA.,School of Natural Sciences & Mathematics, Stockton University, 101 Vera King Farris Dr, Galloway, NJ, 08205, USA
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21
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Phylogenetics and the Cenozoic radiation of lampreys. Curr Biol 2023; 33:397-404.e3. [PMID: 36586410 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.12.018] [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: 02/01/2022] [Revised: 10/13/2022] [Accepted: 12/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
The development of a movable jaw is one of the most important transitions in the evolutionary history of animals.1 Jawed vertebrates rapidly diversified after appearing approximately 470 million years ago. Today, only lampreys and hagfishes represent the once dominant jawless grade2,3,4 and comprise less than 1% of living vertebrate species. Their relationship to other vertebrates ranks among the more contentious problems in animal phylogenetics.5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12 Further, the phylogenetic relationships within lampreys and hagfishes remain unclear,13,14,15 and the ages of their living lineages are largely unexplored.16,17 Because of their importance for the genomic and developmental changes that prefigured jawed vertebrate diversity,18,19,20,21 the evolutionary history of lampreys and hagfishes is a major frontier of organismal biology. Of these two clades, lampreys22 are more ecologically diverse, exhibiting freshwater, anadromous, and fully marine forms, as well as parasitic and nonparasitic species.23,24 Here, we present a new phylogeny and historical biogeographic reconstruction of all living lampreys. Whereas the early diversification of this clade tracks Pangaean fragmentation, lampreys also rapidly radiated in the northern hemisphere during the mid-Cretaceous and directly after the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction. These radiations mirrored concurrent ones in other animals and plants and coincided with changes to lamprey ecology and feeding behavior. Our results suggest that 80% of living lamprey clades appeared in the last 20 million years of Earth history. Rather than gradually accumulating since the oldest stem-group forms appeared in the early Paleozoic, living lamprey biodiversity results from diversifications extending from the Cretaceous to present.
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22
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García-España A, Philips MR. Origin and evolution of RAS oncoprotein membrane targeting. RESEARCH SQUARE 2023:rs.3.rs-2485219. [PMID: 36711820 PMCID: PMC9882654 DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-2485219/v1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
KRAS, HRAS and NRAS oncogenes belong to a family of 40 highly homologous genes, which in turn are a subset of a superfamily of >160 genes encoding small GTPases. RAS oncoproteins consist of a globular G-domain (aa1-166) and a 22-23aa unstructured hypervariable region (HVR) that mediates membrane targeting. The evolutionarily origins of the RAS isoforms, their HVRs and alternative splicing of the KRAS locus has not been explored. We found that KRAS is basal to the oncogene family and its duplication generated HRAS in the common ancestor of vertebrates. In a second round of duplication HRAS generated NRAS and KRAS generated an additional RAS gene we have designated KRASBL, absent in mammals and birds. KRAS4A arose through a duplication and insertion of the 4th exon of NRAS into the 3rd intron of KRAS. We found evolutionarily conservation of a short polybasic region (PBR1) in HRAS, NRAS and KRAS4A, a second polybasic region (PBR2) in KRAS4A, two neutralized basic residues (NB) and a serine in KRAS4B and KRASBL, and a modification of the CaaX motif in vertebrates with farnesyl rather than geranylgeranyl polyisoprene lipids, suggesting that a less hydrophobic membrane anchor is critical to RAS oncoprotein function. The persistence of four RAS isoforms through >400 MY of evolution argues strongly for differential function.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Mark R Philips
- Perlmutter Cancer Center, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
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23
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Matoulek D, Ježek B, Vohnoutová M, Symonová R. Advances in Vertebrate (Cyto)Genomics Shed New Light on Fish Compositional Genome Evolution. Genes (Basel) 2023; 14:genes14020244. [PMID: 36833171 PMCID: PMC9956151 DOI: 10.3390/genes14020244] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2022] [Accepted: 01/05/2023] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Cytogenetic and compositional studies considered fish genomes rather poor in guanine-cytosine content (GC%) because of a putative "sharp increase in genic GC% during the evolution of higher vertebrates". However, the available genomic data have not been exploited to confirm this viewpoint. In contrast, further misunderstandings in GC%, mostly of fish genomes, originated from a misapprehension of the current flood of data. Utilizing public databases, we calculated the GC% in animal genomes of three different, technically well-established fractions: DNA (entire genome), cDNA (complementary DNA), and cds (exons). Our results across chordates help set borders of GC% values that are still incorrect in literature and show: (i) fish in their immense diversity possess comparably GC-rich (or even GC-richer) genomes as higher vertebrates, and fish exons are GC-enriched among vertebrates; (ii) animal genomes generally show a GC-enrichment from the DNA, over cDNA, to the cds level (i.e., not only the higher vertebrates); (iii) fish and invertebrates show a broad(er) inter-quartile range in GC%, while avian and mammalian genomes are more constrained in their GC%. These results indicate no sharp increase in the GC% of genes during the transition to higher vertebrates, as stated and numerously repeated before. We present our results in 2D and 3D space to explore the compositional genome landscape and prepared an online platform to explore the AT/GC compositional genome evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dominik Matoulek
- Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Hradec Králové, 500 03 Hradec Králové, Czech Republic
| | - Bruno Ježek
- Faculty of Informatics and Management, University of Hradec Králové, Rokitanského 62, 500 02 Hradec Králové, Czech Republic
| | - Marta Vohnoutová
- Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 1760, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Radka Symonová
- Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 1760, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic
- Department of Bioinformatics, Wissenschaftszentrum Weihenstephan, Technische Universität München, 85354 Freising, Germany
- Institute of Hydrobiology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic
- Correspondence:
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24
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Mallatt J. Vertebrate origins are informed by larval lampreys (ammocoetes): a response to Miyashita et al., 2021. Zool J Linn Soc 2022. [DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlac086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
This paper addresses a recent claim by Miyashita and co-authors that the filter-feeding larval lamprey is a new evolutionary addition to the lamprey life-cycle and does not provide information about early vertebrates, in contrast to the traditional view that this ammocoete stage resembles the first vertebrates. The evidence behind this revolutionary claim comes from fossil lampreys from 360–306 Mya that include young stages – even yolk-sac hatchlings – with adult (predacious) feeding structures. However, the traditional view is not so easily dismissed. The phylogeny on which the non-ammocoete theory is based was not tested in a statistically meaningful way. Additionally, the target article did not consider the known evidence for the traditional view, namely that the complex filter-feeding structures are highly similar in ammocoetes and the invertebrate chordates, amphioxus and tunicates. In further support of the traditional view, I show that ammocoetes are helpful for reconstructing the first vertebrates and the jawless, fossil stem gnathostomes called ostracoderms – their pharynx, oral cavity, mouth opening, lips and filter-feeding mode (but, ironically, not their mandibular/jaw region). From these considerations, I offer a scenario for the evolution of vertebrate life-cycles that fits the traditional, ammocoete-informed theory and puts filter feeding at centre stage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jon Mallatt
- The University of Washington WWAMI Medical Education Program at The University of Idaho , Moscow, Idaho 83843 , USA
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25
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Frost CR, Goss GG. Absence of some cytochrome P450 (CYP) and hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (HSD) enzymes in hagfishes. Gen Comp Endocrinol 2022; 323-324:114045. [PMID: 35472318 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2022.114045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2021] [Revised: 04/19/2022] [Accepted: 04/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Corticosteroids are synthesized from cholesterol by steroidogenic enzyme catalysts belonging to two main families: the cytochrome p450s (CYPs) and hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases (HSDs). The action of these steroidogenic enzymes allows the genesis of the terminal active corticosteroids 11-deoxycortisol (S), 1ɑ-hydroxycorticosterone (1α-OH-B), or cortisol in different fish species. However, for Cyclostomes like hagfishes, the terminal corticosteroid is still undefined. In this study, we examined the presence or absence of CYPs and HSDs as traits in fishes to gain insight about the primary corticosteroid synthesis pathways of the hagfishes. We used published cytochrome c oxidase I (COXI) amino acid sequences to construct a phylogeny of fishes and then mapped the CYPs and HSDs as morphological traits onto the tree to predict the ancestral character states through ancestral character reconstruction (ACR). There is a clear phylogenetic signal for CYP (i.e., CYP11a1, 17, 21, and 11b) and HSD (i.e., 11-βHSD and 3β-HSD) derivatives of interest throughout the more derived fishes. Using trait-based ACR, we also found that hagfishes possess genes for 3β-HSD, CYP11a1, CYP17, and CYP21. Importantly, the presence of CYP21 implies that hagfish can synthesize 11-deoxycorticosterone (11-DOC) and S. Previous research demonstrated that despite hagfish having CYP21, neither 11-DOC nor S could be detected in hagfish. This discrepancy between the presence of steroidogenic enzymes and products brings into question the expression and/or function of CYP21 in hagfishes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christiana R Frost
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, CW405, Biological Sciences Building, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E9, Canada.
