1
|
Hauser FE, Xiao D, Van Nynatten A, Brochu-De Luca KK, Rajakulendran T, Elbassiouny AE, Sivanesan H, Sivananthan P, Crampton WGR, Lovejoy NR. Ecologically mediated differences in electric organ discharge drive evolution in a sodium channel gene in South American electric fishes. Biol Lett 2024; 20:20230480. [PMID: 38412964 PMCID: PMC10898970 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2023.0480] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2023] [Accepted: 01/29/2024] [Indexed: 02/29/2024] Open
Abstract
Active electroreception-the ability to detect objects and communicate with conspecifics via the detection and generation of electric organ discharges (EODs)-has evolved convergently in several fish lineages. South American electric fishes (Gymnotiformes) are a highly species-rich group, possibly in part due to evolution of an electric organ (EO) that can produce diverse EODs. Neofunctionalization of a voltage-gated sodium channel gene accompanied the evolution of electrogenic tissue from muscle and resulted in a novel gene (scn4aa) uniquely expressed in the EO. Here, we investigate the link between variation in scn4aa and differences in EOD waveform. We combine gymnotiform scn4aa sequences encoding the C-terminus of the Nav1.4a protein, with biogeographic data and EOD recordings to test whether physiological transitions among EOD types accompany differential selection pressures on scn4aa. We found positive selection on scn4aa coincided with shifts in EOD types. Species that evolved in the absence of predators, which likely selected for reduced EOD complexity, exhibited increased scn4aa evolutionary rates. We model mutations in the protein that may underlie changes in protein function and discuss our findings in the context of gymnotiform signalling ecology. Together, this work sheds light on the selective forces underpinning major evolutionary transitions in electric signal production.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Frances E. Hauser
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, 1265 Military Trail, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M1C 1A4
| | - Dawn Xiao
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, 1265 Military Trail, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M1C 1A4
| | - Alexander Van Nynatten
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, 1265 Military Trail, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M1C 1A4
- Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Harbord St, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 3G5
| | - Kristen K. Brochu-De Luca
- Department of Entomology, Pennsylvania State University, 501 ASI Building, University Park, PA 16802, USA
- School of Chemistry, Environmental and Life Sciences, University of The Bahamas, Oakes Field Campus, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas
| | - Thanara Rajakulendran
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, 1265 Military Trail, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M1C 1A4
| | - Ahmed E. Elbassiouny
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, 1265 Military Trail, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M1C 1A4
- Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Harbord St, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 3G5
| | - Harunya Sivanesan
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, 1265 Military Trail, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M1C 1A4
| | - Pradeega Sivananthan
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, 1265 Military Trail, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M1C 1A4
| | - William G. R. Crampton
- Department of Biology, University of Central Florida, 4110 Libra Dr, Orlando, FL 32816, USA
| | - Nathan R. Lovejoy
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, 1265 Military Trail, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M1C 1A4
- Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Harbord St, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 3G5
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks St, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 3B2
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Cheng F, Dennis AB, Baumann O, Kirschbaum F, Abdelilah-Seyfried S, Tiedemann R. Gene and Allele-Specific Expression Underlying the Electric Signal Divergence in African Weakly Electric Fish. Mol Biol Evol 2024; 41:msae021. [PMID: 38410843 PMCID: PMC10897887 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msae021] [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: 10/31/2023] [Revised: 12/15/2023] [Accepted: 01/29/2024] [Indexed: 02/28/2024] Open
Abstract
In the African weakly electric fish genus Campylomormyrus, electric organ discharge signals are strikingly different in shape and duration among closely related species, contribute to prezygotic isolation, and may have triggered an adaptive radiation. We performed mRNA sequencing on electric organs and skeletal muscles (from which the electric organs derive) from 3 species with short (0.4 ms), medium (5 ms), and long (40 ms) electric organ discharges and 2 different cross-species hybrids. We identified 1,444 upregulated genes in electric organ shared by all 5 species/hybrid cohorts, rendering them candidate genes for electric organ-specific properties in Campylomormyrus. We further identified several candidate genes, including KCNJ2 and KLF5, and their upregulation may contribute to increased electric organ discharge duration. Hybrids between a short (Campylomormyrus compressirostris) and a long (Campylomormyrus rhynchophorus) discharging species exhibit electric organ discharges of intermediate duration and showed imbalanced expression of KCNJ2 alleles, pointing toward a cis-regulatory difference at this locus, relative to electric organ discharge duration. KLF5 is a transcription factor potentially balancing potassium channel gene expression, a crucial process for the formation of an electric organ discharge. Unraveling the genetic basis of the species-specific modulation of the electric organ discharge in Campylomormyrus is crucial for understanding the adaptive radiation of this emerging model taxon of ecological (perhaps even sympatric) speciation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Feng Cheng
