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Ding Y, Zou M, Guo B. Genomic signatures associated with recurrent scale loss in cyprinid fish. Integr Zool 2024. [PMID: 38816909 DOI: 10.1111/1749-4877.12851] [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] [Indexed: 06/01/2024]
Abstract
Scale morphology represents a fundamental feature of fish and a key evolutionary trait underlying fish diversification. Despite frequent and recurrent scale loss throughout fish diversification, comprehensive genome-wide analyses of the genomic signatures associated with scale loss in divergent fish lineages remain scarce. In the current study, we investigated genome-wide signatures, specifically convergent protein-coding gene loss, amino acid substitutions, and cis-regulatory sequence changes, associated with recurrent scale loss in two divergent Cypriniformes lineages based on large-scale genomic, transcriptomic, and epigenetic data. Results demonstrated convergent changes in many genes related to scale formation in divergent scaleless fish lineages, including loss of P/Q-rich scpp genes (e.g. scpp6 and scpp7), accelerated evolution of non-coding elements adjacent to the fgf and fgfr genes, and convergent amino acid changes in genes (e.g. snap29) under relaxed selection. Collectively, these findings highlight the existence of a shared genetic architecture underlying recurrent scale loss in divergent fish lineages, suggesting that evolutionary outcomes may be genetically repeatable and predictable in the convergence of scale loss in fish.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yongli Ding
- Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Ming Zou
- Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Baocheng Guo
- Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Academy of Plateau Science and Sustainability, Qinghai Normal University, Xining, China
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2
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Gu T, Hu J, Yu L. Evolution and conservation genetics of pangolins. Integr Zool 2024; 19:426-441. [PMID: 38146613 DOI: 10.1111/1749-4877.12796] [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] [Indexed: 12/27/2023]
Abstract
Pangolins (Pholidota, Manidae) are classified as an evolutionarily distinct and globally endangered mammal due to their unique morphology (nail-like scales and a myrmecophagous diet) and being the victim of heavy poaching and worldwide trafficking. As such, pangolins serve as a textbook example for studying the special phenotypic evolutionary adaptations and conservation genetics of an endangered species. Recent years have demonstrated significant advancements in the fields of molecular genetics and genomics, which have translated to a series of important research achievements and breakthroughs concerning the evolution and conservation genetics of pangolins. This review comprehensively presents the hitherto advances in phylogeny, adaptive evolution, conservation genetics, and conservation genomics that are related to pangolins, which will provide an ample understanding of their diversity, molecular adaptation mechanisms, and evolutionary potentials. In addition, we highlight the priority of investigating species/population diversity among pangolins and suggest several avenues of research that are highly relevant for future pangolin conservation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tongtong Gu
- State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Bio-Resource in Yunnan, School of Life Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
| | - Jingyang Hu
- State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Bio-Resource in Yunnan, School of Life Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
| | - Li Yu
- State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Bio-Resource in Yunnan, School of Life Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
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3
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Morel M, Zhukova A, Lemoine F, Gascuel O. Accurate Detection of Convergent Mutations in Large Protein Alignments With ConDor. Genome Biol Evol 2024; 16:evae040. [PMID: 38451738 PMCID: PMC10986858 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evae040] [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: 05/09/2023] [Revised: 01/30/2024] [Accepted: 02/22/2024] [Indexed: 03/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Evolutionary convergences are observed at all levels, from phenotype to DNA and protein sequences, and changes at these different levels tend to be correlated. Notably, convergent mutations can lead to convergent changes in phenotype, such as changes in metabolism, drug resistance, and other adaptations to changing environments. We propose a two-component approach to detect mutations subject to convergent evolution in protein alignments. The "Emergence" component selects mutations that emerge more often than expected, while the "Correlation" component selects mutations that correlate with the convergent phenotype under study. With regard to Emergence, a phylogeny deduced from the alignment is provided by the user and is used to simulate the evolution of each alignment position. These simulations allow us to estimate the expected number of mutations in a neutral model, which is compared to the observed number of mutations in the data studied. In Correlation, a comparative phylogenetic approach, is used to measure whether the presence of each of the observed mutations is correlated with the convergent phenotype. Each component can be used on its own, for example Emergence when no phenotype is available. Our method is implemented in a standalone workflow and a webserver, called ConDor. We evaluate the properties of ConDor using simulated data, and we apply it to three real datasets: sedge PEPC proteins, HIV reverse transcriptase, and fish rhodopsin. The results show that the two components of ConDor complement each other, with an overall accuracy that compares favorably to other available tools, especially on large datasets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie Morel
- Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Unité Bioinformatique Evolutive, Paris, France
- Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, LBBE, UMR 5558, CNRS, VAS, Villeurbanne, 69100, France
| | - Anna Zhukova
- Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Unité Bioinformatique Evolutive, Paris, France
- Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Bioinformatics and Biostatistics Hub, Paris, France
| | - Frédéric Lemoine
- Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Unité Bioinformatique Evolutive, Paris, France
- Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Bioinformatics and Biostatistics Hub, Paris, France
- Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, CNR Virus Des Infections Respiratoires, Paris, France
| | - Olivier Gascuel
- Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Unité Bioinformatique Evolutive, Paris, France
- Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité (UMR 7205—CNRS, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, SU, EPHE, UA), Paris, France
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4
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Upadhyay V, Panja S, Lucas A, Patrick C, Mallela KMG. Biophysical evolution of the receptor-binding domains of SARS-CoVs. Biophys J 2023; 122:4489-4502. [PMID: 37897042 PMCID: PMC10719049 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2023.10.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2023] [Revised: 09/20/2023] [Accepted: 10/24/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023] Open
Abstract
With hundreds of coronaviruses (CoVs) identified in bats that can infect humans, it is essential to understand how CoVs that affected the human population have evolved. Seven known CoVs have infected humans, of which three CoVs caused severe disease with high mortalities: severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-CoV emerged in 2002, Middle East respiratory syndrome-CoV in 2012, and SARS-CoV-2 in 2019. SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 belong to the same family, follow the same receptor pathway, and use their receptor-binding domain (RBD) of spike protein to bind to the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor on the human epithelial cell surface. The sequence of the two RBDs is divergent, especially in the receptor-binding motif that directly interacts with ACE2. We probed the biophysical differences between the two RBDs in terms of their structure, stability, aggregation, and function. Since RBD is being explored as an antigen in protein subunit vaccines against CoVs, determining these biophysical properties will also aid in developing stable protein subunit vaccines. Our results show that, despite RBDs having a similar three-dimensional structure, they differ in their thermodynamic stability. RBD of SARS-CoV-2 is significantly less stable than that of SARS-CoV. Correspondingly, SARS-CoV-2 RBD shows a higher aggregation propensity. Regarding binding to ACE2, less stable SARS-CoV-2 RBD binds with a higher affinity than more stable SARS-CoV RBD. In addition, SARS-CoV-2 RBD is more homogenous in terms of its binding stoichiometry toward ACE2 compared to SARS-CoV RBD. These results indicate that SARS-CoV-2 RBD differs from SARS-CoV RBD in terms of its stability, aggregation, and function, possibly originating from the diverse receptor-binding motifs. Higher aggregation propensity and decreased stability of SARS-CoV-2 RBD warrant further optimization of protein subunit vaccines that use RBD as an antigen by inserting stabilizing mutations or formulation screening.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vaibhav Upadhyay
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado
| | - Sudipta Panja
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado
| | - Alexandra Lucas
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado
| | - Casey Patrick
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado
| | - Krishna M G Mallela
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado.