| | - Greg G Goss
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, CW405, Biological Sciences Building, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E9, Canada.
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26
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Bernardini A, Gallo A, Gnesutta N, Dolfini D, Mantovani R. Phylogeny of NF-YA trans-activation splicing isoforms in vertebrate evolution. Genomics 2022; 114:110390. [PMID: 35589059 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygeno.2022.110390] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2021] [Revised: 05/02/2022] [Accepted: 05/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
NF-Y is a trimeric pioneer Transcription Factor (TF) whose target sequence -the CCAAT box- is present in ~25% of mammalian promoters. We reconstruct the phylogenetic history of the regulatory NF-YA subunit in vertebrates. We find that in addition to the remarkable conservation of the subunits-interaction and DNA-binding parts, the Transcriptional Activation Domain (TAD) is also conserved (>90% identity among bony vertebrates). We infer the phylogeny of the alternatively spliced exon-3 and partial splicing events of exon-7 -7N and 7C- revealing independent clade-specific losses of these regions. These isoforms shape the TAD. Absence of exon-3 in basal deuterostomes, cartilaginous fishes and hagfish, but not in lampreys, suggests that the "short" isoform is primordial, with emergence of exon-3 in chordates. Exon 7N was present in the vertebrate common ancestor, while 7C is a molecular innovation of teleost fishes. RNA-seq analysis in several species confirms expression of all these isoforms. We identify 3 blocks of amino acids in the TAD shared across deuterostomes, yet structural predictions and sequence analyses suggest an evolutionary drive for maintenance of an Intrinsically Disordered Region -IDR- within the TAD. Overall, these data help reconstruct the logic for alternative splicing of this essential eukaryotic TF.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Bernardini
- Dipartimento di Bioscienze, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 26, 20133 Milano, Italy.
| | - Alberto Gallo
- Dipartimento di Bioscienze, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 26, 20133 Milano, Italy
| | - Nerina Gnesutta
- Dipartimento di Bioscienze, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 26, 20133 Milano, Italy
| | - Diletta Dolfini
- Dipartimento di Bioscienze, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 26, 20133 Milano, Italy
| | - Roberto Mantovani
- Dipartimento di Bioscienze, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 26, 20133 Milano, Italy.
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27
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Abstract
SignificancePhylogenies are the basis of many ecological and evolutionary studies. However, zokor phylogeny and speciation patterns are heavily debated. This study disentangled the phylogeny and speciation of zokors genomically. Six species of the Eospalax were separated into high-altitude E. baileyi and E. smithi and the rest four low-altitude species by recent Qinghai-Tibet Plateau uplift 3.6 million y ago. E. rothschildi and E. smithi speciated south of the Qinling-Huaihe Line, where refuges were supplied during glaciation. Introgression and incomplete lineage sorting led to the complex phylogeny of zokors. Genomic islands were formed due to ancient polymorphisms and divergence hitchhiking. This study concluded that climatic, geological, and tectonic events shaped the phylogeny and speciation of zokors in China.
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28
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Miyamoto K, Kawakami K, Tamura K, Abe G. Developmental independence of median fins from the larval fin fold revises their evolutionary origin. Sci Rep 2022; 12:7521. [PMID: 35525860 PMCID: PMC9079066 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-11180-1] [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: 01/03/2022] [Accepted: 04/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
The median fins of modern fish that show discrete forms (dorsal, anal, and caudal fins) are derived from a continuous fold-like structure, both in ontogeny and phylogeny. The median fin fold (MFF) hypothesis assumes that the median fins evolved by reducing some positions in the continuous fin fold of basal chordates, based on the classical morphological observation of developmental reduction in the larval fin folds of living fish. However, the developmental processes of median fins are still unclear at the cellular and molecular levels. Here, we describe the transition from the larval fin fold into the median fins in zebrafish at the cellular and molecular developmental level. We demonstrate that reduction does not play a role in the emergence of the dorsal fin primordium. Instead, the reduction occurs along with body growth after primordium formation, rather than through actively scrapping the non-fin forming region by inducing cell death. We also report that the emergence of specific mesenchymal cells and their proliferation promote dorsal fin primordium formation. Based on these results, we propose a revised hypothesis for median fin evolution in which the acquisition of de novo developmental mechanisms is a crucial evolutionary component of the discrete forms of median fins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kazuhide Miyamoto
- Laboratory of Organ Morphogenesis, Department of Ecological Developmental Adaptability Life Sciences, Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University, Aobayama Aoba-ku, Sendai, 980-8578, Japan
| | - Koichi Kawakami
- Laboratory of Molecular and Developmental Biology, National Institute of Genetics, Mishima, Shizuoka, 411-8540, Japan
- Department of Genetics, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, SOKENDAI, Mishima, Shizuoka, 411-8540, Japan
| | - Koji Tamura
- Laboratory of Organ Morphogenesis, Department of Ecological Developmental Adaptability Life Sciences, Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University, Aobayama Aoba-ku, Sendai, 980-8578, Japan
| | - Gembu Abe
- Laboratory of Organ Morphogenesis, Department of Ecological Developmental Adaptability Life Sciences, Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University, Aobayama Aoba-ku, Sendai, 980-8578, Japan.