- Unit of Evolutionary Biology/Systematic Zoology, Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Alice B Dennis
- Unit of Evolutionary Biology/Systematic Zoology, Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
- Laboratory of Adaptive Evolution and Genomics, Research Unit of Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, Institute of Life, Earth & Environment, University of Namur, Namur, Belgium
| | - Otto Baumann
- Department of Animal Physiology, Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Frank Kirschbaum
- Unit of Evolutionary Biology/Systematic Zoology, Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
- Department of Crop and Animal Science, Faculty of Life Sciences, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany
| | - Salim Abdelilah-Seyfried
- Department of Animal Physiology, Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Ralph Tiedemann
- Unit of Evolutionary Biology/Systematic Zoology, Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Zhao Y, Zheng Z, Zhang Z, Xu Y, Hillpot E, Lin YS, Zakusilo FT, Lu JY, Ablaeva J, Biashad SA, Miller RA, Nevo E, Seluanov A, Gorbunova V. Evolution of high-molecular-mass hyaluronic acid is associated with subterranean lifestyle. Nat Commun 2023; 14:8054. [PMID: 38052795 PMCID: PMC10698142 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43623-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2022] [Accepted: 11/15/2023] [Indexed: 12/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Hyaluronic acid is a major component of extracellular matrix which plays an important role in development, cellular response to injury and inflammation, cell migration, and cancer. The naked mole-rat (Heterocephalus glaber) contains abundant high-molecular-mass hyaluronic acid in its tissues, which contributes to this species' cancer resistance and possibly to its longevity. Here we report that abundant high-molecular-mass hyaluronic acid is found in a wide range of subterranean mammalian species, but not in phylogenetically related aboveground species. These subterranean mammalian species accumulate abundant high-molecular-mass hyaluronic acid by regulating the expression of genes involved in hyaluronic acid degradation and synthesis and contain unique mutations in these genes. The abundant high-molecular-mass hyaluronic acid may benefit the adaptation to subterranean environment by increasing skin elasticity and protecting from oxidative stress due to hypoxic conditions. Our work suggests that high-molecular-mass hyaluronic acid has evolved with subterranean lifestyle.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yang Zhao
- Department of Biology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, 14627, USA
- Department of Physiology and Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery of the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 301158, China
| | - Zhizhong Zheng
- Department of Biology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, 14627, USA
| | - Zhihui Zhang
- Department of Biology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, 14627, USA
| | - Yandong Xu
- Department of Physiology and Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery of the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 301158, China
| | - Eric Hillpot
- Department of Biology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, 14627, USA
| | - Yifei S Lin
- Department of Biology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, 14627, USA
| | - Frances T Zakusilo
- Department of Biology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, 14627, USA
| | - J Yuyang Lu
- Department of Biology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, 14627, USA
| | - Julia Ablaeva
- Department of Biology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, 14627, USA
| | - Seyed Ali Biashad
- Department of Biology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, 14627, USA
| | - Richard A Miller
- Department of Pathology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
| | - Eviatar Nevo
- Institute of Evolution, University of Haifa, Haifa, 3498838, Israel
| | - Andrei Seluanov
- Department of Biology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, 14627, USA.
- Department of Medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine, Rochester, NY, 14627, USA.
| | - Vera Gorbunova
- Department of Biology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, 14627, USA.
- Department of Medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine, Rochester, NY, 14627, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Zhao Y, Zheng Z, Zhang Z, Hillpot E, Lin YS, Zakusilo FT, Lu JY, Ablaeva J, Miller RA, Nevo E, Seluanov A, Gorbunova V. Evolution of High-Molecular-Mass Hyaluronic Acid is Associated with Subterranean Lifestyle. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.05.08.539764. [PMID: 37215017 PMCID: PMC10197608 DOI: 10.1101/2023.05.08.539764] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a major component of extracellular matrix (ECM) which plays an important role in development, cellular response to injury and inflammation, cell migration, and cancer. The naked mole-rat (NMR, Heterocephalus glaber ) contains abundant high-molecular-mass HA (HMM-HA) in its tissues, which contributes to this species' cancer resistance and possibly longevity. Here we report that abundant HMM-HA is found in a wide range of subterranean mammalian species, but not in phylogenetically related aboveground species. These species accumulate abundant HMM-HA by regulating the expression of genes involved in HA degradation and synthesis and contain unique mutations in these genes. The abundant high molecular weight HA may benefit the adaptation to subterranean environment by increasing skin elasticity and protecting from oxidative stress due to hypoxic subterranean environment. HMM-HA may also be coopted to confer cancer resistance and longevity to subterranean mammals. Our work suggests that HMM-HA has evolved with subterranean lifestyle.