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Roberts WR, Ruck EC, Downey KM, Pinseel E, Alverson AJ. Resolving Marine-Freshwater Transitions by Diatoms Through a Fog of Gene Tree Discordance. Syst Biol 2023; 72:984-997. [PMID: 37335140 DOI: 10.1093/sysbio/syad038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2022] [Revised: 06/02/2023] [Accepted: 06/16/2023] [Indexed: 06/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite the obstacles facing marine colonists, most lineages of aquatic organisms have colonized and diversified in freshwaters repeatedly. These transitions can trigger rapid morphological or physiological change and, on longer timescales, lead to increased rates of speciation and extinction. Diatoms are a lineage of ancestrally marine microalgae that have diversified throughout freshwater habitats worldwide. We generated a phylogenomic data set of genomes and transcriptomes for 59 diatom taxa to resolve freshwater transitions in one lineage, the Thalassiosirales. Although most parts of the species tree were consistently resolved with strong support, we had difficulties resolving a Paleocene radiation, which affected the placement of one freshwater lineage. This and other parts of the tree were characterized by high levels of gene tree discordance caused by incomplete lineage sorting and low phylogenetic signal. Despite differences in species trees inferred from concatenation versus summary methods and codons versus amino acids, traditional methods of ancestral state reconstruction supported six transitions into freshwaters, two of which led to subsequent species diversification. Evidence from gene trees, protein alignments, and diatom life history together suggest that habitat transitions were largely the product of homoplasy rather than hemiplasy, a condition where transitions occur on branches in gene trees not shared with the species tree. Nevertheless, we identified a set of putatively hemiplasious genes, many of which have been associated with shifts to low salinity, indicating that hemiplasy played a small but potentially important role in freshwater adaptation. Accounting for differences in evolutionary outcomes, in which some taxa became locked into freshwaters while others were able to return to the ocean or become salinity generalists, might help further distinguish different sources of adaptive mutation in freshwater diatoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wade R Roberts
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Arkansas, 1 University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, 72701, USA
| | - Elizabeth C Ruck
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Arkansas, 1 University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, 72701, USA
| | - Kala M Downey
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Arkansas, 1 University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, 72701, USA
| | - Eveline Pinseel
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Arkansas, 1 University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, 72701, USA
| | - Andrew J Alverson
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Arkansas, 1 University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, 72701, USA
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Barteri F, Valenzuela A, Farré X, de Juan D, Muntané G, Esteve-Altava B, Navarro A. CAAStools: a toolbox to identify and test Convergent Amino Acid Substitutions. Bioinformatics 2023; 39:btad623. [PMID: 37846039 PMCID: PMC10598582 DOI: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btad623] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2023] [Revised: 08/04/2023] [Accepted: 10/13/2023] [Indexed: 10/18/2023] Open
Abstract
MOTIVATION Coincidence of Convergent Amino Acid Substitutions (CAAS) with phenotypic convergences allow pinpointing genes and even individual mutations that are likely to be associated with trait variation within their phylogenetic context. Such findings can provide useful insights into the genetic architecture of complex phenotypes. RESULTS Here we introduce CAAStools, a set of bioinformatics tools to identify and validate CAAS in orthologous protein alignments for predefined groups of species representing the phenotypic values targeted by the user. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION CAAStools source code is available at http://github.com/linudz/caastools, along with documentation and examples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabio Barteri
- IBE, Institute of Evolutionary Biology (UPF-CSIC), Department of Medicine and Life Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra. C. Doctor Aiguader 88, Barcelona 08003, Spain
- BarcelonaBeta Brain Research Center, Pasqual Maragall Foundation, C/ Wellington 30, Barcelona 08006, Spain
| | - Alejandro Valenzuela
- IBE, Institute of Evolutionary Biology (UPF-CSIC), Department of Medicine and Life Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra. C. Doctor Aiguader 88, Barcelona 08003, Spain
- BarcelonaBeta Brain Research Center, Pasqual Maragall Foundation, C/ Wellington 30, Barcelona 08006, Spain
| | - Xavier Farré
- Genomes for Life-GCAT Lab, GermanTrias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP), Camí de les Escoles, s/n, Badalona 08916, Spain
| | - David de Juan
- IBE, Institute of Evolutionary Biology (UPF-CSIC), Department of Medicine and Life Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra. C. Doctor Aiguader 88, Barcelona 08003, Spain
| | - Gerard Muntané
- IBE, Institute of Evolutionary Biology (UPF-CSIC), Department of Medicine and Life Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra. C. Doctor Aiguader 88, Barcelona 08003, Spain
- Institut d’Investigació Sanitària Pere Virgili (IISPV), Hospital Universitari Institut Pere Mata, Universitat Rovira i Virgili. Avda. Josep Laporte, 2 – Planta 0 – E2 color taronja, Reus 43204, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Av. Monforte de Lemos, 3-5. Pabellón 11. Planta 0. Madrid 28029, Spain
| | - Borja Esteve-Altava
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Meyerhofstraße 1, Heidelberg 69117, Germany
| | - Arcadi Navarro
- IBE, Institute of Evolutionary Biology (UPF-CSIC), Department of Medicine and Life Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra. C. Doctor Aiguader 88, Barcelona 08003, Spain
- BarcelonaBeta Brain Research Center, Pasqual Maragall Foundation, C/ Wellington 30, Barcelona 08006, Spain
- Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA) and Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Pg. Lluís Companys 23, Barcelona 08010, Spain
- Center for Genomic Regulation (CRG), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, C. Doctor Aiguader N88, Barcelona 08003, Spain
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7
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Liu H, Zheng Y, Zhu B, Tong Y, Xin W, Yang H, Jin P, Hu Y, Huang M, Chang W, Ballarin F, Li S, Hou Z. Marine-montane transitions coupled with gill and genetic convergence in extant crustacean. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eadg4011. [PMID: 37352347 PMCID: PMC10289665 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adg4011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2022] [Accepted: 05/17/2023] [Indexed: 06/25/2023]
Abstract
Marine-terrestrial transition represents an important aspect of organismal evolution that requires numerous morphological and genetic innovations and has been hypothesized to be caused by geological changes. We used talitrid crustaceans with marine-coastal-montane extant species at a global scale to investigate the marine origination and terrestrial adaptation. Using genomic data, we demonstrated that marine ancestors repeatedly colonized montane terrestrial habitats during the Oligocene to Miocene. Biological transitions were well correlated with plate collisions or volcanic island formation, and top-down cladogenesis was observed on the basis of a positive relationship between ancestral habitat elevation and divergence time for montane lineages. We detected convergent variations of convoluted gills and convergent evolution of SMC3 associated with montane transitions. Moreover, using CRISPR-Cas9 mutagenesis, we proposed that SMC3 potentially regulates the development of exites, such as talitrid gills. Our results provide a living model for understanding biological innovations and related genetic regulatory mechanisms associated with marine-terrestrial transitions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hongguang Liu
- Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
- Southeast Asia Biodiversity Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yezin, Nay Pyi Taw 05282, Myanmar
| | - Yami Zheng
- Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Bingyue Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Yan Tong
- Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Wenpei Xin
- Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Han Yang
- Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Pengyu Jin
- Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Yueyao Hu
- Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Mengyi Huang
- Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Wanjin Chang
- Xiamen University Malaysia, Jalan Sunsuria, Bandar Sunsuria, 43900 Sepang, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Francesco Ballarin
- Systematic Zoology Laboratory, Department of Biological Sciences, Tokyo Metropolitan University, 1-1 Minami-Osawa, Hachioji-shi, 192-0397, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Shuqiang Li
- Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Zhonge Hou
- Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
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Li M, Li X, Wu Z, Zhang G, Wang N, Dou M, Liu S, Yang C, Meng G, Sun H, Hvilsom C, Xie G, Li Y, Li ZH, Wang W, Jiang Y, Heller R, Wang Y. Convergent molecular evolution of thermogenesis and circadian rhythm in Arctic ruminants. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20230538. [PMID: 37253422 PMCID: PMC10229229 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.0538] [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: 06/30/2022] [Accepted: 05/02/2023] [Indexed: 06/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The muskox and reindeer are the only ruminants that have evolved to survive in harsh Arctic environments. However, the genetic basis of this Arctic adaptation remains largely unclear. Here, we compared a de novo assembled muskox genome with reindeer and other ruminant genomes to identify convergent amino acid substitutions, rapidly evolving genes and positively selected genes among the two Arctic ruminants. We found these candidate genes were mainly involved in brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenesis and circadian rhythm. Furthermore, by integrating transcriptomic data from goat adipose tissues (white and brown), we demonstrated that muskox and reindeer may have evolved modulating mitochondrion, lipid metabolism and angiogenesis pathways to enhance BAT thermogenesis. In addition, results from co-immunoprecipitation experiments prove that convergent amino acid substitution of the angiogenesis-related gene hypoxia-inducible factor 2alpha (HIF2A), resulting in weakening of its interaction with prolyl hydroxylase domain-containing protein 2 (PHD2), may increase angiogenesis of BAT. Altogether, our work provides new insights into the molecular mechanisms involved in Arctic adaptation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manman Li
- Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, People's Republic of China
| | - Xinmei Li
- Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhipei Wu
- Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, People's Republic of China
| | - Guanghui Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Animal Biotechnology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, People's Republic of China
| | - Nini Wang
- Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, People's Republic of China
| | - Mingle Dou
- Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, People's Republic of China
| | - Shanlin Liu
- Department of Entomology, China Agricultural University, West Yuanmingyuan Road, Beijing 100193, People's Republic of China
| | - Chentao Yang
- BGI Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, People's Republic of China
| | - Guanliang Meng
- Centre of Taxonomy and Evolutionary Research, Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig, 53113 Bonn, Germany
| | - Hailu Sun
- BGI Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, People's Republic of China
| | | | - Guoxiang Xie
- Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, People's Republic of China
| | - Yang Li
- Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhuo hui Li
- Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, People's Republic of China
| | - Wei Wang
- Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, People's Republic of China
| | - Yu Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, People's Republic of China
| | - Rasmus Heller
- Section for Computational and RNA Biology, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Yu Wang
- Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Animal Biotechnology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, People's Republic of China
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Hu Y, Wang X, Xu Y, Yang H, Tong Z, Tian R, Xu S, Yu L, Guo Y, Shi P, Huang S, Yang G, Shi S, Wei F. Molecular mechanisms of adaptive evolution in wild animals and plants. SCIENCE CHINA. LIFE SCIENCES 2023; 66:453-495. [PMID: 36648611 PMCID: PMC9843154 DOI: 10.1007/s11427-022-2233-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2022] [Accepted: 08/30/2022] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Wild animals and plants have developed a variety of adaptive traits driven by adaptive evolution, an important strategy for species survival and persistence. Uncovering the molecular mechanisms of adaptive evolution is the key to understanding species diversification, phenotypic convergence, and inter-species interaction. As the genome sequences of more and more non-model organisms are becoming available, the focus of studies on molecular mechanisms of adaptive evolution has shifted from the candidate gene method to genetic mapping based on genome-wide scanning. In this study, we reviewed the latest research advances in wild animals and plants, focusing on adaptive traits, convergent evolution, and coevolution. Firstly, we focused on the adaptive evolution of morphological, behavioral, and physiological traits. Secondly, we reviewed the phenotypic convergences of life history traits and responding to environmental pressures, and the underlying molecular convergence mechanisms. Thirdly, we summarized the advances of coevolution, including the four main types: mutualism, parasitism, predation and competition. Overall, these latest advances greatly increase our understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms for diverse adaptive traits and species interaction, demonstrating that the development of evolutionary biology has been greatly accelerated by multi-omics technologies. Finally, we highlighted the emerging trends and future prospects around the above three aspects of adaptive evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yibo Hu
- CAS Key Lab of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.
| | - Xiaoping Wang
- State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Bio-Resources in Yunnan, School of Life Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650091, China
| | - Yongchao Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100093, China
| | - Hui Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, China
| | - Zeyu Tong
- Institute of Evolution and Ecology, School of Life Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, 430079, China
| | - Ran Tian
- College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, 210023, China
| | - Shaohua Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Guangdong Key Lab of Plant Resources, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, China
| | - Li Yu
- State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Bio-Resources in Yunnan, School of Life Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650091, China.
| | - Yalong Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100093, China.
| | - Peng Shi
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, China.
| | - Shuangquan Huang
- Institute of Evolution and Ecology, School of Life Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, 430079, China.
| | - Guang Yang
- Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Guangzhou, 511458, China.
- College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, 210023, China.
| | - Suhua Shi
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Guangdong Key Lab of Plant Resources, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, China.
| | - Fuwen Wei
- CAS Key Lab of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.
- Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Guangzhou, 511458, China.
