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Kalita AI, Marois E, Kozielska M, Weissing FJ, Jaouen E, Möckel MM, Rühle F, Butter F, Basilicata MF, Keller Valsecchi CI. The sex-specific factor SOA controls dosage compensation in Anopheles mosquitoes. Nature 2023; 623:175-182. [PMID: 37769784 PMCID: PMC10620080 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06641-0] [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: 09/16/2022] [Accepted: 09/13/2023] [Indexed: 10/03/2023]
Abstract
The Anopheles mosquito is one of thousands of species in which sex differences play a central part in their biology, as only females need a blood meal to produce eggs. Sex differentiation is regulated by sex chromosomes, but their presence creates a dosage imbalance between males (XY) and females (XX). Dosage compensation (DC) can re-equilibrate the expression of sex chromosomal genes. However, because DC mechanisms have only been fully characterized in a few model organisms, key questions about its evolutionary diversity and functional necessity remain unresolved1. Here we report the discovery of a previously uncharacterized gene (sex chromosome activation (SOA)) as a master regulator of DC in the malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae. Sex-specific alternative splicing prevents functional SOA protein expression in females. The male isoform encodes a DNA-binding protein that binds the promoters of active X chromosomal genes. Expressing male SOA is sufficient to induce DC in female cells. Male mosquitoes lacking SOA or female mosquitoes ectopically expressing the male isoform exhibit X chromosome misregulation, which is compatible with viability but causes developmental delay. Thus, our molecular analyses of a DC master regulator in a non-model organism elucidates the evolutionary steps that lead to the establishment of a chromosome-specific fine-tuning mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Eric Marois
- INSERM U1257, CNRS UPR9022, Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
| | - Magdalena Kozielska
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Franz J Weissing
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Etienne Jaouen
- INSERM U1257, CNRS UPR9022, Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
| | | | - Frank Rühle
- Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB), Mainz, Germany
| | - Falk Butter
- Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB), Mainz, Germany
- Institute of Molecular Virology and Cell Biology, Friedrich Loeffler Institute, Greifswald, Germany
| | - M Felicia Basilicata
- Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB), Mainz, Germany
- Institute of Human Genetics, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
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2
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Keller Valsecchi CI, Marois E, Basilicata MF, Georgiev P, Akhtar A. Distinct mechanisms mediate X chromosome dosage compensation in Anopheles and Drosophila. Life Sci Alliance 2021; 4:4/9/e202000996. [PMID: 34266874 PMCID: PMC8321682 DOI: 10.26508/lsa.202000996] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2020] [Revised: 06/27/2021] [Accepted: 06/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
CRISPR knockout of msl-2 and epigenome analyses in Anopheles reveal that X chromosome dosage compensation in mosquitos and Drosophila is achieved by two different molecular mechanisms. Sex chromosomes induce potentially deleterious gene expression imbalances that are frequently corrected by dosage compensation (DC). Three distinct molecular strategies to achieve DC have been previously described in nematodes, fruit flies, and mammals. Is this a consequence of distinct genomes, functional or ecological constraints, or random initial commitment to an evolutionary trajectory? Here, we study DC in the malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae. The Anopheles and Drosophila X chromosomes evolved independently but share a high degree of homology. We find that Anopheles achieves DC by a mechanism distinct from the Drosophila MSL complex–histone H4 lysine 16 acetylation pathway. CRISPR knockout of Anopheles msl-2 leads to embryonic lethality in both sexes. Transcriptome analyses indicate that this phenotype is not a consequence of defective X chromosome DC. By immunofluorescence and ChIP, H4K16ac does not preferentially enrich on the male X. Instead, the mosquito MSL pathway regulates conserved developmental genes. We conclude that a novel mechanism confers X chromosome up-regulation in Anopheles. Our findings highlight the pluralism of gene-dosage buffering mechanisms even under similar genomic and functional constraints.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Eric Marois
- Université de Strasbourg, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) UPR9022, Inserm U1257, Strasbourg, France
| | - M Felicia Basilicata
- Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics, Freiburg, Germany.,Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB), Mainz, Germany
| | - Plamen Georgiev
- Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Asifa Akhtar
- Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics, Freiburg, Germany
