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Mangiacotti M, Fumagalli M, Casali C, Biggiogera M, Forneris F, Sacchi R. Carbonic anhydrase IV in lizard chemical signals. Sci Rep 2023; 13:14164. [PMID: 37644071 PMCID: PMC10465503 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-41012-9] [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: 01/26/2023] [Accepted: 08/20/2023] [Indexed: 08/31/2023] Open
Abstract
The evolution of chemical signals is subject to environmental constraints. A multicomponent signal may combine semiochemical molecules with supporting compounds able to enhance communication efficacy. Carbonic anhydrases (CAs) are ubiquitous enzymes catalysing the reversible hydration of carbon dioxide, a reaction involved in a variety of physiological processes as it controls the chemical environment of the different tissues or cellular compartments, thus contributing to the overall system homeostasis. CA-IV isoform has been recently identified by mass spectrometry in the femoral gland secretions (FG) of the marine iguana, where it has been hypothesized to contribute to the chemical stability of the signal, by regulating blend pH. Lizards, indeed, use FG to communicate by delivering the waxy secretion on bare substrate, where it is exposed to environmental stressors. Therefore, we expect that some molecules in the mixture may play supporting functions, enhancing the stability of the chemical environment, or even conferring homeostatic properties to the blend. CA-IV may well represent an important candidate to this hypothesized supporting/homeostatic function, and, therefore, we can expect it to be common in FG secretions of other lizard species. To evaluate this prediction and definitely validate CA identity, we analysed FG secretions of eight species of wall lizards (genus Podarcis), combining mass spectrometry, immunoblotting, immunocytochemistry, and transmission electron microscopy. We demonstrate CA-IV to actually occur in the FG of seven out of the eight considered species, providing an immunochemistry validation of mass-spectrometry identifications, and localizing the enzyme within the secretion mass. The predicted structure of the identified CA is compatible with the known enzymatic activity of CA-IV, supporting the hypothesis that CA play a signal homeostasis function and opening to new perspective about the role of proteins in vertebrate chemical communication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Mangiacotti
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Pavia, Via Taramelli 24, 27100, Pavia, Italy.
| | - Marco Fumagalli
- The Armenise-Harvard Laboratory of Structural Biology, Department of Biology and Biotechnology "L. Spallanzani", University of Pavia, Via Ferrata 9A, 27100, Pavia, Italy
| | - Claudio Casali
- Laboratory of Cell Biology and Neurobiology, Department of Biology and Biotechnology "L. Spallanzani", University of Pavia, Via Ferrata 9, 27100, Pavia, Italy
| | - Marco Biggiogera
- Laboratory of Cell Biology and Neurobiology, Department of Biology and Biotechnology "L. Spallanzani", University of Pavia, Via Ferrata 9, 27100, Pavia, Italy
| | - Federico Forneris
- The Armenise-Harvard Laboratory of Structural Biology, Department of Biology and Biotechnology "L. Spallanzani", University of Pavia, Via Ferrata 9A, 27100, Pavia, Italy
| | - Roberto Sacchi
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Pavia, Via Taramelli 24, 27100, Pavia, Italy
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Murali G, Meiri S, Roll U. Chemical signaling glands are unlinked to species diversification in lizards. Evolution 2023; 77:1829-1841. [PMID: 37279331 DOI: 10.1093/evolut/qpad101] [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: 09/04/2022] [Revised: 05/17/2023] [Accepted: 05/31/2023] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Sexual selection has long been thought to increase species diversification. Sexually selected traits, such as sexual signals that contribute to reproductive isolation, were thought to promote diversification. However, studies exploring links between sexually selected traits and species diversification have thus far primarily focused on visual or acoustic signals. Many animals often employ chemical signals (i.e., pheromones) for sexual communications, but large-scale analyses on the role of chemical communications in driving species diversification have been missing. Here, for the first time, we investigate whether traits associated with chemical communications-the presence of follicular epidermal glands-promote diversification across 6,672 lizard species. In most analyses, we found no strong association between the presence of follicular epidermal glands and species diversification rates, either across all lizard species or at lower phylogenetic scales. Previous studies suggest that follicular gland secretions act as species recognition signals that prevent hybridization during speciation in lizards. However, we show that geographic range overlap was no different in sibling species pairs with and without follicular epidermal glands. Together, these results imply that either follicular epidermal glands do not primarily function in sexual communications or sexually selected traits in general (here chemical communication) have a limited effect on species diversification. In our additional analysis accounting for sex-specific differences in glands, we again found no detectable effect of follicular epidermal glands on species diversification rates. Thus, our study challenges the general role of sexually selected traits in broad-scale species diversification patterns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gopal Murali
- Jacob Blaustein Center for Scientific Cooperation, The Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Midreshet Ben-Gurion, Israel
- Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, The Swiss Institute for Dryland Environments and Energy Research, The Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Midreshet Ben-Gurion, Israel
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
| | - Shai Meiri
- School of Zoology and The Steinhardt Museum of Natural History, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Beersheva, Sede-Boqer Campus, 8499000, Israel
| | - Uri Roll
- Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, The Swiss Institute for Dryland Environments and Energy Research, The Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Midreshet Ben-Gurion, Israel