- Division of Developmental Biology, Department of Functional Morphology, School of Life Science, Faculty of Medicine, Tottori University, Nishi-cho 86, Yonago, 683-8503, Japan.
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29
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Weinrauch AM, Clifford AM, Folkerts EJ, Schaefer CM, Giacomin M, Goss GG. Molecular identification and post-prandial regulation of glucose carrier proteins in the hindgut of Pacific hagfish, Eptatretus stoutii. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 2022; 322:R336-R345. [PMID: 35138949 DOI: 10.1152/ajpregu.00003.2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Hagfish are an excellent model species in which to draw inferences on the evolution of transport systems in early-vertebrates owing to their basal position in vertebrate phylogeny. Glucose is a ubiquitous cellular energy source that is transported into cells via two classes of carrier proteins: sodium-glucose linked transporters (Sglt; Slc5a) and glucose transporters (Glut; Slc2a). While previous pharmacological evidence has suggested the presence of both sodium-dependent and -independent transport mechanisms in the hagfish, the molecular identities were heretofore unconfirmed. We have identified and phylogenetically characterized both a Slc5a1-like and Slc2a-like gene in the Pacific hagfish (Eptatretus stoutii); the latter sharing common ancestry with other glucose-transporting isoforms of the Slc2a family. To assess the potential post-prandial regulation of these glucose transporters, we examined the abundance and localization of these transporters with qPCR and immunohistochemistry alongside functional studies using radiolabeled 14C-D-glucose. The effects of glucose- or insulin-injection on glucose transport rate and transporter expression were also examined to determine their potential role(s) in the regulation of intestinal glucose carrier proteins. Feeding prompted an increase in glucose uptake across the hindgut at both 0.5 mM (~84%) and 1 mM (~183%) concentrations. Concomitant increases were observed in hindgut Slc5a1 protein expression. These effects were not observed following either of glucose- or insulin-injection, indicating these post-prandial factors are not the driving force for transporter regulation over this timeframe. We conclude that Pacific hagfish utilize evolutionarily-conserved mechanisms of glucose uptake and so represent a useful model to understand early vertebrate evolution of glucose uptake and regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alyssa M Weinrauch
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.,Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre, 100 Pachena Rd, Bamfield, BC, Canada
| | - Alexander M Clifford
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.,Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre, 100 Pachena Rd, Bamfield, BC, Canada.,Marine Biology Research Division, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
| | - Erik J Folkerts
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - Christina M Schaefer
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.,Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre, 100 Pachena Rd, Bamfield, BC, Canada
| | - Marina Giacomin
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.,Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre, 100 Pachena Rd, Bamfield, BC, Canada
| | - Greg G Goss
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.,Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre, 100 Pachena Rd, Bamfield, BC, Canada
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30
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Bradshaw SN, Allison WT. Hagfish to Illuminate the Developmental and Evolutionary Origins of the Vertebrate Retina. Front Cell Dev Biol 2022; 10:822358. [PMID: 35155434 PMCID: PMC8826474 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2022.822358] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2021] [Accepted: 01/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The vertebrate eye is a vital sensory organ that has long fascinated scientists, but the details of how this organ evolved are still unclear. The vertebrate eye is distinct from the simple photoreceptive organs of other non-vertebrate chordates and there are no clear transitional forms of the eye in the fossil record. To investigate the evolution of the eye we can examine the eyes of the most ancient extant vertebrates, the hagfish and lamprey. These jawless vertebrates are in an ideal phylogenetic position to study the origin of the vertebrate eye but data on eye/retina development in these organisms is limited. New genomic and gene expression data from hagfish and lamprey suggest they have many of the same genes for eye development and retinal neurogenesis as jawed vertebrates, but functional work to determine if these genes operate in retinogenesis similarly to other vertebrates is missing. In addition, hagfish express a marker of proliferative retinal cells (Pax6) near the margin of the retina, and adult retinal growth is apparent in some species. This finding of eye growth late into hagfish ontogeny is unexpected given the degenerate eye phenotype. Further studies dissecting retinal neurogenesis in jawless vertebrates would allow for comparison of the mechanisms of retinal development between cyclostome and gnathostome eyes and provide insight into the evolutionary origins of the vertebrate eye.
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31
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Morel B, Schade P, Lutteropp S, Williams TA, Szöllősi GJ, Stamatakis A. SpeciesRax: A tool for maximum likelihood species tree inference from gene family trees under duplication, transfer, and loss. Mol Biol Evol 2022; 39:6503503. [PMID: 35021210 PMCID: PMC8826479 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msab365] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Species tree inference from gene family trees is becoming increasingly popular because it can account for discordance between the species tree and the corresponding gene family trees. In particular, methods that can account for multiple-copy gene families exhibit potential to leverage paralogy as informative signal. At present, there does not exist any widely adopted inference method for this purpose. Here, we present SpeciesRax, the first maximum likelihood method that can infer a rooted species tree from a set of gene family trees and can account for gene duplication, loss, and transfer events. By explicitly modeling events by which gene trees can depart from the species tree, SpeciesRax leverages the phylogenetic rooting signal in gene trees. SpeciesRax infers species tree branch lengths in units of expected substitutions per site and branch support values via paralogy-aware quartets extracted from the gene family trees. Using both empirical and simulated data sets we show that SpeciesRax is at least as accurate as the best competing methods while being one order of magnitude faster on large data sets at the same time. We used SpeciesRax to infer a biologically plausible rooted phylogeny of the vertebrates comprising 188 species from 31,612 gene families in 1 h using 40 cores. SpeciesRax is available under GNU GPL at https://github.com/BenoitMorel/GeneRax and on BioConda.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benoit Morel
- Computational Molecular Evolution group, Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies, Heidelberg, Germany.,Institute for Theoretical Informatics, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany
| | - Paul Schade
- Institute for Theoretical Informatics, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany
| | - Sarah Lutteropp
- Computational Molecular Evolution group, Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Tom A Williams
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Gergely J Szöllősi
- ELTE-MTA "Lendület" Evolutionary Genomics Research Group, Pázmány P. stny. 1A., H-1117 Budapest, Hungary.,Dept. Biological Physics, Eötvös University, Pázmány P. stny. 1A., H-1117 Budapest, Hungary.,Institute of Evolution, Centre for Ecological Research, Konkoly-Thege M. út 29-33. H-1121 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Alexandros Stamatakis
- Computational Molecular Evolution group, Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies, Heidelberg, Germany.,Institute for Theoretical Informatics, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany
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32