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Waterhouse RM, Aganezov S, Anselmetti Y, Lee J, Ruzzante L, Reijnders MJMF, Feron R, Bérard S, George P, Hahn MW, Howell PI, Kamali M, Koren S, Lawson D, Maslen G, Peery A, Phillippy AM, Sharakhova MV, Tannier E, Unger MF, Zhang SV, Alekseyev MA, Besansky NJ, Chauve C, Emrich SJ, Sharakhov IV. Evolutionary superscaffolding and chromosome anchoring to improve Anopheles genome assemblies. BMC Biol 2020; 18:1. [PMID: 31898513 PMCID: PMC6939337 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-019-0728-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2019] [Accepted: 11/26/2019] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Background New sequencing technologies have lowered financial barriers to whole genome sequencing, but resulting assemblies are often fragmented and far from ‘finished’. Updating multi-scaffold drafts to chromosome-level status can be achieved through experimental mapping or re-sequencing efforts. Avoiding the costs associated with such approaches, comparative genomic analysis of gene order conservation (synteny) to predict scaffold neighbours (adjacencies) offers a potentially useful complementary method for improving draft assemblies. Results We evaluated and employed 3 gene synteny-based methods applied to 21 Anopheles mosquito assemblies to produce consensus sets of scaffold adjacencies. For subsets of the assemblies, we integrated these with additional supporting data to confirm and complement the synteny-based adjacencies: 6 with physical mapping data that anchor scaffolds to chromosome locations, 13 with paired-end RNA sequencing (RNAseq) data, and 3 with new assemblies based on re-scaffolding or long-read data. Our combined analyses produced 20 new superscaffolded assemblies with improved contiguities: 7 for which assignments of non-anchored scaffolds to chromosome arms span more than 75% of the assemblies, and a further 7 with chromosome anchoring including an 88% anchored Anopheles arabiensis assembly and, respectively, 73% and 84% anchored assemblies with comprehensively updated cytogenetic photomaps for Anopheles funestus and Anopheles stephensi. Conclusions Experimental data from probe mapping, RNAseq, or long-read technologies, where available, all contribute to successful upgrading of draft assemblies. Our evaluations show that gene synteny-based computational methods represent a valuable alternative or complementary approach. Our improved Anopheles reference assemblies highlight the utility of applying comparative genomics approaches to improve community genomic resources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert M Waterhouse
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, and Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland.
| | - Sergey Aganezov
- Department of Computer Science, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 08450, USA.,Department of Computer Science, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA
| | | | - Jiyoung Lee
- The Interdisciplinary PhD Program in Genetics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA
| | - Livio Ruzzante
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, and Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Maarten J M F Reijnders
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, and Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Romain Feron
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, and Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Sèverine Bérard
- ISEM, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | - Phillip George
- Department of Entomology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA
| | - Matthew W Hahn
- Departments of Biology and Computer Science, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA
| | - Paul I Howell
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, 30329, USA
| | - Maryam Kamali
- Department of Entomology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA.,Department of Medical Entomology and Parasitology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Sergey Koren
- Genome Informatics Section, Computational and Statistical Genomics Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Daniel Lawson
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, CB10 1SD, UK
| | - Gareth Maslen
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, CB10 1SD, UK
| | - Ashley Peery
- Department of Entomology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA
| | - Adam M Phillippy
- Genome Informatics Section, Computational and Statistical Genomics Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Maria V Sharakhova
- Department of Entomology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA.,Laboratory of Ecology, Genetics and Environmental Protection, Tomsk State University, Tomsk, Russia, 634050
| | - Eric Tannier
- Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, Université Lyon 1, Unité Mixte de Recherche 5558 Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 69622, Villeurbanne, France.,Institut national de recherche en informatique et en automatique, Montbonnot, 38334, Grenoble, Rhône-Alpes, France
| | - Maria F Unger
- Eck Institute for Global Health and Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Galvin Life Sciences Building, Notre Dame, IN, 46556, USA
| | - Simo V Zhang
- Departments of Biology and Computer Science, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA
| | - Max A Alekseyev
- Department of Mathematics and Computational Biology Institute, George Washington University, Ashburn, VA, 20147, USA
| | - Nora J Besansky
- Eck Institute for Global Health and Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Galvin Life Sciences Building, Notre Dame, IN, 46556, USA
| | - Cedric Chauve
- Department of Mathematics, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, V5A 1S6, Canada
| | - Scott J Emrich
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA
| | - Igor V Sharakhov
- The Interdisciplinary PhD Program in Genetics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA. .,Department of Entomology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA. .,Laboratory of Ecology, Genetics and Environmental Protection, Tomsk State University, Tomsk, Russia, 634050.