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10
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Zhang J. What Has Genomics Taught An Evolutionary Biologist? GENOMICS, PROTEOMICS & BIOINFORMATICS 2023; 21:1-12. [PMID: 36720382 PMCID: PMC10373158 DOI: 10.1016/j.gpb.2023.01.005] [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: 10/07/2022] [Revised: 01/06/2023] [Accepted: 01/19/2023] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Genomics, an interdisciplinary field of biology on the structure, function, and evolution of genomes, has revolutionized many subdisciplines of life sciences, including my field of evolutionary biology, by supplying huge data, bringing high-throughput technologies, and offering a new approach to biology. In this review, I describe what I have learned from genomics and highlight the fundamental knowledge and mechanistic insights gained. I focus on three broad topics that are central to evolutionary biology and beyond-variation, interaction, and selection-and use primarily my own research and study subjects as examples. In the next decade or two, I expect that the most important contributions of genomics to evolutionary biology will be to provide genome sequences of nearly all known species on Earth, facilitate high-throughput phenotyping of natural variants and systematically constructed mutants for mapping genotype-phenotype-fitness landscapes, and assist the determination of causality in evolutionary processes using experimental evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianzhi Zhang
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
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11
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Cheng J, Peng X, Li H, Feijó A, Xia L, Shenbrot GI, Ge D, Wen Z, Wang D, Yang Q. Similar adaptative mechanism but divergent demographic history of four sympatric desert rodents in Eurasian inland. Commun Biol 2023; 6:33. [PMID: 36635382 PMCID: PMC9837166 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-04415-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2021] [Accepted: 01/03/2023] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Phenotypes associated with metabolism and water retention are thought to be key to the adaptation of desert species. However, knowledge on the genetic changes and selective regimes on the similar and divergent ways to desert adaptation in sympatric and phylogenetically close desert organisms remains limited. Here, we generate a chromosome level genome assembly for Northern three-toed jerboa (Dipus sagitta) and three other high-quality genome assemblies for Siberian jerboa (Orientallactaga sibirica), Midday jird (Meriones meridianus), and Desert hamster (Phodopus roborovskii). Genomic analyses unveil that desert adaptation of the four species mainly result from similar metabolic pathways, such as arachidonic acid metabolism, thermogenesis, oxidative phosphorylation, insulin related pathway, DNA repair and protein synthesis and degradation. However, the specific evolved genes in the same adaptative molecular pathway often differ in the four species. We also reveal similar niche selection but different demographic histories and sensitivity to climate changes, which may be related to the diversified genomic adaptative features. In addition, our study suggests that nocturnal rodents have evolved some specific adaptative mechanism to desert environments compared to large desert animals. Our genomic resources will provide an important foundation for further research on desert genetic adaptations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jilong Cheng
- grid.9227.e0000000119573309Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100101 China
| | - Xingwen Peng
- grid.9227.e0000000119573309Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100101 China ,grid.410726.60000 0004 1797 8419College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shijingshan District, Beijing, 100049 China
| | - Hong Li
- grid.410753.4Novogene Bioinformatics Institute, Beijing, 100083 China
| | - Anderson Feijó
- grid.9227.e0000000119573309Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100101 China
| | - Lin Xia
- grid.9227.e0000000119573309Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100101 China
| | - Georgy I. Shenbrot
- grid.7489.20000 0004 1937 0511Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Midreshet Ben-Gurion, Negev, 84990 Israel
| | - Deyan Ge
- grid.9227.e0000000119573309Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100101 China
| | - Zhixin Wen
- grid.9227.e0000000119573309Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100101 China
| | - Dehua Wang
- grid.9227.e0000000119573309State Key Lab of Integrated management for Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100101 China
| | - Qisen Yang
- grid.9227.e0000000119573309Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100101 China
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Detecting macroevolutionary genotype-phenotype associations using error-corrected rates of protein convergence. Nat Ecol Evol 2023; 7:155-170. [PMID: 36604553 PMCID: PMC9834058 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-022-01932-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2022] [Accepted: 10/12/2022] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
On macroevolutionary timescales, extensive mutations and phylogenetic uncertainty mask the signals of genotype-phenotype associations underlying convergent evolution. To overcome this problem, we extended the widely used framework of non-synonymous to synonymous substitution rate ratios and developed the novel metric ωC, which measures the error-corrected convergence rate of protein evolution. While ωC distinguishes natural selection from genetic noise and phylogenetic errors in simulation and real examples, its accuracy allows an exploratory genome-wide search of adaptive molecular convergence without phenotypic hypothesis or candidate genes. Using gene expression data, we explored over 20 million branch combinations in vertebrate genes and identified the joint convergence of expression patterns and protein sequences with amino acid substitutions in functionally important sites, providing hypotheses on undiscovered phenotypes. We further extended our method with a heuristic algorithm to detect highly repetitive convergence among computationally non-trivial higher-order phylogenetic combinations. Our approach allows bidirectional searches for genotype-phenotype associations, even in lineages that diverged for hundreds of millions of years.
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13
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Behavioral innovation and genomic novelty are associated with the exploitation of a challenging dietary opportunity by an avivorous bat. iScience 2022; 25:104973. [PMID: 36093062 PMCID: PMC9459691 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.104973] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2022] [Revised: 06/12/2022] [Accepted: 08/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Foraging on nocturnally migrating birds is one of the most challenging foraging tasks in the animal kingdom. Only three bat species (e.g., Ia io) known to date can prey on migratory birds. However, how these bats have exploited this challenging dietary niche remains unknown. Here, we demonstrate that I. io hunts at the altitude of migrating birds during the bird migration season. The foraging I. io exhibited high flight altitudes (up to 4945 m above sea level) and high flight speeds (up to 143.7 km h−1). I. io in flight can actively prey on birds in the night sky via echolocation cues. Genes associated with DNA damage repair, hypoxia adaptation, biting and mastication, and digestion and metabolism have evolved to adapt to this species’ avivorous habits. Our results suggest that the evolution of behavioral innovation and genomic novelty are associated with the exploitation of challenging dietary opportunities. Predation on nocturnally migrating birds is rare and challenging in nature Bats exhibit high flight altitude and speed associated with foraging on migrating birds Bats can actively prey on birds in the night sky via echolocation cues The adaptive evolution of genes enables bats to adapt to the avivorous habits
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Mohammadi S, Herrera-Álvarez S, Yang L, Rodríguez-Ordoñez MDP, Zhang K, Storz JF, Dobler S, Crawford AJ, Andolfatto P. Constraints on the evolution of toxin-resistant Na,K-ATPases have limited dependence on sequence divergence. PLoS Genet 2022; 18:e1010323. [PMID: 35972957 DOI: 10.1101/2021.11.29.470343] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2022] [Revised: 09/09/2022] [Accepted: 07/04/2022] [Indexed: 05/25/2023] Open
Abstract
A growing body of theoretical and experimental evidence suggests that intramolecular epistasis is a major determinant of rates and patterns of protein evolution and imposes a substantial constraint on the evolution of novel protein functions. Here, we examine the role of intramolecular epistasis in the recurrent evolution of resistance to cardiotonic steroids (CTS) across tetrapods, which occurs via specific amino acid substitutions to the α-subunit family of Na,K-ATPases (ATP1A). After identifying a series of recurrent substitutions at two key sites of ATP1A that are predicted to confer CTS resistance in diverse tetrapods, we then performed protein engineering experiments to test the functional consequences of introducing these substitutions onto divergent species backgrounds. In line with previous results, we find that substitutions at these sites can have substantial background-dependent effects on CTS resistance. Globally, however, these substitutions also have pleiotropic effects that are consistent with additive rather than background-dependent effects. Moreover, the magnitude of a substitution's effect on activity does not depend on the overall extent of ATP1A sequence divergence between species. Our results suggest that epistatic constraints on the evolution of CTS-resistant forms of Na,K-ATPase likely depend on a small number of sites, with little dependence on overall levels of protein divergence. We propose that dependence on a limited number sites may account for the observation of convergent CTS resistance substitutions observed among taxa with highly divergent Na,K-ATPases (See S1 Text for Spanish translation).
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Affiliation(s)
- Shabnam Mohammadi
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska, United States of America
- Molecular Evolutionary Biology, Institut für Zell- und Systembiologie der Tiere, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Santiago Herrera-Álvarez
- Department of Biological Sciences, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Lu Yang
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, United States of America
| | | | - Karen Zhang
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, United States of America
| | - Jay F Storz
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska, United States of America
| | - Susanne Dobler
- Molecular Evolutionary Biology, Institut für Zell- und Systembiologie der Tiere, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Andrew J Crawford
- Department of Biological Sciences, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Peter Andolfatto
- Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York city, New York, United States of America
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15
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Mohammadi S, Herrera-Álvarez S, Yang L, Rodríguez-Ordoñez MDP, Zhang K, Storz JF, Dobler S, Crawford AJ, Andolfatto P. Constraints on the evolution of toxin-resistant Na,K-ATPases have limited dependence on sequence divergence. PLoS Genet 2022; 18:e1010323. [PMID: 35972957 PMCID: PMC9462791 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1010323] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2022] [Revised: 09/09/2022] [Accepted: 07/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
A growing body of theoretical and experimental evidence suggests that intramolecular epistasis is a major determinant of rates and patterns of protein evolution and imposes a substantial constraint on the evolution of novel protein functions. Here, we examine the role of intramolecular epistasis in the recurrent evolution of resistance to cardiotonic steroids (CTS) across tetrapods, which occurs via specific amino acid substitutions to the α-subunit family of Na,K-ATPases (ATP1A). After identifying a series of recurrent substitutions at two key sites of ATP1A that are predicted to confer CTS resistance in diverse tetrapods, we then performed protein engineering experiments to test the functional consequences of introducing these substitutions onto divergent species backgrounds. In line with previous results, we find that substitutions at these sites can have substantial background-dependent effects on CTS resistance. Globally, however, these substitutions also have pleiotropic effects that are consistent with additive rather than background-dependent effects. Moreover, the magnitude of a substitution’s effect on activity does not depend on the overall extent of ATP1A sequence divergence between species. Our results suggest that epistatic constraints on the evolution of CTS-resistant forms of Na,K-ATPase likely depend on a small number of sites, with little dependence on overall levels of protein divergence. We propose that dependence on a limited number sites may account for the observation of convergent CTS resistance substitutions observed among taxa with highly divergent Na,K-ATPases (See S1 Text for Spanish translation). Individual amino acids within a protein work in concert to produce a functionally coherent structure that must be maintained as a protein diverges over time. Given this structure-function relationship, we expect the effects of new mutations to depend on amino acid states at other sites throughout the protein (i.e., background dependence) and that identical mutations will have more similar effects in more closely-related species, for which orthologous proteins will be less diverged. We tested this hypothesis by performing protein-engineering experiments on ATP1A, a protein that mediates resistance to toxins known as cardiotonic steroids (CTS), to reveal the extent of background-dependence across representative tetrapods. We find that, while the effects of mutations at two key sites implicated in CTS-resistance are indeed often background-dependent, the magnitude of these effects does not correlate with overall levels of ATP1A divergence. Our results instead suggest that background-dependent effects are determined by amino acid states at a small number of sites throughout the protein. Evolutionary constraints imposed by relatively few sites may explain the frequent occurrence of identical or similar CTS-resistance substitutions among ATP1A proteins of highly divergent animals (See S1 Text for Spanish translation).