Collapse
|
5
|
Cheng F, Dennis AB, Osuoha JI, Canitz J, Kirschbaum F, Tiedemann R. A new genome assembly of an African weakly electric fish (Campylomormyrus compressirostris, Mormyridae) indicates rapid gene family evolution in Osteoglossomorpha. BMC Genomics 2023; 24:129. [PMID: 36941548 PMCID: PMC10029256 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-023-09196-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2022] [Accepted: 02/20/2023] [Indexed: 03/23/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Teleost fishes comprise more than half of the vertebrate species. Within teleosts, most phylogenies consider the split between Osteoglossomorpha and Euteleosteomorpha/Otomorpha as basal, preceded only by the derivation of the most primitive group of teleosts, the Elopomorpha. While Osteoglossomorpha are generally species poor, the taxon contains the African weakly electric fish (Mormyroidei), which have radiated into numerous species. Within the mormyrids, the genus Campylomormyrus is mostly endemic to the Congo Basin. Campylomormyrus serves as a model to understand mechanisms of adaptive radiation and ecological speciation, especially with regard to its highly diverse species-specific electric organ discharges (EOD). Currently, there are few well-annotated genomes available for electric fish in general and mormyrids in particular. Our study aims at producing a high-quality genome assembly and to use this to examine genome evolution in relation to other teleosts. This will facilitate further understanding of the evolution of the osteoglossomorpha fish in general and of electric fish in particular. RESULTS A high-quality weakly electric fish (C. compressirostris) genome was produced from a single individual with a genome size of 862 Mb, consisting of 1,497 contigs with an N50 of 1,399 kb and a GC-content of 43.69%. Gene predictions identified 34,492 protein-coding genes, which is a higher number than in the two other available Osteoglossomorpha genomes of Paramormyrops kingsleyae and Scleropages formosus. A Computational Analysis of gene Family Evolution (CAFE5) comparing 33 teleost fish genomes suggests an overall faster gene family turnover rate in Osteoglossomorpha than in Otomorpha and Euteleosteomorpha. Moreover, the ratios of expanded/contracted gene family numbers in Osteoglossomorpha are significantly higher than in the other two taxa, except for species that had undergone an additional genome duplication (Cyprinus carpio and Oncorhynchus mykiss). As potassium channel proteins are hypothesized to play a key role in EOD diversity among species, we put a special focus on them, and manually curated 16 Kv1 genes. We identified a tandem duplication in the KCNA7a gene in the genome of C. compressirostris. CONCLUSIONS We present the fourth genome of an electric fish and the third well-annotated genome for Osteoglossomorpha, enabling us to compare gene family evolution among major teleost lineages. Osteoglossomorpha appear to exhibit rapid gene family evolution, with more gene family expansions than contractions. The curated Kv1 gene family showed seven gene clusters, which is more than in other analyzed fish genomes outside Osteoglossomorpha. The KCNA7a, encoding for a potassium channel central for EOD production and modulation, is tandemly duplicated which may related to the diverse EOD observed among Campylomormyrus species.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Feng Cheng
- Unit of Evolutionary Biology and Systematic Zoology, Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Alice B Dennis
- Unit of Evolutionary Biology and Systematic Zoology, Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
- Laboratory of Adaptive Evolution and Genomics, Research Unit of Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, Institute of Life, Earth & Environnment, University of Namur, Namur, Belgium
| | - Josephine Ijeoma Osuoha
- Unit of Evolutionary Biology and Systematic Zoology, Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Julia Canitz
- Senckenberg German Entomological Institute, Müncheberg, Germany
| | - Frank Kirschbaum
- Unit of Evolutionary Biology and Systematic Zoology, Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
- Department of Crop and Animal Science, Faculty of Life Sciences, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany
| | - Ralph Tiedemann
- Unit of Evolutionary Biology and Systematic Zoology, Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany.