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5
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Taxiarchi C, Kranjc N, Kriezis A, Kyrou K, Bernardini F, Russell S, Nolan T, Crisanti A, Galizi R. High-resolution transcriptional profiling of Anopheles gambiae spermatogenesis reveals mechanisms of sex chromosome regulation. Sci Rep 2019; 9:14841. [PMID: 31619757 PMCID: PMC6795909 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-51181-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2019] [Accepted: 09/25/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Although of high priority for the development of genetic tools to control malaria-transmitting mosquitoes, only a few germline-specific regulatory regions have been characterised to date and the presence of global regulatory mechanisms, such as dosage compensation and meiotic sex chromosome inactivation (MSCI), are mostly assumed from transcriptomic analyses of reproductive tissues or whole gonads. In such studies, samples include a significant portion of somatic tissues inevitably complicating the reconstruction of a defined transcriptional map of gametogenesis. By exploiting recent advances in transgenic technologies and gene editing tools, combined with fluorescence-activated cell sorting and RNA sequencing, we have separated four distinct cell lineages from the Anopheles gambiae male gonads: premeiotic, meiotic (primary and secondary spermatocytes) and postmeiotic. By comparing the overall expression levels of X-linked and autosomal genes across the four populations, we revealed a striking transcriptional repression of the X chromosome coincident with the meiotic phase, classifiable as MSCI, and highlighted genes that may evade silencing. In addition, chromosome-wide median expression ratios of the premeiotic population confirmed the absence of dosage compensation in the male germline. Applying differential expression analysis, we highlighted genes and transcript isoforms enriched at specific timepoints and reconstructed the expression dynamics of the main biological processes regulating the key stages of sperm development and maturation. We generated the first transcriptomic atlas of A. gambiae spermatogenesis that will expand the available toolbox for the genetic engineering of vector control technologies. We also describe an innovative and multidimensional approach to isolate specific cell lineages that can be used for the targeted analysis of other A. gambiae organs or transferred to other medically relevant species and model organisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chrysanthi Taxiarchi
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK
- Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy
| | - Nace Kranjc
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Antonios Kriezis
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Kyros Kyrou
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | | | - Steven Russell
- Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Tony Nolan
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK
- Department of Vector Biology, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, UK
| | - Andrea Crisanti
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Roberto Galizi
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK.
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6
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Qi Y, Wu Y, Saunders R, Chen XG, Mao C, Biedler JK, Tu ZJ. Guy1, a Y-linked embryonic signal, regulates dosage compensation in Anopheles stephensi by increasing X gene expression. eLife 2019; 8:43570. [PMID: 30888319 PMCID: PMC6440743 DOI: 10.7554/elife.43570] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2018] [Accepted: 03/16/2019] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
We previously showed that Guy1, a primary signal expressed from the Y chromosome, is a strong candidate for a male-determining factor that confers female-specific lethality in Anopheles stephensi (Criscione et al., 2016). Here, we present evidence that Guy1 increases X gene expression in Guy1-transgenic females from two independent lines, providing a mechanism underlying the Guy1-conferred female lethality. The median level gene expression (MGE) of X-linked genes is significantly higher than autosomal genes in Guy1-transgenic females while there is no significant difference in MGE between X and autosomal genes in wild-type females. Furthermore, Guy1 significantly upregulates at least 40% of the 996 genes across the X chromosome in transgenic females. Guy1-conferred female-specific lethality is remarkably stable and completely penetrant. These findings indicate that Guy1 regulates dosage compensation in An. stephensi and components of dosage compensation may be explored to develop novel strategies to control mosquito-borne diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yumin Qi
- Department of Biochemistry, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States.,Fralin Life Science Institute, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States
| | - Yang Wu
- Department of Pathogen Biology, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangdong, China
| | - Randy Saunders
- Department of Biochemistry, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States.,Fralin Life Science Institute, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States
| | - Xiao-Guang Chen
- Fralin Life Science Institute, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States
| | - Chunhong Mao
- Biocomplexity Institute of Virginia Tech, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States
| | - James Kite Biedler
- Department of Biochemistry, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States.,Fralin Life Science Institute, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States
| | - Zhijian Jake Tu
- Department of Biochemistry, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States.,Fralin Life Science Institute, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States
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