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Affiliation(s)
- Shabnam Mohammadi
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska, United States of America
- Molecular Evolutionary Biology, Institut für Zell- und Systembiologie der Tiere, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Santiago Herrera-Álvarez
- Department of Biological Sciences, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Lu Yang
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, United States of America
| | | | - Karen Zhang
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, United States of America
| | - Jay F. Storz
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska, United States of America
| | - Susanne Dobler
- Molecular Evolutionary Biology, Institut für Zell- und Systembiologie der Tiere, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Andrew J. Crawford
- Department of Biological Sciences, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Peter Andolfatto
- Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York city, New York, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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16
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A high-quality genome of the dobsonfly Neoneuromus ignobilis reveals molecular convergences in aquatic insects. Genomics 2022; 114:110437. [PMID: 35902070 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygeno.2022.110437] [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: 05/08/2022] [Revised: 07/03/2022] [Accepted: 07/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Neoneuromus ignobilis is an archaic holometabolous aquatic predatory insect. However, a lack of genomic resources hinders the use of whole genome sequencing to explore their genetic basis and molecular mechanisms for adaptive evolution. Here, we provided a high-contiguity, chromosome-level genome assembly of N. ignobilis using high coverage Nanopore and PacBio reads with the Hi-C technique. The final assembly is 480.67 MB in size, containing 12 telomere-ended pseudochromosomes with only 17 gaps. We compared 42 hexapod species genomes including six independent lineages comprising 11 aquatic insects, and found convergent expansions of long wavelength-sensitive and blue-sensitive opsins, thermal stress response TRP channels, and sulfotransferases in aquatic insects, which may be related to their aquatic adaptation. We also detected strong nonrandom signals of convergent amino acid substitutions in aquatic insects. Collectively, our comparative genomic analysis revealed the evidence of molecular convergences in aquatic insects during both gene family evolution and convergent amino acid substitutions.
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Upadhyay V, Patrick C, Lucas A, Mallela KMG. Convergent Evolution of Multiple Mutations Improves the Viral Fitness of SARS-CoV-2 Variants by Balancing Positive and Negative Selection. Biochemistry 2022; 61:963-980. [PMID: 35511584 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biochem.2c00132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Multiple mutations have been seen to undergo convergent evolution in SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern. One such evolution occurs in Beta, Gamma, and Omicron variants at three amino acid positions K417, E484, and N501 in the receptor binding domain of the spike protein. We examined the physical mechanisms underlying the convergent evolution of three mutations K417T/E484K/N501Y by delineating the individual and collective effects of mutations on binding to angiotensin converting enzyme 2 receptor, immune escape from neutralizing antibodies, protein stability, and expression. Our results show that each mutation serves a distinct function that improves virus fitness supporting its positive selection, even though individual mutations have deleterious effects that make them prone to negative selection. Compared to the wild-type, K417T escapes Class 1 antibodies and has increased stability and expression; however, it has decreased receptor binding. E484K escapes Class 2 antibodies; however, it has decreased receptor binding, stability, and expression. N501Y increases receptor binding; however, it has decreased stability and expression. When these mutations come together, the deleterious effects are mitigated due to the presence of compensatory effects. Triple mutant K417T/E484K/N501Y has increased receptor binding, escapes both Class 1 and Class 2 antibodies, and has similar stability and expression as that of the wild-type. These results show that the convergent evolution of multiple mutations enhances viral fitness on different fronts by balancing both positive and negative selection and improves the chances of selection of mutations together.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vaibhav Upadhyay
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado 80045, United States
| | - Casey Patrick
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado 80045, United States
| | - Alexandra Lucas
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado 80045, United States
| | - Krishna M G Mallela
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado 80045, United States
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18
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Zhou X, Yu D, Cao Z. Convergence Analysis of Rust Fungi and Anther Smuts Reveals Their Common Molecular Adaptation to a Phytoparasitic Lifestyle. Front Genet 2022; 13:863617. [PMID: 35464858 PMCID: PMC9023891 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2022.863617] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2022] [Accepted: 02/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Convergent evolution between distantly related taxa often mirrors adaptation to similar environments. Rust fungi and anther smuts, which belong to different classes in Pucciniomycotina, have independently evolved a phytoparasitic lifestyle, representing an example of convergent evolution in the fungal kingdom. To investigate their adaptations and the genetic bases underlying their phytoparasitic lifestyles, we performed genome-wide convergence analysis of amino acid substitutions, evolutionary rates, and gene gains and losses. Convergent substitutions were detected in ATPeV0D and RP-S27Ae, two genes important for the generation of turgor pressure and ribosomal biosynthesis, respectively. A total of 51 positively selected genes were identified, including eight genes associated with translation and three genes related to the secretion pathway. In addition, rust fungi and anther smuts contained more proteins associated with oligopeptide transporters and vacuolar proteases than did other fungi. For rust fungi and anther smuts, these forms of convergence suggest four adaptive mechanisms for a phytoparasitic lifestyle: 1) reducing the metabolic demand for hyphal growth and penetration at the pre-penetration stage, 2) maintaining the efficiency of protein synthesis during colonization, 3) ensuring the normal secretion of rapidly evolving secreted proteins, and 4) improving the capacity for oligopeptide metabolism. Our results are the first to shed light on the genetic convergence mechanisms and molecular adaptation underlying phytoparasitic lifestyles in fungi.
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19
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Liu Z, Chen P, Xu DM, Qi FY, Guo YT, Liu Q, Bai J, Zhou X, Shi P. Molecular convergence and transgenic evidence suggest a single origin of laryngeal echolocation in bats. iScience 2022; 25:104114. [PMID: 35391832 PMCID: PMC8980745 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.104114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2020] [Revised: 03/07/2022] [Accepted: 03/15/2022] [Indexed: 10/28/2022] Open
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20
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Phylogenetic inference of changes in amino acid propensities with single-position resolution. PLoS Comput Biol 2022; 18:e1009878. [PMID: 35180226 PMCID: PMC9106220 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009878] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2021] [Revised: 05/13/2022] [Accepted: 01/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Fitness conferred by the same allele may differ between genotypes and environments, and these differences shape variation and evolution. Changes in amino acid propensities at protein sites over the course of evolution have been inferred from sequence alignments statistically, but the existing methods are data-intensive and aggregate multiple sites. Here, we develop an approach to detect individual amino acids that confer different fitness in different groups of species from combined sequence and phylogenetic data. Using the fact that the probability of a substitution to an amino acid depends on its fitness, our method looks for amino acids such that substitutions to them occur more frequently in one group of lineages than in another. We validate our method using simulated evolution of a protein site under different scenarios and show that it has high specificity for a wide range of assumptions regarding the underlying changes in selection, while its sensitivity differs between scenarios. We apply our method to the env gene of two HIV-1 subtypes, A and B, and to the HA gene of two influenza A subtypes, H1 and H3, and show that the inferred fitness changes are consistent with the fitness differences observed in deep mutational scanning experiments. We find that changes in relative fitness of different amino acid variants within a site do not always trigger episodes of positive selection and therefore may not result in an overall increase in the frequency of substitutions, but can still be detected from changes in relative frequencies of different substitutions.