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Shao G, He T, Mu Y, Mu P, Ao J, Lin X, Ruan L, Wang Y, Gao Y, Liu D, Zhang L, Chen X. The genome of a hadal sea cucumber reveals novel adaptive strategies to deep-sea environments. iScience 2022; 25:105545. [PMID: 36444293 PMCID: PMC9700323 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.105545] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2021] [Revised: 01/18/2022] [Accepted: 11/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
How organisms cope with coldness and high pressure in the hadal zone remains poorly understood. Here, we sequenced and assembled the genome of hadal sea cucumber Paelopatides sp. Yap with high quality and explored its potential mechanisms for deep-sea adaptation. First, the expansion of ACOX1 for rate-limiting enzyme in the DHA synthesis pathway, increased DHA content in the phospholipid bilayer, and positive selection of EPT1 may maintain cell membrane fluidity. Second, three genes for translation initiation factors and two for ribosomal proteins underwent expansion, and three ribosomal protein genes were positively selected, which may ameliorate the protein synthesis inhibition or ribosome dissociation in the hadal zone. Third, expansion and positive selection of genes associated with stalled replication fork recovery and DNA repair suggest improvements in DNA protection. This is the first genome sequence of a hadal invertebrate. Our results provide insights into the genetic adaptations used by invertebrate in deep oceans.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Guangming Shao
- Key Laboratory of Marine Biotechnology of Fujian Province, Institute of Oceanology, College of Marine Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, China
| | - Tianliang He
- Key Laboratory of Marine Biotechnology of Fujian Province, Institute of Oceanology, College of Marine Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, China
| | - Yinnan Mu
- Key Laboratory of Marine Biotechnology of Fujian Province, Institute of Oceanology, College of Marine Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, China
| | - Pengfei Mu
- Key Laboratory of Marine Biotechnology of Fujian Province, Institute of Oceanology, College of Marine Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, China
| | - Jingqun Ao
- Key Laboratory of Marine Biotechnology of Fujian Province, Institute of Oceanology, College of Marine Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, China
| | - Xihuang Lin
- Key Laboratory of Marine Biogenetic Resources, Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen, Fujian 361005, China
| | - Lingwei Ruan
- Key Laboratory of Marine Biogenetic Resources, Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen, Fujian 361005, China
| | - YuGuang Wang
- Key Laboratory of Marine Biogenetic Resources, Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen, Fujian 361005, China
| | - Yuan Gao
- Genomics and Genetic Engineering Laboratory of Ornamental Plants, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Dinggao Liu
- Genomics and Genetic Engineering Laboratory of Ornamental Plants, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Liangsheng Zhang
- Genomics and Genetic Engineering Laboratory of Ornamental Plants, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Xinhua Chen
- Key Laboratory of Marine Biotechnology of Fujian Province, Institute of Oceanology, College of Marine Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, China
- Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Zhuhai, Guangdong 519000, China
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Forni G, Mikheyev AS, Luchetti A, Mantovani B. Gene transcriptional profiles in gonads of Bacillus taxa (Phasmida) with different cytological mechanisms of automictic parthenogenesis. ZOOLOGICAL LETTERS 2022; 8:14. [PMID: 36435814 PMCID: PMC9701443 DOI: 10.1186/s40851-022-00197-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2022] [Accepted: 10/07/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
The evolution of automixis - i.e., meiotic parthenogenesis - requires several features, including ploidy restoration after meiosis and maintenance of fertility. Characterizing the relative contribution of novel versus pre-existing genes and the similarities in their expression and sequence evolution is fundamental to understand the evolution of reproductive novelties. Here we identify gonads-biased genes in two Bacillus automictic stick-insects and compare their expression profile and sequence evolution with a bisexual congeneric species. The two parthenogens restore ploidy through different cytological mechanisms: in Bacillus atticus, nuclei derived from the first meiotic division fuse to restore a diploid egg nucleus, while in Bacillus rossius, diploidization occurs in some cells of the haploid blastula through anaphase restitution. Parthenogens' gonads transcriptional program is found to be largely assembled from genes that were already present before the establishment of automixis. The three species transcriptional profiles largely reflect their phyletic relationships, yet we identify a shared core of genes with gonad-biased patterns of expression in parthenogens which are either male gonads-biased in the sexual species or are not differentially expressed there. At the sequence level, just a handful of gonads-biased genes were inferred to have undergone instances of positive selection exclusively in the parthenogen species. This work is the first to explore the molecular underpinnings of automixis in a comparative framework: it delineates how reproductive novelties can be sustained by genes whose origin precedes the establishment of the novelty itself and shows that different meiotic mechanisms of reproduction can be associated with a shared molecular ground plan.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Giobbe Forni
- Dip. Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche e Ambientali (BiGeA), University of Bologna, 40126, Bologna, Italy
- Dip. Scienze Agrarie e Ambientali, University of Milano, Milano, Italy
| | - Alexander S Mikheyev
- Australian National University, ACT, Canberra, 2600, Australia
- Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, 1919-1 Tancha, Onna-son, Okinawa, 904-0495, Japan
| | - Andrea Luchetti
- Dip. Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche e Ambientali (BiGeA), University of Bologna, 40126, Bologna, Italy.