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DePalma RA, Oleinik AA, Gurche LP, Burnham DA, Klingler JJ, McKinney CJ, Cichocki FP, Larson PL, Egerton VM, Wogelius RA, Edwards NP, Bergmann U, Manning PL. Seasonal calibration of the end-cretaceous Chicxulub impact event. Sci Rep 2021; 11:23704. [PMID: 34880389 PMCID: PMC8655067 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-03232-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2021] [Accepted: 11/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The end-Cretaceous Chicxulub impact triggered Earth's last mass-extinction, extinguishing ~ 75% of species diversity and facilitating a global ecological shift to mammal-dominated biomes. Temporal details of the impact event on a fine scale (hour-to-day), important to understanding the early trajectory of mass-extinction, have largely eluded previous studies. This study employs histological and histo-isotopic analyses of fossil fish that were coeval with a unique impact-triggered mass-death assemblage from the Cretaceous-Paleogene (KPg) boundary in North Dakota (USA). Patterns of growth history, including periodicity of ẟ18O and ẟ13C and growth band morphology, plus corroborating data from fish ontogeny and seasonal insect behavior, reveal that the impact occurred during boreal Spring/Summer, shortly after the spawning season for fish and most continental taxa. The severity and taxonomic symmetry of response to global natural hazards are influenced by the season during which they occur, suggesting that post-impact perturbations could have exerted a selective force that was exacerbated by seasonal timing. Data from this study can also provide vital hindsight into patterns of extant biotic response to global-scale hazards that are relevant to both current and future biomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert A. DePalma
- grid.5379.80000000121662407Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL UK ,grid.255951.fDepartment of Geosciences, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL 33431 USA
| | - Anton A. Oleinik
- grid.255951.fDepartment of Geosciences, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL 33431 USA
| | - Loren P. Gurche
- grid.266515.30000 0001 2106 0692Biodiversity Institute, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045 USA
| | - David A. Burnham
- grid.266515.30000 0001 2106 0692Biodiversity Institute, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045 USA
| | - Jeremy J. Klingler
- grid.263922.e0000 0001 0012 3578Department of Biological Sciences, Southwestern Oklahoma State University, Weatherford, OK 73096 USA
| | - Curtis J. McKinney
- grid.421336.10000 0000 8565 4433Department of Geology, Miami-Dade College, Miami, FL 33132 USA
| | - Frederick P. Cichocki
- grid.447043.00000 0001 2152 8144Adjunct Curator of Vertebrates, Maine State Museum, Augusta, ME 04330 USA
| | - Peter L. Larson
- Black Hills Institute of Geological Research, Hill City, SD 57745 USA
| | - Victoria M. Egerton
- grid.5379.80000000121662407Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL UK
| | - Roy A. Wogelius
- grid.5379.80000000121662407Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL UK
| | - Nicholas P. Edwards
- grid.445003.60000 0001 0725 7771Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA USA
| | - Uwe Bergmann
- grid.445003.60000 0001 0725 7771Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA USA ,grid.14003.360000 0001 2167 3675Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin- Madison, 2320 Chamberlin Hall, 1150 University Avenue, Madison, WI USA
| | - Phillip L. Manning
- grid.5379.80000000121662407Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL UK
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Barany A, Shaughnessy CA, Pelis RM, Fuentes J, Mancera JM, McCormick SD. Tissue and salinity specific Na +/Cl - cotransporter (NCC) orthologues involved in the adaptive osmoregulation of sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus). Sci Rep 2021; 11:22698. [PMID: 34811419 PMCID: PMC8608846 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-02125-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2021] [Accepted: 10/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Two orthologues of the gene encoding the Na+-Cl− cotransporter (NCC), termed ncca and nccb, were found in the sea lamprey genome. No gene encoding the Na+-K+-2Cl− cotransporter 2 (nkcc2) was identified. In a phylogenetic comparison among other vertebrate NCC and NKCC sequences, the sea lamprey NCCs occupied basal positions within the NCC clades. In freshwater, ncca mRNA was found only in the gill and nccb only in the intestine, whereas both were found in the kidney. Intestinal nccb mRNA levels increased during late metamorphosis coincident with salinity tolerance. Acclimation to seawater increased nccb mRNA levels in the intestine and kidney. Electrophysiological analysis of intestinal tissue ex vivo showed this tissue was anion absorptive. After seawater acclimation, the proximal intestine became less anion absorptive, whereas the distal intestine remained unchanged. Luminal application of indapamide (an NCC inhibitor) resulted in 73% and 30% inhibition of short-circuit current (Isc) in the proximal and distal intestine, respectively. Luminal application of bumetanide (an NKCC inhibitor) did not affect intestinal Isc. Indapamide also inhibited intestinal water absorption. Our results indicate that NCCb is likely the key ion cotransport protein for ion uptake by the lamprey intestine that facilitates water absorption in seawater. As such, the preparatory increases in intestinal nccb mRNA levels during metamorphosis of sea lamprey are likely critical to development of whole animal salinity tolerance.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Barany
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Marine and Environmental Sciences, Campus de Excelencia Internacional del Mar (CEI-MAR), University of Cádiz, Puerto Real, 11519, Cádiz, Spain. .,Centre of Marine Sciences (CCMar), University of Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139, Faro, Portugal. .,Conte Anadromous Fish Research Laboratory, Eastern Ecological Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Turners Falls, MA, 01376, USA.
| | - C A Shaughnessy
- Conte Anadromous Fish Research Laboratory, Eastern Ecological Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Turners Falls, MA, 01376, USA.,Graduate Program in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, 01003, USA
| | - R M Pelis
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Binghamton University, State University of New York, Johnson City, NY, 13790, USA
| | - J Fuentes
- Centre of Marine Sciences (CCMar), University of Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139, Faro, Portugal
| | - J M Mancera
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Marine and Environmental Sciences, Campus de Excelencia Internacional del Mar (CEI-MAR), University of Cádiz, Puerto Real, 11519, Cádiz, Spain
| | - S D McCormick
- Conte Anadromous Fish Research Laboratory, Eastern Ecological Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Turners Falls, MA, 01376, USA.,Graduate Program in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, 01003, USA
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34
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Kiser PD. Retinal pigment epithelium 65 kDa protein (RPE65): An update. Prog Retin Eye Res 2021; 88:101013. [PMID: 34607013 PMCID: PMC8975950 DOI: 10.1016/j.preteyeres.2021.101013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2021] [Revised: 09/21/2021] [Accepted: 09/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Vertebrate vision critically depends on an 11-cis-retinoid renewal system known as the visual cycle. At the heart of this metabolic pathway is an enzyme known as retinal pigment epithelium 65 kDa protein (RPE65), which catalyzes an unusual, possibly biochemically unique, reaction consisting of a coupled all-trans-retinyl ester hydrolysis and alkene geometric isomerization to produce 11-cis-retinol. Early work on this isomerohydrolase demonstrated its membership to the carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase superfamily and its essentiality for 11-cis-retinal production in the vertebrate retina. Three independent studies published in 2005 established RPE65 as the actual isomerohydrolase instead of a retinoid-binding protein as previously believed. Since the last devoted review of RPE65 enzymology appeared in this journal, major advances have been made in a number of areas including our understanding of the mechanistic details of RPE65 isomerohydrolase activity, its phylogenetic origins, the relationship of its membrane binding affinity to its catalytic activity, its role in visual chromophore production for rods and cones, its modulation by macromolecules and small molecules, and the involvement of RPE65 mutations in the development of retinal diseases. In this article, I will review these areas of progress with the goal of integrating results from the varied experimental approaches to provide a comprehensive picture of RPE65 biochemistry. Key outstanding questions that may prove to be fruitful future research pursuits will also be highlighted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip D Kiser
- Research Service, VA Long Beach Healthcare System, Long Beach, CA, 90822, USA; Department of Physiology & Biophysics, University of California, Irvine School of Medicine, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA; Department of Ophthalmology and Center for Translational Vision Research, Gavin Herbert Eye Institute, University of California, Irvine School of Medicine, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA.