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21
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Zancolli G, Reijnders M, Waterhouse RM, Robinson-Rechavi M. Convergent evolution of venom gland transcriptomes across Metazoa. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2111392119. [PMID: 34983844 PMCID: PMC8740685 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2111392119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/10/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Animals have repeatedly evolved specialized organs and anatomical structures to produce and deliver a mixture of potent bioactive molecules to subdue prey or predators-venom. This makes it one of the most widespread, convergent functions in the animal kingdom. Whether animals have adopted the same genetic toolkit to evolved venom systems is a fascinating question that still eludes us. Here, we performed a comparative analysis of venom gland transcriptomes from 20 venomous species spanning the main Metazoan lineages to test whether different animals have independently adopted similar molecular mechanisms to perform the same function. We found a strong convergence in gene expression profiles, with venom glands being more similar to each other than to any other tissue from the same species, and their differences closely mirroring the species phylogeny. Although venom glands secrete some of the fastest evolving molecules (toxins), their gene expression does not evolve faster than evolutionarily older tissues. We found 15 venom gland-specific gene modules enriched in endoplasmic reticulum stress and unfolded protein response pathways, indicating that animals have independently adopted stress response mechanisms to cope with mass production of toxins. This, in turn, activates regulatory networks for epithelial development, cell turnover, and maintenance, which seem composed of both convergent and lineage-specific factors, possibly reflecting the different developmental origins of venom glands. This study represents a first step toward an understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the repeated evolution of one of the most successful adaptive traits in the animal kingdom.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulia Zancolli
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Lausanne 1015, Switzerland;
- Evolutionary Bioinformatics Group, Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne 1015, Switzerland
| | - Maarten Reijnders
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Lausanne 1015, Switzerland
- Evolutionary-Functional Genomics Group, Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne 1015, Switzerland
| | - Robert M Waterhouse
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Lausanne 1015, Switzerland
- Evolutionary-Functional Genomics Group, Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne 1015, Switzerland
| | - Marc Robinson-Rechavi
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Lausanne 1015, Switzerland
- Evolutionary Bioinformatics Group, Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne 1015, Switzerland
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22
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Guang X, Lan T, Wan QH, Huang Y, Li H, Zhang M, Li R, Zhang Z, Lei Y, Zhang L, Zhang H, Li D, Li X, Li H, Xu Y, Qiao M, Wu D, Tang K, Zhao P, Lin JQ, Kumar Sahu S, Liang Q, Jiang W, Zhang D, Xu X, Liu X, Lisby M, Yang H, Kristiansen K, Liu H, Fang SG. Chromosome-scale genomes provide new insights into subspecies divergence and evolutionary characteristics of the giant panda. Sci Bull (Beijing) 2021; 66:2002-2013. [PMID: 36654170 DOI: 10.1016/j.scib.2021.02.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2020] [Revised: 09/27/2020] [Accepted: 12/25/2020] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Extant giant pandas are divided into Sichuan and Qinling subspecies. The giant panda has many species-specific characteristics, including comparatively small organs for body size, small genitalia of male individuals, and low reproduction. Here, we report the most contiguous, high-quality chromosome-level genomes of two extant giant panda subspecies to date, with the first genome assembly of the Qinling subspecies. Compared with the previously assembled giant panda genomes based on short reads, our two assembled genomes increased contiguity over 200-fold at the contig level. Additional sequencing of 25 individuals dated the divergence of the Sichuan and Qinling subspecies into two distinct clusters from 10,000 to 12,000 years ago. Comparative genomic analyses identified the loss of regulatory elements in the dachshund family transcription factor 2 (DACH2) gene and specific changes in the synaptotagmin 6 (SYT6) gene, which may be responsible for the reduced fertility of the giant panda. Positive selection analysis between the two subspecies indicated that the reproduction-associated IQ motif containing D (IQCD) gene may at least partly explain the different reproduction rates of the two subspecies. Furthermore, several genes in the Hippo pathway exhibited signs of rapid evolution with giant panda-specific variants and divergent regulatory elements, which may contribute to the reduced inner organ sizes of the giant panda.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuanmin Guang
- MOE Key Laboratory of Biosystems Homeostasis & Protection, State Conservation Centre for Gene Resources of Endangered Wildlife, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Genomics, BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, China
| | - Tianming Lan
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Genomics, BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, China; Laboratory of Genomics and Molecular Biomedicine, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Qiu-Hong Wan
- MOE Key Laboratory of Biosystems Homeostasis & Protection, State Conservation Centre for Gene Resources of Endangered Wildlife, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Yan Huang
- Key Laboratory of State Forestry and Grassland Administration (State Park Administration) on Conservation Biology of Rare Animals in the Giant Panda National Park, China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda, Dujiangyan 611830, China
| | - Hong Li
- Novogene Bioinformatics Institute, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Mingchun Zhang
- Key Laboratory of State Forestry and Grassland Administration (State Park Administration) on Conservation Biology of Rare Animals in the Giant Panda National Park, China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda, Dujiangyan 611830, China
| | - Rengui Li
- Key Laboratory of State Forestry and Grassland Administration (State Park Administration) on Conservation Biology of Rare Animals in the Giant Panda National Park, China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda, Dujiangyan 611830, China
| | - Zhizhong Zhang
- Key Laboratory of State Forestry and Grassland Administration (State Park Administration) on Conservation Biology of Rare Animals in the Giant Panda National Park, China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda, Dujiangyan 611830, China
| | - Yinghu Lei
- Qinling Research Center of Giant Panda Breeding, Shaanxi Academy of Forestry, Xi'an 710082, China
| | - Ling Zhang
- China Wildlife Conservation Association, Beijing 100714, China
| | - Heming Zhang
- Key Laboratory of State Forestry and Grassland Administration (State Park Administration) on Conservation Biology of Rare Animals in the Giant Panda National Park, China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda, Dujiangyan 611830, China
| | - Desheng Li
- Key Laboratory of State Forestry and Grassland Administration (State Park Administration) on Conservation Biology of Rare Animals in the Giant Panda National Park, China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda, Dujiangyan 611830, China
| | - Xiaoping Li
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Genomics, BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, China; Laboratory of Genomics and Molecular Biomedicine, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Haimeng Li
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Genomics, BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, China
| | - Yan Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Genomics, BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, China
| | - Maiju Qiao
- Key Laboratory of State Forestry and Grassland Administration (State Park Administration) on Conservation Biology of Rare Animals in the Giant Panda National Park, China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda, Dujiangyan 611830, China
| | - Daifu Wu
- Key Laboratory of State Forestry and Grassland Administration (State Park Administration) on Conservation Biology of Rare Animals in the Giant Panda National Park, China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda, Dujiangyan 611830, China
| | - Keyi Tang
- MOE Key Laboratory of Biosystems Homeostasis & Protection, State Conservation Centre for Gene Resources of Endangered Wildlife, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Pengpeng Zhao
- Qinling Research Center of Giant Panda Breeding, Shaanxi Academy of Forestry, Xi'an 710082, China
| | - Jian-Qing Lin
- MOE Key Laboratory of Biosystems Homeostasis & Protection, State Conservation Centre for Gene Resources of Endangered Wildlife, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Sunil Kumar Sahu
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Genomics, BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, China
| | - Qiqi Liang
- Novogene Bioinformatics Institute, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Wenkai Jiang
- Novogene Bioinformatics Institute, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Danhui Zhang
- Qinling Research Center of Giant Panda Breeding, Shaanxi Academy of Forestry, Xi'an 710082, China
| | - Xun Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Genomics, BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Genome Read and Write, BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518120, China
| | - Xin Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Genomics, BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, China
| | - Michael Lisby
- Laboratory of Genomics and Molecular Biomedicine, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Huanming Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Genomics, BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, China; Guangdong Provincial Academician Workstation of BGI Synthetic Genomics, BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518120, China
| | - Karsten Kristiansen
- Laboratory of Genomics and Molecular Biomedicine, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark; Qingdao-Europe Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, Qingdao 266555, China.
| | - Huan Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Genomics, BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, China; Laboratory of Genomics and Molecular Biomedicine, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark.
| | - Sheng-Guo Fang
- MOE Key Laboratory of Biosystems Homeostasis & Protection, State Conservation Centre for Gene Resources of Endangered Wildlife, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
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23
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Youssef N, Susko E, Roger AJ, Bielawski JP. Shifts in amino acid preferences as proteins evolve: A synthesis of experimental and theoretical work. Protein Sci 2021; 30:2009-2028. [PMID: 34322924 PMCID: PMC8442975 DOI: 10.1002/pro.4161] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2021] [Revised: 07/19/2021] [Accepted: 07/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Amino acid preferences vary across sites and time. While variation across sites is widely accepted, the extent and frequency of temporal shifts are contentious. Our understanding of the drivers of amino acid preference change is incomplete: To what extent are temporal shifts driven by adaptive versus nonadaptive evolutionary processes? We review phenomena that cause preferences to vary (e.g., evolutionary Stokes shift, contingency, and entrenchment) and clarify how they differ. To determine the extent and prevalence of shifted preferences, we review experimental and theoretical studies. Analyses of natural sequence alignments often detect decreases in homoplasy (convergence and reversions) rates, and variation in replacement rates with time-signals that are consistent with temporally changing preferences. While approaches inferring shifts in preferences from patterns in natural alignments are valuable, they are indirect since multiple mechanisms (both adaptive and nonadaptive) could lead to the observed signal. Alternatively, site-directed mutagenesis experiments allow for a more direct assessment of shifted preferences. They corroborate evidence from multiple sequence alignments, revealing that the preference for an amino acid at a site varies depending on the background sequence. However, shifts in preferences are usually minor in magnitude and sites with significantly shifted preferences are low in frequency. The small yet consistent perturbations in preferences could, nevertheless, jeopardize the accuracy of inference procedures, which assume constant preferences. We conclude by discussing if and how such shifts in preferences might influence widely used time-homogenous inference procedures and potential ways to mitigate such effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noor Youssef
- Department of BiologyDalhousie UniversityHalifaxNova ScotiaCanada
| | - Edward Susko
- Department of Mathematics and StatisticsDalhousie UniversityHalifaxNova ScotiaCanada
| | - Andrew J. Roger
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyDalhousie UniversityHalifaxNova ScotiaCanada
| | - Joseph P. Bielawski
- Department of BiologyDalhousie UniversityHalifaxNova ScotiaCanada
- Department of Mathematics and StatisticsDalhousie UniversityHalifaxNova ScotiaCanada
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24
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A single mutation underlying phenotypic convergence for hypoxia adaptation on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Cell Res 2021; 31:1032-1035. [PMID: 34099886 PMCID: PMC8410794 DOI: 10.1038/s41422-021-00517-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2020] [Accepted: 05/10/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
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25