| | - Barbara Mantovani
- Dip. Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche e Ambientali (BiGeA), University of Bologna, 40126, Bologna, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Rosvall KA. Evolutionary endocrinology and the problem of Darwin's tangled bank. Horm Behav 2022; 146:105246. [PMID: 36029721 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2022.105246] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2021] [Revised: 06/20/2022] [Accepted: 08/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Like Darwin's tangled bank of biodiversity, the endocrine mechanisms that give rise to phenotypic diversity also exhibit nearly endless forms. This tangled bank of mechanistic diversity can prove problematic as we seek general principles on the role of endocrine mechanisms in phenotypic evolution. A key unresolved question is therefore: to what degree are specific endocrine mechanisms re-used to bring about replicated phenotypic evolution? Related areas of inquiry are booming in molecular ecology, but behavioral traits are underrepresented in this literature. Here, I leverage the rich comparative tradition in evolutionary endocrinology to evaluate whether and how certain mechanisms may be repeated hotspots of behavioral evolutionary change. At one extreme, mechanisms may be parallel, such that evolution repeatedly uses the same gene or pathway to arrive at multiple independent (or, convergent) origins of a particular behavioral trait. At the other extreme, the building blocks of behavior may be unique, such that outwardly similar phenotypes are generated via lineage-specific mechanisms. This review synthesizes existing case studies, phylogenetic analyses, and experimental evolutionary research on mechanistic parallelism in animal behavior. These examples show that the endocrine building blocks of behavior have some elements of parallelism across replicated evolutionary events. However, support for parallelism is variable among studies, at least some of which relates to the level of complexity at which we consider sameness (i.e. pathway vs. gene level). Moving forward, we need continued experimentation and better testing of neutral models to understand whether, how - and critically, why - mechanism A is used in one lineage and mechanism B is used in another. We also need continued growth of large-scale comparative analyses, especially those that can evaluate which endocrine parameters are more or less likely to undergo parallel evolution alongside specific behavioral traits. These efforts will ultimately deepen understanding of how and why hormone-mediated behaviors are constructed the way that they are.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kimberly A Rosvall
- Indiana University, Bloomington, USA; Department of Biology, USA; Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Arias CF, Dikow RB, McMillan WO, De León LF. De Novo Genome Assembly of the Electric Fish Brachyhypopomus occidentalis (Hypopomidae, Gymnotiformes). Genome Biol Evol 2021; 13:6377337. [PMID: 34581791 PMCID: PMC8536545 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evab223] [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] [Accepted: 09/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The bluntnose knifefish Brachyhypopomus occidentalis is a primary freshwater fish from north-western South America and Lower Central America. Like other Gymnotiformes, it has an electric organ that generates electric discharges used for both communication and electrolocation. We assembled a high-quality reference genome sequence of B. occidentalis by combining Oxford Nanopore and 10X Genomics linked-reads technologies. We also describe its demographic history in the context of the rise of the Isthmus of Panama. The size of the assembled genome is 540.3 Mb with an N50 scaffold length of 5.4 Mb, which includes 93.8% complete, 0.7% fragmented, and 5.5% of missing vertebrate/Actinoterigie Benchmarking Universal Single-Copy Orthologs. Repetitive elements account for 11.04% of the genome, and 34,347 protein-coding genes were predicted, of which 23,935 have been functionally annotated. Demographic analysis suggests a rapid effective population expansion between 3 and 5 Myr, corresponding to the final closure of the Isthmus of Panama (2.8–3.5 Myr). This event was followed by a sudden and constant population decline during the last 1 Myr, likely associated with strong shifts in both precipitation and sea level during the Pleistocene glacial-interglacial cycles. The de novo genome assembly of B. occidentalis will provide novel insights into the molecular basis of both electric signal productions and detection and will be fundamental for understanding the processes that have shaped the diversity of Neotropical freshwater environments.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Carlos F Arias
- Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Data Science Lab, Office of the Chief Information Officer, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.,Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panamá, Panamá
| | - Rebecca B Dikow
- Data Science Lab, Office of the Chief Information Officer, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
| | | | - Luis F De León
- Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panamá, Panamá.,Instituto de Investigaciones Científicas y Servicios de Alta Tecnología (INDICASAT-AIP), Panamá, Panamá
| |
Collapse
|