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35
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Theofanopoulou C. Reconstructing the evolutionary history of the oxytocin and vasotocin receptor gene family: Insights on whole genome duplication scenarios. Dev Biol 2021; 479:99-106. [PMID: 34329619 DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2021.07.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2021] [Revised: 06/08/2021] [Accepted: 07/22/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Vertebrate genome evolution remains a hotly debated topic, specifically as regards the number and the timing of putative rounds of whole genome duplication events. In this study, I sought to shed light to this conundrum through assessing the evolutionary history of the oxytocin/vasotocin receptor family. I performed ancestral analyses of the genomic segments containing oxytocin and vasotocin receptors (OTR-VTRs) by mapping them back to the reconstructed ancestral vertebrate/chordate karyotypes reported in five independent studies (Nakatani et al., 2007; Putnam et al., 2008; Smith and Keinath, 2015; Smith et al., 2018; Simakov et al., 2020) and found that two alternative scenarios can account for their evolution: one consistent with one round of whole genome duplication in the common ancestor of lampreys and gnathostomes, followed by segmental duplications in both lineages, and another consistent with two rounds of whole genome duplication, with the first occurring in the gnathostome-lamprey ancestor and the second in the jawed vertebrate ancestor. Combining the data reported here with synteny and phylogeny data reported in our previous study (Theofanopoulou et al., 2021), I put forward that a single round of whole genome duplication scenario is more consistent with the synteny and evolution of chromosomes where OTR-VTRs are encountered, without excluding the possibility of a scenario including two rounds of whole genome duplication. Although the analysis of one gene family is not able to capture the full complexity of vertebrate genome evolution, this study can provide solid insight, since the gene family used here has been meticulously analyzed for its genes' orthologous and paralogous relationships across species using high quality genomes.
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Reconstruction of proto-vertebrate, proto-cyclostome and proto-gnathostome genomes provides new insights into early vertebrate evolution. Nat Commun 2021; 12:4489. [PMID: 34301952 PMCID: PMC8302630 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-24573-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2019] [Accepted: 06/25/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Ancient polyploidization events have had a lasting impact on vertebrate genome structure, organization and function. Some key questions regarding the number of ancient polyploidization events and their timing in relation to the cyclostome-gnathostome divergence have remained contentious. Here we generate de novo long-read-based chromosome-scale genome assemblies for the Japanese lamprey and elephant shark. Using these and other representative genomes and developing algorithms for the probabilistic macrosynteny model, we reconstruct high-resolution proto-vertebrate, proto-cyclostome and proto-gnathostome genomes. Our reconstructions resolve key questions regarding the early evolutionary history of vertebrates. First, cyclostomes diverged from the lineage leading to gnathostomes after a shared tetraploidization (1R) but before a gnathostome-specific tetraploidization (2R). Second, the cyclostome lineage experienced an additional hexaploidization. Third, 2R in the gnathostome lineage was an allotetraploidization event, and biased gene loss from one of the subgenomes shaped the gnathostome genome by giving rise to remarkably conserved microchromosomes. Thus, our reconstructions reveal the major evolutionary events and offer new insights into the origin and evolution of vertebrate genomes.
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37
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Ancient fishes and the functional evolution of the corticosteroid stress response in vertebrates. Comp Biochem Physiol A Mol Integr Physiol 2021; 260:111024. [PMID: 34237466 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2021.111024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2021] [Revised: 06/29/2021] [Accepted: 06/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
The neuroendocrine mechanism underlying stress responses in vertebrates is hypothesized to be highly conserved and evolutionarily ancient. Indeed, elements of this mechanism, from the brain to steroidogenic tissue, are present in all vertebrate groups; yet, evidence of the function and even identity of some elements of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal/interrenal (HPA/I) axis is equivocal among the most basal vertebrates. The purpose of this review is to discuss the functional evolution of the HPA/I axis in vertebrates with a focus on our understanding of this neuroendocrine mechanism in the most ancient vertebrates: the agnathan (i.e., hagfish and lamprey) and chondrichthyan fishes (i.e., sharks, rays, and chimeras). A review of the current literature presents evidence of a conserved HPA/I axis in jawed vertebrates (i.e., gnathostomes); yet, available data in jawless (i.e., agnathan) and chondrichthyan fishes are limited. Neuroendocrine regulation of corticosteroidogenesis in agnathans and chondrichthyans appears to function through similar pathways as in bony fishes and tetrapods; however, key elements have yet to be identified and the involvement of melanotropins and gonadotropin-releasing hormone in the stress axis in these ancient fishes warrants further investigation. Further, the identities of physiological glucocorticoids are uncertain in hagfishes, chondrichthyans, and even coelacanths. Resolving these and other knowledge gaps in the stress response of ancient fishes will be significant for advancing knowledge of the evolutionary origins of the vertebrate stress response.