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Yang H, Yang S, Fan F, Li Y, Dai S, Zhou X, Steiner CC, Coppedge B, Roos C, Cai X, Irwin DM, Shi P. A New World Monkey Resembles Human in Bitter Taste Receptor Evolution and Function via a Single Parallel Amino Acid Substitution. Mol Biol Evol 2021; 38:5472-5479. [PMID: 34469542 PMCID: PMC8662605 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msab263] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Bitter taste receptors serve as a vital component in the defense system against toxin intake by animals, and the family of genes encoding these receptors has been demonstrated, usually by family size variance, to correlate with dietary preference. However, few systematic studies of specific Tas2R to unveil their functional evolution have been conducted. Here, we surveyed Tas2R16 across all major clades of primates and reported a rare case of a convergent change to increase sensitivity to β-glucopyranosides in human and a New World monkey, the white-faced saki. Combining analyses at multiple levels, we demonstrate that a parallel amino acid substitution (K172N) shared by these two species is responsible for this functional convergence of Tas2R16. Considering the specialized feeding preference of the white-faced saki, the K172N change likely played an important adaptive role in its early evolution to avoid potentially toxic cyanogenic glycosides, as suggested for the human TAS2R16 gene.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hui Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650223, China
| | - Songlin Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650223, China.,University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Fei Fan
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650223, China.,University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Yun Li
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650223, China.,University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Shaoxing Dai
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650223, China
| | - Xin Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650223, China
| | - Cynthia C Steiner
- San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, Beckman Center for Conservation Research, San Pasqual Valley Road, Escondido, CA, 15600, United States 92027
| | - Bretton Coppedge
- San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, Beckman Center for Conservation Research, San Pasqual Valley Road, Escondido, CA, 15600, United States 92027
| | - Christian Roos
- Gene Bank of Primates and Primate Genetics Laboratory, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Kellnerweg 4, Göttingen, 37077, Germany
| | - Xianghai Cai
- State Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Plant Resources in West China, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, China
| | - David M Irwin
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Peng Shi
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650223, China.,Center for Excellence in Animal Evolution and Genetics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650223, China
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26
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Zou D, Tian S, Zhang T, Zhuoma N, Wu G, Wang M, Dong L, Rossiter SJ, Zhao H. Vulture Genomes Reveal Molecular Adaptations Underlying Obligate Scavenging and Low Levels of Genetic Diversity. Mol Biol Evol 2021; 38:3649-3663. [PMID: 33944941 PMCID: PMC8382910 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msab130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Obligate scavenging on the dead and decaying animal matter is a rare dietary specialization that in extant vertebrates is restricted to vultures. These birds perform essential ecological services, yet many vulture species have undergone recent steep population declines and are now endangered. To test for molecular adaptations underlying obligate scavenging in vultures, and to assess whether genomic features might have contributed to their population declines, we generated high-quality genomes of the Himalayan and bearded vultures, representing both independent origins of scavenging within the Accipitridae, alongside a sister taxon, the upland buzzard. By comparing our data to published sequences from other birds, we show that the evolution of obligate scavenging in vultures has been accompanied by widespread positive selection acting on genes underlying gastric acid production, and immunity. Moreover, we find evidence of parallel molecular evolution, with amino acid replacements shared among divergent lineages of these scavengers. Our genome-wide screens also reveal that both the Himalayan and bearded vultures exhibit low levels of genetic diversity, equating to around a half of the mean genetic diversity of other bird genomes examined. However, demographic reconstructions indicate that population declines began at around the Last Glacial Maximum, predating the well-documented dramatic declines of the past three decades. Taken together, our genomic analyses imply that vultures harbor unique adaptations for processing carrion, but that modern populations are genetically depauperate and thus especially vulnerable to further genetic erosion through anthropogenic activities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dahu Zou
- Department of Ecology, Tibetan Centre for Ecology and Conservation at WHU-TU, Hubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Shilin Tian
- Department of Ecology, Tibetan Centre for Ecology and Conservation at WHU-TU, Hubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Tongzuo Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Adaptation and Evolution of Plateau Biota, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining, China
| | - Nima Zhuoma
- Research Center for Ecology, College of Science, Tibet University, Lhasa, China
| | - Guosheng Wu
- Xining Wildlife Park of Qinghai Province, Xining, China
| | - Muyang Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, China
| | - Lu Dong
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity and Ecological Engineering, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Stephen J Rossiter
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Huabin Zhao
- Department of Ecology, Tibetan Centre for Ecology and Conservation at WHU-TU, Hubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
- Research Center for Ecology, College of Science, Tibet University, Lhasa, China
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27
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Marciniak S, Mughal MR, Godfrey LR, Bankoff RJ, Randrianatoandro H, Crowley BE, Bergey CM, Muldoon KM, Randrianasy J, Raharivololona BM, Schuster SC, Malhi RS, Yoder AD, Louis EE, Kistler L, Perry GH. Evolutionary and phylogenetic insights from a nuclear genome sequence of the extinct, giant, "subfossil" koala lemur Megaladapis edwardsi. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:e2022117118. [PMID: 34162703 PMCID: PMC8255780 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2022117118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
No endemic Madagascar animal with body mass >10 kg survived a relatively recent wave of extinction on the island. From morphological and isotopic analyses of skeletal "subfossil" remains we can reconstruct some of the biology and behavioral ecology of giant lemurs (primates; up to ∼160 kg) and other extraordinary Malagasy megafauna that survived into the past millennium. Yet, much about the evolutionary biology of these now-extinct species remains unknown, along with persistent phylogenetic uncertainty in some cases. Thankfully, despite the challenges of DNA preservation in tropical and subtropical environments, technical advances have enabled the recovery of ancient DNA from some Malagasy subfossil specimens. Here, we present a nuclear genome sequence (∼2× coverage) for one of the largest extinct lemurs, the koala lemur Megaladapis edwardsi (∼85 kg). To support the testing of key phylogenetic and evolutionary hypotheses, we also generated high-coverage nuclear genomes for two extant lemurs, Eulemur rufifrons and Lepilemur mustelinus, and we aligned these sequences with previously published genomes for three other extant lemurs and 47 nonlemur vertebrates. Our phylogenetic results confirm that Megaladapis is most closely related to the extant Lemuridae (typified in our analysis by E. rufifrons) to the exclusion of L. mustelinus, which contradicts morphology-based phylogenies. Our evolutionary analyses identified significant convergent evolution between M. edwardsi and an extant folivore (a colobine monkey) and an herbivore (horse) in genes encoding proteins that function in plant toxin biodegradation and nutrient absorption. These results suggest that koala lemurs were highly adapted to a leaf-based diet, which may also explain their convergent craniodental morphology with the small-bodied folivore Lepilemur.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie Marciniak
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802
| | - Mehreen R Mughal
- Bioinformatics and Genomics Intercollege Graduate Program, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16082
| | - Laurie R Godfrey
- Department of Anthropology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003
| | - Richard J Bankoff
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802
| | - Heritiana Randrianatoandro
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802
- Mention Anthropobiologie et Développement Durable, Faculté des Sciences, Université d'Antananarivo, Antananarivo 101, Madagascar
| | - Brooke E Crowley
- Department of Geology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45220
- Department of Anthropology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45220
| | - Christina M Bergey
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802
- Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802
- Department of Genetics, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08854
| | | | - Jeannot Randrianasy
- Mention Anthropobiologie et Développement Durable, Faculté des Sciences, Université d'Antananarivo, Antananarivo 101, Madagascar
| | - Brigitte M Raharivololona
- Mention Anthropobiologie et Développement Durable, Faculté des Sciences, Université d'Antananarivo, Antananarivo 101, Madagascar
| | - Stephan C Schuster
- Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798
| | - Ripan S Malhi
- Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801
| | - Anne D Yoder
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708
| | - Edward E Louis
- Department of Conservation Genetics, Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium, Omaha, NE 68107;
| | - Logan Kistler
- Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560;
| | - George H Perry
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802;
- Bioinformatics and Genomics Intercollege Graduate Program, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16082
- Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802
- Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802
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28
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Enhanced Negative Regulation of the DHH Signaling Pathway as a Potential Mechanism of Ascrotal Testes in Laurasiatherians. Evol Biol 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s11692-021-09542-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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29
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Yang H, Lyu B, Yin HQ, Li SQ. Comparative transcriptomics highlights convergent evolution of energy metabolic pathways in group-living spiders. Zool Res 2021; 42:195-206. [PMID: 33709634 PMCID: PMC7995277 DOI: 10.24272/j.issn.2095-8137.2020.281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Although widely thought to be aggressive, solitary, and potentially cannibalistic, some spider species have evolved group-living behaviors. The distinct transition provides the framework to uncover group-living evolution. Here, we conducted a comparative transcriptomic study and examined patterns of molecular evolution in two independently evolved group-living spiders and twelve solitary species. We report that positively selected genes among group-living spider lineages are significantly enriched in nutrient metabolism and autophagy pathways. We also show that nutrient-related genes of group-living spiders convergently experience amino acid substitutions and accelerated relative evolutionary rates. These results indicate adaptive convergence of nutrient metabolism that may ensure energy supply in group-living spiders. The decelerated evolutionary rate of autophagy-related genes in group-living lineages is consistent with an increased constraint on energy homeostasis as would be required in a group-living environment. Together, the results show that energy metabolic pathways play an important role in the transition to group-living in spiders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Han Yang
- Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.,College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Bin Lyu
- Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, China
| | - Hai-Qiang Yin
- College of Life Science, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, Hunan 410081, China. E-mail:
| | - Shu-Qiang Li
- Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.,College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China. E-mail:
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30
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Merényi Z, Prasanna AN, Wang Z, Kovács K, Hegedüs B, Bálint B, Papp B, Townsend JP, Nagy LG. Unmatched Level of Molecular Convergence among Deeply Divergent Complex Multicellular Fungi. Mol Biol Evol 2021; 37:2228-2240. [PMID: 32191325 PMCID: PMC7403615 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msaa077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Convergent evolution is pervasive in nature, but it is poorly understood how various constraints and natural selection limit the diversity of evolvable phenotypes. Here, we analyze the transcriptome across fruiting body development to understand the independent evolution of complex multicellularity in the two largest clades of fungi—the Agarico- and Pezizomycotina. Despite >650 My of divergence between these clades, we find that very similar sets of genes have convergently been co-opted for complex multicellularity, followed by expansions of their gene families by duplications. Over 82% of shared multicellularity-related gene families were expanding in both clades, indicating a high prevalence of convergence also at the gene family level. This convergence is coupled with a rich inferred repertoire of multicellularity-related genes in the most recent common ancestor of the Agarico- and Pezizomycotina, consistent with the hypothesis that the coding capacity of ancestral fungal genomes might have promoted the repeated evolution of complex multicellularity. We interpret this repertoire as an indication of evolutionary predisposition of fungal ancestors for evolving complex multicellular fruiting bodies. Our work suggests that evolutionary convergence may happen not only when organisms are closely related or are under similar selection pressures, but also when ancestral genomic repertoires render certain evolutionary trajectories more likely than others, even across large phylogenetic distances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zsolt Merényi