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Mangiacotti M, Baeckens S, Fumagalli M, Martín J, Scali S, Sacchi R. Protein-lipid Association in Lizard Chemical Signals. Integr Org Biol 2023; 5:obad016. [PMID: 37228571 PMCID: PMC10205002 DOI: 10.1093/iob/obad016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2023] [Revised: 04/24/2023] [Accepted: 05/04/2023] [Indexed: 05/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Chemical communication in terrestrial vertebrates is often built on complex blends, where semiochemical and structural compounds may form an integrated functional unit. In lizards, many species have specialized epidermal glands whose secretions are waxy, homogeneous blends of lipids and proteins, both active in communication. The intimate co-occurrence of such compounds allows us to hypothesize that they should undergo a certain degree of covariation, considering both their semiochemical role and the support-to-lipid function hypothesized for the protein fraction. In order to assess the occurrence and level of protein-lipid covariation, we compared the composition and complexity of the two fractions in the femoral gland secretions of 36 lizard species, combining phylogenetically-informed analysis with tandem mass spectrometry. We found the composition and complexity of the two fractions to be strongly correlated. The composition of the protein fraction was mostly influenced by the relative proportion of cholestanol, provitamin D3, stigmasterol, and tocopherol, while the complexity of the protein pattern increased with that of lipids. Additionally, two identified proteins (carbonic anhydrase and protein disulfide isomerase) increased their concentration as provitamin D3 became more abundant. Although our approach does not allow us to decrypt the functional relations between the proteinaceous and lipid components, nor under the semiochemical or structural hypothesis, the finding that the proteins involved in this association were enzymes opens up to new perspectives about protein role: They may confer dynamic properties to the blend, making it able to compensate predictable variation of the environmental conditions. This may expand the view about proteins in the support-to-lipid hypothesis, from being a passive and inert component of the secretions to become an active and dynamic one, thus providing cues for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - S Baeckens
- Functional Morphology Lab, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium
- Evolution and Optics of Nanostructures Group, Department of Biology, Ghent University, 9000 Gent, Belgium
| | - M Fumagalli
- Department of Biology and Biotechnologies “L. Spallanzani”, University of Pavia, Via Ferrata 9, 27100 Pavia, Italy
| | - J Martín
- Departamento de Ecología Evolutiva, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC, José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, E-28006 Madrid, Spain
| | - S Scali
- Sezione Erpetologia, Museo di Storia Naturale di Milano, Corso Venezia 55, IT-20121 Milano, Italy
| | - R Sacchi
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Pavia, Via Taramelli 24, 27100 Pavia, Italy
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Decoupling in Diversification and Body Size Rates During the Radiation of Phyllodactylus: Evidence Suggests Minor Role of Ecology in Shaping Phenotypes. Evol Biol 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s11692-022-09575-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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Ruiz-Monachesi MR, Abdala CS, Cruz FB. Allometry and morphological integration shape the chemical detection system in Liolaemus lizards (Squamata, Iguania). ZOOL ANZ 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jcz.2022.06.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
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Ibáñez A, Skupien-Rabian B, Jankowska U, Kędracka-Krok S, Zając B, Pabijan M. Functional Protein Composition in Femoral Glands of Sand Lizards ( Lacerta agilis). MOLECULES (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 27:molecules27072371. [PMID: 35408771 PMCID: PMC9000839 DOI: 10.3390/molecules27072371] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2022] [Revised: 03/29/2022] [Accepted: 03/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Proteins are ubiquitous macromolecules that display a vast repertoire of chemical and enzymatic functions, making them suitable candidates for chemosignals, used in intraspecific communication. Proteins are present in the skin gland secretions of vertebrates but their identity, and especially, their functions, remain largely unknown. Many lizard species possess femoral glands, i.e., epidermal organs primarily involved in the production and secretion of chemosignals, playing a pivotal role in mate choice and intrasexual communication. The lipophilic fraction of femoral glands has been well studied in lizards. In contrast, proteins have been the focus of only a handful of investigations. Here, we identify and describe inter-individual expression patterns and the functionality of proteins present in femoral glands of male sand lizards (Lacerta agilis) by applying mass spectrometry-based proteomics. Our results show that the total number of proteins varied substantially among individuals. None of the identified femoral gland proteins could be directly linked to chemical communication in lizards, although this result hinges on protein annotation in databases in which squamate semiochemicals are poorly represented. In contrast to our expectations, the proteins consistently expressed across individuals were related to the immune system, antioxidant activity and lipid metabolism as their main functions, showing that proteins in reptilian epidermal glands may have other functions besides chemical communication. Interestingly, we found expression of the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) among the multiple and diverse biological processes enriched in FGs, tentatively supporting a previous hypothesis that MHC was coopted for semiochemical function in sand lizards, specifically in mate recognition. Our study shows that mass spectrometry-based proteomics are a powerful tool for characterizing and deciphering the role of proteins secreted by skin glands in non-model vertebrates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alejandro Ibáñez
- Department of Comparative Anatomy, Institute of Zoology and Biomedical Research, Faculty of Biology, Jagiellonian University, 30-387 Kraków, Poland;
- Department of Ecology and Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Łódź, 90-237 Łódź, Poland
- Correspondence:
| | - Bozena Skupien-Rabian
- Proteomics and Mass Spectrometry Core Facility, Malopolska Centre of Biotechnology, Jagiellonian University, 30-387 Kraków, Poland; (B.S.-R.); (U.J.)
| | - Urszula Jankowska
- Proteomics and Mass Spectrometry Core Facility, Malopolska Centre of Biotechnology, Jagiellonian University, 30-387 Kraków, Poland; (B.S.-R.); (U.J.)
| | - Sylwia Kędracka-Krok
- Department of Physical Biochemistry, Faculty of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Biotechnology, Jagiellonian University, 30-387 Kraków, Poland;
| | - Bartłomiej Zając
- Institute of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Jagiellonian University, 30-387 Kraków, Poland;
| | - Maciej Pabijan
- Department of Comparative Anatomy, Institute of Zoology and Biomedical Research, Faculty of Biology, Jagiellonian University, 30-387 Kraków, Poland;
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