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38
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Taubenheim J, Kortmann C, Fraune S. Function and Evolution of Nuclear Receptors in Environmental-Dependent Postembryonic Development. Front Cell Dev Biol 2021; 9:653792. [PMID: 34178983 PMCID: PMC8222990 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2021.653792] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2021] [Accepted: 05/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Nuclear receptors (NRs) fulfill key roles in the coordination of postembryonal developmental transitions in animal species. They control the metamorphosis and sexual maturation in virtually all animals and by that the two main environmental-dependent developmental decision points. Sexual maturation and metamorphosis are controlled by steroid receptors and thyroid receptors, respectively in vertebrates, while both processes are orchestrated by the ecdysone receptor (EcR) in insects. The regulation of these processes depends on environmental factors like nutrition, temperature, or photoperiods and by that NRs form evolutionary conserved mediators of phenotypic plasticity. While the mechanism of action for metamorphosis and sexual maturation are well studied in model organisms, the evolution of these systems is not entirely understood and requires further investigation. We here review the current knowledge of NR involvement in metamorphosis and sexual maturation across the animal tree of life with special attention to environmental integration and evolution of the signaling mechanism. Furthermore, we compare commonalities and differences of the different signaling systems. Finally, we identify key gaps in our knowledge of NR evolution, which, if sufficiently investigated, would lead to an importantly improved understanding of the evolution of complex signaling systems, the evolution of life history decision points, and, ultimately, speciation events in the metazoan kingdom.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan Taubenheim
- Zoology and Organismic Interactions, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Constantin Kortmann
- Zoology and Organismic Interactions, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Sebastian Fraune
- Zoology and Organismic Interactions, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
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Starck JM, Stewart JR, Blackburn DG. Phylogeny and evolutionary history of the amniote egg. J Morphol 2021; 282:1080-1122. [PMID: 33991358 DOI: 10.1002/jmor.21380] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2020] [Revised: 05/07/2021] [Accepted: 05/12/2021] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
We review morphological features of the amniote egg and embryos in a comparative phylogenetic framework, including all major clades of extant vertebrates. We discuss 40 characters that are relevant for an analysis of the evolutionary history of the vertebrate egg. Special attention is given to the morphology of the cellular yolk sac, the eggshell, and extraembryonic membranes. Many features that are typically assigned to amniotes, such as a large yolk sac, delayed egg deposition, and terrestrial reproduction have evolved independently and convergently in numerous clades of vertebrates. We use phylogenetic character mapping and ancestral character state reconstruction as tools to recognize sequence, order, and patterns of morphological evolution and deduce a hypothesis of the evolutionary history of the amniote egg. Besides amnion and chorioallantois, amniotes ancestrally possess copulatory organs (secondarily reduced in most birds), internal fertilization, and delayed deposition of eggs that contain an embryo in the primitive streak or early somite stage. Except for the amnion, chorioallantois, and amniote type of eggshell, these features evolved convergently in almost all major clades of aquatic vertebrates possibly in response to selective factors such as egg predation, hostile environmental conditions for egg development, or to adjust hatching of young to favorable season. A functionally important feature of the amnion membrane is its myogenic contractility that moves the (early) embryo and prevents adhering of the growing embryo to extraembryonic materials. This function of the amnion membrane and the liquid-filled amnion cavity may have evolved under the requirements of delayed deposition of eggs that contain developing embryos. The chorioallantois is a temporary embryonic exchange organ that supports embryonic development. A possible evolutionary scenario is that the amniote egg presents an exaptation that paved the evolutionary pathway for reproduction on land. As shown by numerous examples from anamniotes, reproduction on land has occurred multiple times among vertebrates-the amniote egg presenting one "solution" that enabled the conquest of land for reproduction.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Matthias Starck
- Department of Biology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
| | - James R Stewart
- Department of Biology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany.,Department of Biological Sciences, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, Tennessee, USA
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40
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Mongiardino Koch N, Garwood RJ, Parry LA. Fossils improve phylogenetic analyses of morphological characters. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20210044. [PMID: 33947239 PMCID: PMC8246652 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.0044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2021] [Accepted: 04/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Fossils provide our only direct window into evolutionary events in the distant past. Incorporating them into phylogenetic hypotheses of living clades can help time-calibrate divergences, as well as elucidate macroevolutionary dynamics. However, the effect fossils have on phylogenetic reconstruction from morphology remains controversial. The consequences of explicitly incorporating the stratigraphic ages of fossils using tip-dated inference are also unclear. Here, we use simulations to evaluate the performance of inference methods across different levels of fossil sampling and missing data. Our results show that fossil taxa improve phylogenetic analysis of morphological datasets, even when highly fragmentary. Irrespective of inference method, fossils improve the accuracy of phylogenies and increase the number of resolved nodes. They also induce the collapse of ancient and highly uncertain relationships that tend to be incorrectly resolved when sampling only extant taxa. Furthermore, tip-dated analyses under the fossilized birth-death process outperform undated methods of inference, demonstrating that the stratigraphic ages of fossils contain vital phylogenetic information. Fossils help to extract true phylogenetic signals from morphology, an effect that is mediated by both their distinctive morphology and their temporal information, and their incorporation in total-evidence phylogenetics is necessary to faithfully reconstruct evolutionary history.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Russell J Garwood
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
- Earth Sciences Department, Natural History Museum, London, UK
| | - Luke A Parry
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
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41
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Bressman N, Fudge D. From reductionism to synthesis: The case of hagfish slime. Comp Biochem Physiol B Biochem Mol Biol 2021; 255:110610. [PMID: 33971350 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpb.2021.110610] [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: 02/05/2021] [Revised: 04/28/2021] [Accepted: 05/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Reductionist strategies aim to understand the mechanisms of complex systems by studying individual parts and their interactions. In this review, we discuss how reductionist approaches have shed light on the structure, function, and production of a complex biomaterial - hagfish defensive slime. Hagfish slime is an extremely dilute hydrogel-like material composed of seawater, mucus, and silk-like proteins that can deploy rapidly. Despite being composed almost entirely of water, hagfish slime has remarkable physical properties, including high strength and toughness. While hagfish slime has a promising future in biomimetics, including the development of eco-friendly high-performance fibers, recreating hagfish slime in the lab has been a difficult challenge. Over the past two decades, reductionist experiments have provided a wealth of information about the individual components of hagfish slime. However, a reductionist approach provides a limited understanding because hagfish defensive slime, like most biological phenomena, is more than just the sum of its parts. We end by providing some thoughts about how the knowledge generated in the last few decades might be synthesized into a working model that can explain hagfish slime structure and function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noah Bressman
- Schmid College of Science and Technology, Chapman University, 1 University Dr., Orange, CA 92866, USA.
| | - Douglas Fudge
- Schmid College of Science and Technology, Chapman University, 1 University Dr., Orange, CA 92866, USA
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42
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Theofanopoulou C, Gedman G, Cahill JA, Boeckx C, Jarvis ED. Universal nomenclature for oxytocin-vasotocin ligand and receptor families. Nature 2021; 592:747-755. [PMID: 33911268 PMCID: PMC8081664 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-03040-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2019] [Accepted: 05/29/2020] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
Oxytocin (OXT; hereafter OT) and arginine vasopressin or vasotocin (AVP or VT; hereafter VT) are neurotransmitter ligands that function through specific receptors to control diverse functions1,2. Here we performed genomic analyses on 35 species that span all major vertebrate lineages, including newly generated high-contiguity assemblies from the Vertebrate Genomes Project3,4. Our findings support the claim5 that OT (also known as OXT) and VT (also known as AVP) are adjacent paralogous genes that have resulted from a local duplication, which we infer was through DNA transposable elements near the origin of vertebrates and in which VT retained more of the parental sequence. We identified six major oxytocin-vasotocin receptors among vertebrates. We propose that all six of these receptors arose from a single receptor that was shared with the common ancestor of invertebrates, through a combination of whole-genome and large segmental duplications. We propose a universal nomenclature based on evolutionary relationships for the genes that encode these receptors, in which the genes are given the same orthologous names across vertebrates and paralogous names relative to each other. This nomenclature avoids confusion due to differential naming in the pre-genomic era and incomplete genome assemblies, furthers our understanding of the evolution of these genes, aids in the translation of findings across species and serves as a model for other gene families.