- Synthetic and Systems Biology Unit, Institute of Biochemistry, Biological Research Center, Szeged, Hungary
| | - Arun N Prasanna
- Synthetic and Systems Biology Unit, Institute of Biochemistry, Biological Research Center, Szeged, Hungary
| | - Zheng Wang
- Department of Biostatistics, Yale University, New Haven, CT
| | - Károly Kovács
- Synthetic and Systems Biology Unit, Institute of Biochemistry, Biological Research Center, Szeged, Hungary.,Hungarian Centre of Excellence for Molecular Medicine, Metabolic Systems Biology Lab, Szeged, Hungary
| | - Botond Hegedüs
- Synthetic and Systems Biology Unit, Institute of Biochemistry, Biological Research Center, Szeged, Hungary
| | - Balázs Bálint
- Synthetic and Systems Biology Unit, Institute of Biochemistry, Biological Research Center, Szeged, Hungary
| | - Balázs Papp
- Synthetic and Systems Biology Unit, Institute of Biochemistry, Biological Research Center, Szeged, Hungary.,Hungarian Centre of Excellence for Molecular Medicine, Metabolic Systems Biology Lab, Szeged, Hungary
| | - Jeffrey P Townsend
- Department of Biostatistics, Yale University, New Haven, CT.,Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT.,Program in Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Yale University, New Haven, CT
| | - László G Nagy
- Synthetic and Systems Biology Unit, Institute of Biochemistry, Biological Research Center, Szeged, Hungary
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31
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Liang D, Zhao P, Si J, Fang L, Pairo-Castineira E, Hu X, Xu Q, Hou Y, Gong Y, Liang Z, Tian B, Mao H, Yindee M, Faruque MO, Kongvongxay S, Khamphoumee S, Liu GE, Wu DD, Barker JSF, Han J, Zhang Y. Genomic Analysis Revealed a Convergent Evolution of LINE-1 in Coat Color: A Case Study in Water Buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis). Mol Biol Evol 2021; 38:1122-1136. [PMID: 33212507 PMCID: PMC7947781 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msaa279] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Visible pigmentation phenotypes can be used to explore the regulation of gene expression and the evolution of coat color patterns in animals. Here, we performed whole-genome and RNA sequencing and applied genome-wide association study, comparative population genomics and biological experiments to show that the 2,809-bp-long LINE-1 insertion in the ASIP (agouti signaling protein) gene is the causative mutation for the white coat phenotype in swamp buffalo (Bubalus bubalis). This LINE-1 insertion (3' truncated and containing only 5' UTR) functions as a strong proximal promoter that leads to a 10-fold increase in the transcription of ASIP in white buffalo skin. The 165 bp of 5' UTR transcribed from the LINE-1 is spliced into the first coding exon of ASIP, resulting in a chimeric transcript. The increased expression of ASIP prevents melanocyte maturation, leading to the absence of pigment in white buffalo skin and hairs. Phylogenetic analyses indicate that the white buffalo-specific ASIP allele originated from a recent genetic transposition event in swamp buffalo. Interestingly, as a similar LINE-1 insertion has been identified in the cattle ASIP gene, we discuss the convergent mechanism of coat color evolution in the Bovini tribe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dong Liang
- National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding and Reproduction of MOAR, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
| | - Pengju Zhao
- National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding and Reproduction of MOAR, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
| | - Jingfang Si
- National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding and Reproduction of MOAR, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
| | - Lingzhao Fang
- Medical Research Council Human Genetics Unit at the Medical Research Council Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Erola Pairo-Castineira
- Medical Research Council Human Genetics Unit at the Medical Research Council Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Xiaoxiang Hu
- State Key Laboratory of AgroBiotechnology, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
| | - Qing Xu
- College of Life Sciences and Bioengineering, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing, China
| | - Yali Hou
- Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yu Gong
- Guizhou Domestic Animal Genetic Resources Management Station, Guiyang, China
| | - Zhengwen Liang
- Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau of Fenggang County, Zunyi, China
| | - Bing Tian
- Animal Disease Prevention and Control Station of Zunyi City, Zunyi, China
| | - Huaming Mao
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, China
| | - Marnoch Yindee
- Akkhararatchakumari Veterinary College (AVC), Walailak University, Nakorn Si Thammarat, Thailand
| | - Md Omar Faruque
- Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, Bangladesh
| | - Siton Kongvongxay
- Livestock Research Center, National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Vientiane, Lao PDR
| | - Souksamlane Khamphoumee
- Livestock Research Center, National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Vientiane, Lao PDR
| | - George E Liu
- Animal Genomics and Improvement Laboratory, Henry A. Wallace Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, USDA, Beltsville, MD
| | - Dong-Dong Wu
- Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China
| | - James Stuart F Barker
- School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia
| | - Jianlin Han
- International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Nairobi, Kenya
- CAAS-ILRI Joint Laboratory on Livestock and Forage Genetic Resources, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing, China
| | - Yi Zhang
- National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding and Reproduction of MOAR, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
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32
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Chai S, Tian R, Bi J, Xu S, Yang G, Ren W. Rapid evolution and molecular convergence in cryptorchidism-related genes associated with inherently undescended testes in mammals. BMC Ecol Evol 2021; 21:22. [PMID: 33568072 PMCID: PMC7877101 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-021-01753-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2020] [Accepted: 01/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The mammalian testis is an important male exocrine gland and spermatozoa-producing organ that usually lies in extra-abdominal scrotums to provide a cooler environment for spermatogenesis and sperm storage. Testicles sometimes fail to descend, leading to cryptorchidism. However, certain groups of mammals possess inherently ascrotal testes (i.e. testes that do not descend completely or at all) that have the same physiological functions as completely descended scrotal testes. Although several anatomical and hormonal factors involved in testicular descent have been studied, there is still a paucity of comprehensive research on the genetic mechanisms underlying the evolution of testicular descent in mammals and how mammals with ascrotal testes maintain their reproductive health. RESULTS We performed integrative phenotypic and comparative genomic analyses of 380 cryptorchidism-related genes and found that the mammalian ascrotal testes trait is derived from an ancestral scrotal state. Rapidly evolving genes in ascrotal mammals were enriched in the Hedgehog pathway-which regulates Leydig cell differentiation and testosterone secretion-and muscle development. Moreover, some cryptorchidism-related genes in ascrotal mammals had undergone positive selection and contained specific mutations and indels. Genes harboring convergent/parallel amino acid substitutions between ascrotal mammals were enriched in GTPase functions. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that the scrotal testis is an ancestral state in mammals, and the ascrotal phenotype was derived multiple times in independent lineages. In addition, the adaptive evolution of genes involved in testicular descent and the development of the gubernaculum contributed to the evolution of ascrotal testes. Accurate DNA replication, the proper segregation of genetic material, and appropriate autophagy are the potential mechanisms for maintaining physiological normality during spermatogenesis in ascrotal mammals. Furthermore, the molecular convergence of GTPases is probably a mechanism in the ascrotal testes of different mammals. This study provides novel insights into the evolution of the testis and scrotum in mammals and contributes to a better understanding of the pathogenesis of cryptorchidism in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simin Chai
- School of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China
| | - Ran Tian
- School of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China
| | - Juanjuan Bi
- School of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China
| | - Shixia Xu
- School of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China
| | - Guang Yang
- School of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China.
| | - Wenhua Ren
- School of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China.
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Accelerated evolution and positive selection of rhodopsin in Tibetan loaches living in high altitude. Int J Biol Macromol 2020; 165:2598-2606. [PMID: 33470199 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2020.10.151] [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: 07/31/2020] [Revised: 10/16/2020] [Accepted: 10/19/2020] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Rhodopsin (RH1), the temperature-sensitive visual pigment, attained cold adaptation by functional trade-offs between protein stability and activity. Recent studies suggested convergent selection pressures drove cold adaptation of rhodopsin in high altitude catfishes through nonparallel molecular mechanisms. Here, we tested whether the similar shift occurred in RH1 of Tibetan loaches on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) by investigating the molecular evolution and potential effect on function of RH1. We sequenced RH1 from 27 Triplophysa species, and four lowland loaches and combined these data with published sequences. Tests using a series of models of molecular evolution resulted in strong evidence for accelerated evolution and positive selection in Triplophysa RH1. Three positively selected sites were near key functional domains modulating nonspectral properties of rhodopsin, substitutions of which were likely to compensate for cold-induced decrease in rhodopsin kinetics in cold environments. Moreover, although accelerated evolutionary rates in Tibetan loaches was convergent with those in high altitude catfishes, the sites under positive selection were nonoverlapping. Our findings provide evidence for convergent shift in selection pressures of RH1 in high altitude fish during the ecological transition to cold environment of the QTP.
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Lu B, Jin H, Fu J. Molecular convergent and parallel evolution among four high-elevation anuran species from the Tibetan region. BMC Genomics 2020; 21:839. [PMID: 33246413 PMCID: PMC7694343 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-020-07269-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2019] [Accepted: 11/23/2020] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND To date, evidence for the relative prevalence or rarity of molecular convergent and parallel evolution is conflicting, and understanding of how these processes contribute to adaptation is limited. We compared four high-elevation anuran species (Bufo tibetanus, Nanorana parkeri, Rana kukunoris and Scutiger boulengeri) from the Tibetan region, and examined convergent and parallel amino acid substitutions between them and how they may have contributed to high-elevation adaptation. RESULTS Genomic data of the four high-elevation species and eight of their low-elevation close relatives were gathered. A total of 1098 orthologs shared by all species were identified. We first conducted pairwise comparisons using Zhang and Kumar's test. Then, the Rconv index was calculated and convergence/divergence correlation plotting was conducted. Furthermore, genes under positive selection and with elevated evolutionary rate were examined. We detected a large number of amino acid sites with convergent or parallel substitutions. Several pairs of high-elevation species, in particular, R. kukunoris vs N. parkeri and B. tibetanus vs S. boulengeri, had excessive amounts of convergent substitutions compared to neutral expectation. Nevertheless, these sites were mostly concentrated in a small number of genes (3-32), and no genome-wide convergence was detected. Furthermore, the majority of these convergent genes were neither under detectable positive selection nor had elevated evolutionary rates, although functional prediction analysis suggested some of the convergent genes could potentially contribute to high-elevation adaptation. CONCLUSIONS There is a substantial amount of convergent evolution at the amino-acid level among high-elevation amphibians, although these sites are concentrated in a few genes, not widespread across the genomes. This may attribute to the fact that all the target species are from the same environment. The relative prevalence of convergent substitutions among high-elevation amphibians provides an excellent opportunity for further study of molecular convergent evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bin Lu
- Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, China
| | - Hong Jin
- Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, China.,University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Jinzhong Fu
- Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, China. .,Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada.