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Affiliation(s)
- Constantina Theofanopoulou
- Laboratory of Neurogenetics of Language, Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA. .,Section of General Linguistics, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain. .,University of Barcelona Institute for Complex Systems, Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Gregory Gedman
- Laboratory of Neurogenetics of Language, Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - James A Cahill
- Laboratory of Neurogenetics of Language, Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Cedric Boeckx
- Section of General Linguistics, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.,University of Barcelona Institute for Complex Systems, Barcelona, Spain.,ICREA, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Erich D Jarvis
- Laboratory of Neurogenetics of Language, Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA. .,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD, USA.
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43
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Miyashita T, Gess RW, Tietjen K, Coates MI. Non-ammocoete larvae of Palaeozoic stem lampreys. Nature 2021; 591:408-412. [PMID: 33692547 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-03305-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2020] [Accepted: 01/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Ammocoetes-the filter-feeding larvae of modern lampreys-have long influenced hypotheses of vertebrate ancestry1-7. The life history of modern lampreys, which develop from a superficially amphioxus-like ammocoete to a specialized predatory adult, appears to recapitulate widely accepted scenarios of vertebrate origin. However, no direct evidence has validated the evolutionary antiquity of ammocoetes, and their status as models of primitive vertebrate anatomy is uncertain. Here we report larval and juvenile forms of four stem lampreys from the Palaeozoic era (Hardistiella, Mayomyzon, Pipiscius, and Priscomyzon), including a hatchling-to-adult growth series of the genus Priscomyzon from Late Devonian Gondwana. Larvae of all four genera lack the defining traits of ammocoetes. They instead display features that are otherwise unique to adult modern lampreys, including prominent eyes, a cusped feeding apparatus, and posteriorly united branchial baskets. Notably, phylogenetic analyses find that these non-ammocoete larvae occur in at least three independent lineages of stem lamprey. This distribution strongly implies that ammocoetes are specializations of modern-lamprey life history rather than relics of vertebrate ancestry. These phylogenetic insights also suggest that the last common ancestor of hagfishes and lampreys was a macrophagous predator that did not have a filter-feeding larval phase. Thus, the armoured 'ostracoderms' that populate the cyclostome and gnathostome stems might serve as better proxies than living cyclostomes for the last common ancestor of all living vertebrates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tetsuto Miyashita
- Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA. .,Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. .,Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. .,Department of Earth Sciences, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
| | - Robert W Gess
- Albany Museum and the Department of Geology, Rhodes University, Makhanda, South Africa
| | - Kristen Tietjen
- Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.,Biodiversity Institute & Natural History Museum, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA
| | - Michael I Coates
- Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
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44
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Li S, Wang F. Vertebrate Evolution Conserves Hindbrain Circuits despite Diverse Feeding and Breathing Modes. eNeuro 2021; 8:ENEURO.0435-20.2021. [PMID: 33707205 PMCID: PMC8174041 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0435-20.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2020] [Revised: 01/08/2021] [Accepted: 01/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Feeding and breathing are two functions vital to the survival of all vertebrate species. Throughout the evolution, vertebrates living in different environments have evolved drastically different modes of feeding and breathing through using diversified orofacial and pharyngeal (oropharyngeal) muscles. The oropharyngeal structures are controlled by hindbrain neural circuits. The developing hindbrain shares strikingly conserved organizations and gene expression patterns across vertebrates, thus begs the question of how a highly conserved hindbrain generates circuits subserving diverse feeding/breathing patterns. In this review, we summarize major modes of feeding and breathing and principles underlying their coordination in many vertebrate species. We provide a hypothesis for the existence of a common hindbrain circuit at the phylotypic embryonic stage controlling oropharyngeal movements that is shared across vertebrate species; and reconfiguration and repurposing of this conserved circuit give rise to more complex behaviors in adult higher vertebrates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shun Li
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27710
| | - Fan Wang
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27710
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Eom J, Wood CM. Understanding ventilation and oxygen uptake of Pacific hagfish (Eptatretus stoutii), with particular emphasis on responses to ammonia and interactions with other respiratory gases. J Comp Physiol B 2021; 191:255-271. [PMID: 33547930 DOI: 10.1007/s00360-020-01329-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2020] [Revised: 10/18/2020] [Accepted: 11/15/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
The hagfishes are an ancient and evolutionarily important group, with breathing mechanisms and gills very different from those of other fishes. Hagfish inhale through a single nostril via a velum pump, and exhale through multiple separate gill pouches. We assessed respiratory performance in E. stoutii (31 ppt, 12 ºC, 50-120 g) by measuring total ventilatory flow ([Formula: see text]) at the nostril, velar (respiratory) frequency (fr), and inspired (PIO2) and expired (PEO2) oxygen tensions at all 12 gill pouch exits plus the pharyngo-cutaneous duct (PCD) on the left side, and calculated ventilatory stroke volume (S[Formula: see text]), % O2 utilization, and oxygen consumption (ṀO2). At rest under normoxia, spontaneous changes in [Formula: see text] ranged from apnea to > 400 ml kg-1 min-1, due to variations in both fr and S[Formula: see text]; "normal" [Formula: see text] averaged 137 ml kg-1 min-1, ṀO2 was 718 µmol kg-1 h-1, so the ventilatory convection requirement for O2 was about 11 L mmol-1. Relative to anterior gill pouches, lower PEO2 values (i.e. higher utilization) occurred in the more posterior pouches and PCD. Overall, O2 utilization was 34% and did not change during hyperventilation but increased to > 90% during hypoventilation. Environmental hypoxia (PIO2 ~ 8% air saturation, 1.67 kPa, 13 Torr) caused hyperventilation, but neither acute hyperoxia (PIO2 ~ 275% air saturation, 57.6 kPa, 430 Torr) nor hypercapnia (PICO2 ~ 1% CO2, 1.0 kPa, 7.5 Torr) significantly altered [Formula: see text]. ṀO2 decreased in hypoxia and increased in hyperoxia but did not change in hypercapnia. Acute exposure to high environmental ammonia (HEA, 10 mM NH4HCO3) caused an acute decrease in [Formula: see text], in contrast to the hyperventilation of long-term HEA exposure described in a previous study. The hypoventilatory response to HEA still occurred during hypoxia and hyperoxia, but was blunted during hypercapnia. Under all treatments, ṀO2 increased with increases in [Formula: see text]. Overall, there were lower convection requirements for O2 during hyperoxia, higher requirements during hypoxia and hypercapnia, but unchanged requirements during HEA. We conclude that this "primitive" fish operates a flexible respiratory system with considerable reserve capacity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junho Eom
- Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T1Z4, Canada.
| | - Chris M Wood
- Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T1Z4, Canada
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Ferrón HG, Martínez-Pérez C, Rahman IA, Selles de Lucas V, Botella H, Donoghue PCJ. Functional assessment of morphological homoplasy in stem-gnathostomes. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20202719. [PMID: 33467997 PMCID: PMC7893270 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.2719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2020] [Accepted: 12/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Osteostraci and Galeaspida are stem-gnathostomes, occupying a key phylogenetic position for resolving the nature of the jawless ancestor from which jawed vertebrates evolved more than 400 million years ago. Both groups are characterized by the presence of rigid headshields that share a number of common morphological traits, in some cases hindering the resolution of their interrelationships and the exact nature of their affinities with jawed vertebrates. Here, we explore the morphological and functional diversity of osteostracan and galeaspid headshields using geometric morphometrics and computational fluid dynamics to constrain the factors that promoted the evolution of their similar morphologies and informing on the ecological scenario under which jawed vertebrates emerged. Phylomorphospace, Mantel analysis and Stayton metrics demonstrate a high degree of homoplasy. Computational fluid dynamics reveals similar hydrodynamic performance among morphologically convergent species, indicating the independent acquisition of the same morphofunctional traits and, potentially, equivalent lifestyles. These results confirm that a number of the characters typically used to infer the evolutionary relationships among galeaspids, osteostracans and jawed vertebrates are convergent in nature, potentially obscuring understanding of the assembly of the gnathostome bodyplan. Ultimately, our results reveal that while the jawless relatives of the earliest jawed vertebrates were ecologically diverse, widespread convergence on the same hydrodynamic adaptations suggests they had reached the limits of their potential ecological diversity-overcome by jawed vertebrates and their later innovations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Humberto G. Ferrón
- School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
- Instituto Cavanilles de Biodiversidad i Biología Evolutiva, Universitat de València, C/ Catedrático José Beltrán Martínez, 2, 46980 Paterna, Valencia, Spain
| | - Carlos Martínez-Pérez
- School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
- Instituto Cavanilles de Biodiversidad i Biología Evolutiva, Universitat de València, C/ Catedrático José Beltrán Martínez, 2, 46980 Paterna, Valencia, Spain
| | - Imran A. Rahman
- Oxford University Museum of Natural History, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PW, UK
| | - Víctor Selles de Lucas
- School of Engineering and Computer Science, University of Hull, Cottingham Rd, Hull HU6 7RX, UK
| | - Héctor Botella
- Instituto Cavanilles de Biodiversidad i Biología Evolutiva, Universitat de València, C/ Catedrático José Beltrán Martínez, 2, 46980 Paterna, Valencia, Spain
| | - Philip C. J. Donoghue
- School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
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Dong EM, Allison WT. Vertebrate features revealed in the rudimentary eye of the Pacific hagfish ( Eptatretus stoutii). Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20202187. [PMID: 33434464 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.2187] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Hagfish eyes are markedly basic compared to the eyes of other vertebrates, lacking a pigmented epithelium, a lens and a retinal architecture built of three cell layers: the photoreceptors, interneurons and ganglion cells. Concomitant with hagfish belonging to the earliest-branching vertebrate group (the jawless Agnathans), this lack of derived characters has prompted competing interpretations that hagfish eyes represent either a transitional form in the early evolution of vertebrate vision, or a regression from a previously elaborate organ. Here, we show the hagfish retina is not extensively degenerating during its ontogeny, but instead grows throughout life via a recognizable PAX6+ ciliary marginal zone. The retina has a distinct layer of photoreceptor cells that appear to homogeneously express a single opsin of the RH1 rod opsin class. The epithelium that encompasses these photoreceptors is striking because it lacks the melanin pigment that is universally associated with animal vision; notwithstanding, we suggest this epithelium is a homologue of gnathosome retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) based on its robust expression of RPE65 and its engulfment of photoreceptor outer segments. We infer that the hagfish retina is not entirely rudimentary in its wiring, despite lacking a morphologically distinct layer of interneurons: multiple populations of cells exist in the hagfish inner retina and subsets of these express markers of vertebrate retinal interneurons. Overall, these data clarify Agnathan retinal homologies, reveal characters that now appear to be ubiquitous across the eyes of vertebrates, and refine interpretations of early vertebrate visual system evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily M Dong
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T7Y 1C4
| | - W Ted Allison
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T7Y 1C4
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Uyeno T, Clark A. On the fit of skins with a particular focus on the biomechanics of loose skins of hagfishes. CAN J ZOOL 2020. [DOI: 10.1139/cjz-2019-0296] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
There is a considerable diversity in how skins fit. Here, we review the function of both tight and loose skins and note that the latter are poorly understood. Analysis of loose skin examples suggest five functional categories: (I) freedom of movement, (II) surface area enhancement, (III) increased structural extensibility, (IV) lubrication, and (V) maladaptive examples arising through sexual or artificial selection. We investigate the skins of hagfishes as a model for understanding loose skin function by examining its structure using histology, standardized puncture resistance testing using the ASTM F1306 protocol, and the effect of internal pressure using a simple inflated balloon model. Skins of hagfishes are composed of multiple layers of cross-helically wound connective tissue fibers of a 45° angle to the longitudinal axis, resulting in a skin that functions as fabric cut “on the bias”. Hagfish skins are relatively yielding; however, skin looseness adds a “structural extensibility” that may allow hagfishes to compensate for low puncture resistance. Physical balloon models, with stiff cores that limit length changes, show that only low pressures allow short loop radii without local buckling. Hagfishes represent ideal organisms for studying loose skin function because their skins seem to fit in all functionally adaptive categories.
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Affiliation(s)
- T.A. Uyeno
- Department of Biology, Valdosta State University, 1500 North Patterson Street, Valdosta, GA 31698, USA
| | - A.J. Clark
- Department of Biology, College of Charleston, 66 George Street, Charleston, SC 29424, USA
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Miyashita T. A Paleozoic stem hagfish Myxinikela siroka — revised anatomy and implications for evolution of the living jawless vertebrate lineages. CAN J ZOOL 2020. [DOI: 10.1139/cjz-2020-0046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
Hagfishes and lampreys comprise cyclostomes, the earliest branching and sole surviving clade of the once diverse assemblage of jawless crown-group vertebrates. Lacking mineralized skeletons, both of the crown cyclostome lineages have notoriously poor fossil record. Particularly in the hagfish total group, †Myxinikela siroka Bardack, 1991 from the Late Carboniferous estuarine system of Illinois (USA) represents the only definitive stem taxon. Previously known from a single specimen, Myxinikela has been reconstructed as a short-bodied form with pigmented eyes but otherwise difficult to distinguish from the living counterpart. With a new, second specimen of Myxinikela reported here, I reevaluate the soft tissue anatomy and formulate diagnosis for the taxon. Myxinikela has a number of general features of cyclostomes, including cartilaginous branchial baskets, separation between the esophageal and the branchial passages, and a well-differentiated midline finfold. In effect, these features give more lamprey-like appearance to this stem hagfish than previously assumed. Myxinikela still has many traits that set modern hagfishes apart from other vertebrates (e.g., nasohypophyseal aperture, large velar cavity, and cardinal heart) and some intermediate conditions of modern hagfishes (e.g., incipient posterior displacement of branchial region). Thus, Myxinikela provides an important calibration point with which to date origins of these characters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tetsuto Miyashita
- Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
- Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
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Molecular phylogeny and classification of the family Myxinidae (Cyclostomata: Myxiniformes) using the supermatrix method. JOURNAL OF ASIA-PACIFIC BIODIVERSITY 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.japb.2020.09.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
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