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35
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Tian S, Zhou X, Phuntsok T, Zhao N, Zhang D, Ning C, Li D, Zhao H. Genomic Analyses Reveal Genetic Adaptations to Tropical Climates in Chickens. iScience 2020; 23:101644. [PMID: 33103083 PMCID: PMC7578744 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2020.101644] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2020] [Revised: 08/19/2020] [Accepted: 09/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
The genetic footprints of adaptations to naturally occurring tropical stress along with domestication are poorly reported in chickens. Here, by conducting population genomic analyses of 67 chickens inhabiting distinct climates, we found signals of gene flow from Tibetan chickens to Sri Lankan and Saudi Arabian breeds and identified 12 positively selected genes that are likely involved in genetic adaptations to both tropical desert and tropical monsoon island climates. Notably, in tropical desert climate, advantageous alleles of TLR7 and ZC3HAV1, which could inhibit replication of viruses in cells, suggest immune adaptation to the defense against zoonotic diseases in chickens. Furthermore, comparative genomic analysis showed that four genes (OC90, PLA2G12B, GPR17 and TNFRSF11A) involved in arachidonic acid metabolism have undergone convergent adaptation to tropical desert climate between birds and mammals. Our study offers insights into the genetic mechanisms of adaptations to tropical climates in birds and other animals and provides practical value for breeding design and medical research on avian viruses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shilin Tian
- Department of Ecology, Tibetan Centre for Ecology and Conservation at WHU-TU, Hubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, 299 Bayi Road, Wuhan, Hubei 430072, China
| | - Xuming Zhou
- CAS Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Tashi Phuntsok
- Laboratory of Extreme Environmental Biological Resources and Adaptive Evolution, Research Center for Ecology, College of Science, Tibet University, Lhasa 850000, China
| | - Ning Zhao
- Laboratory of Extreme Environmental Biological Resources and Adaptive Evolution, Research Center for Ecology, College of Science, Tibet University, Lhasa 850000, China
| | - Dejing Zhang
- Novogene Bioinformatics Institute, Beijing 100015, China
| | - Chunyou Ning
- Farm Animal Genetic Resources Exploration and Innovation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China
| | - Diyan Li
- Farm Animal Genetic Resources Exploration and Innovation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China
| | - Huabin Zhao
- Department of Ecology, Tibetan Centre for Ecology and Conservation at WHU-TU, Hubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, 299 Bayi Road, Wuhan, Hubei 430072, China
- Laboratory of Extreme Environmental Biological Resources and Adaptive Evolution, Research Center for Ecology, College of Science, Tibet University, Lhasa 850000, China
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36
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Xu S, Wang J, Guo Z, He Z, Shi S. Genomic Convergence in the Adaptation to Extreme Environments. PLANT COMMUNICATIONS 2020; 1:100117. [PMID: 33367270 PMCID: PMC7747959 DOI: 10.1016/j.xplc.2020.100117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2020] [Revised: 10/12/2020] [Accepted: 10/28/2020] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
Convergent evolution is especially common in plants that have independently adapted to the same extreme environments (i.e., extremophile plants). The recent burst of omics data has alleviated many limitations that have hampered molecular convergence studies of non-model extremophile plants. In this review, we summarize cases of genomic convergence in these taxa to examine the extent and type of genomic convergence during the process of adaptation to extreme environments. Despite being well studied by candidate gene approaches, convergent evolution at individual sites is rare and often has a high false-positive rate when assessed in whole genomes. By contrast, genomic convergence at higher genetic levels has been detected during adaptation to the same extreme environments. Examples include the convergence of biological pathways and changes in gene expression, gene copy number, amino acid usage, and GC content. Higher convergence levels play important roles in the adaptive evolution of extremophiles and may be more frequent and involve more genes. In several cases, multiple types of convergence events have been found to co-occur. However, empirical and theoretical studies of this higher level convergent evolution are still limited. In conclusion, both the development of powerful approaches and the detection of convergence at various genetic levels are needed to further reveal the genetic mechanisms of plant adaptation to extreme environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shaohua Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Resources, Key Laboratory of Biodiversity Dynamics and Conservation of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Jiayan Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Resources, Key Laboratory of Biodiversity Dynamics and Conservation of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Zixiao Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Resources, Key Laboratory of Biodiversity Dynamics and Conservation of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Ziwen He
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Resources, Key Laboratory of Biodiversity Dynamics and Conservation of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Suhua Shi
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Resources, Key Laboratory of Biodiversity Dynamics and Conservation of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
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37
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Stolyarova AV, Nabieva E, Ptushenko VV, Favorov AV, Popova AV, Neverov AD, Bazykin GA. Senescence and entrenchment in evolution of amino acid sites. Nat Commun 2020; 11:4603. [PMID: 32929079 PMCID: PMC7490271 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-18366-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2019] [Accepted: 08/20/2020] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Amino acid propensities at a site change in the course of protein evolution. This may happen for two reasons. Changes may be triggered by substitutions at epistatically interacting sites elsewhere in the genome. Alternatively, they may arise due to environmental changes that are external to the genome. Here, we design a framework for distinguishing between these alternatives. Using analytical modelling and simulations, we show that they cause opposite dynamics of the fitness of the allele currently occupying the site: it tends to increase with the time since its origin due to epistasis ("entrenchment"), but to decrease due to random environmental fluctuations ("senescence"). By analysing the genomes of vertebrates and insects, we show that the amino acids originating at negatively selected sites experience strong entrenchment. By contrast, the amino acids originating at positively selected sites experience senescence. We propose that senescence of the current allele is a cause of adaptive evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- A V Stolyarova
- Center of Life Sciences, Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Skolkovo, 143028, Russia.
| | - E Nabieva
- Center of Life Sciences, Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Skolkovo, 143028, Russia
- Institute for Information Transmission Problems (Kharkevich Institute), Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 127051, Russia
| | - V V Ptushenko
- Department of Photochemistry and Photobiology, N. M. Emanuel Institute of Biochemical Physics of Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 119334, Russia
- A. N. Belozersky Institute of Physical-Chemical Biology, M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, 119992, Russia
| | - A V Favorov
- Division of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Department of Oncology, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA
- Laboratory of System Biology and Computational Genetics, Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, Moscow, 119991, Russia
| | - A V Popova
- Department of Molecular Diagnostics, Central Research Institute for Epidemiology, Moscow, 111123, Russia
| | - A D Neverov
- Department of Molecular Diagnostics, Central Research Institute for Epidemiology, Moscow, 111123, Russia
| | - G A Bazykin
- Center of Life Sciences, Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Skolkovo, 143028, Russia
- Institute for Information Transmission Problems (Kharkevich Institute), Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 127051, Russia
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38
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Burskaia V, Naumenko S, Schelkunov M, Bedulina D, Neretina T, Kondrashov A, Yampolsky L, Bazykin GA. Excessive Parallelism in Protein Evolution of Lake Baikal Amphipod Species Flock. Genome Biol Evol 2020; 12:1493-1503. [PMID: 32653919 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evaa138] [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] [Accepted: 07/03/2020] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Repeated emergence of similar adaptations is often explained by parallel evolution of underlying genes. However, evidence of parallel evolution at amino acid level is limited. When the analyzed species are highly divergent, this can be due to epistatic interactions underlying the dynamic nature of the amino acid preferences: The same amino acid substitution may have different phenotypic effects on different genetic backgrounds. Distantly related species also often inhabit radically different environments, which makes the emergence of parallel adaptations less likely. Here, we hypothesize that parallel molecular adaptations are more prevalent between closely related species. We analyze the rate of parallel evolution in genome-size sets of orthologous genes in three groups of species with widely ranging levels of divergence: 46 species of the relatively recent lake Baikal amphipod radiation, a species flock of very closely related cichlids, and a set of significantly more divergent vertebrates. Strikingly, in genes of amphipods, the rate of parallel substitutions at nonsynonymous sites exceeded that at synonymous sites, suggesting rampant selection driving parallel adaptation. At sites of parallel substitutions, the intraspecies polymorphism is low, suggesting that parallelism has been driven by positive selection and is therefore adaptive. By contrast, in cichlids, the rate of nonsynonymous parallel evolution was similar to that at synonymous sites, whereas in vertebrates, this rate was lower than that at synonymous sites, indicating that in these groups of species, parallel substitutions are mainly fixed by drift.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valentina Burskaia
- Center of Life Sciences, Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Moscow, Moscow Oblast, Russia
| | - Sergey Naumenko
- Institute for Information Transmission Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Kharkevitch Institute), Moscow, Russia
- Department of Biostatistics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Mikhail Schelkunov
- Center of Life Sciences, Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Moscow, Moscow Oblast, Russia
- Institute for Information Transmission Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Kharkevitch Institute), Moscow, Russia
| | - Daria Bedulina
- Institute of Biology, Irkutsk State University, Russia
- Baikal Research Centre, Irkutsk, Russia
| | - Tatyana Neretina
- Institute for Information Transmission Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Kharkevitch Institute), Moscow, Russia
- N.A. Pertsov White Sea Biological Station, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Primorskiy, Russia
- Belozersky Institute of Physico-Chemical Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia
| | - Alexey Kondrashov
- Belozersky Institute of Physico-Chemical Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan
| | - Lev Yampolsky
- Department of Biological Sciences, East Tennessee State University
| | - Georgii A Bazykin
- Center of Life Sciences, Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Moscow, Moscow Oblast, Russia
- Institute for Information Transmission Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Kharkevitch Institute), Moscow, Russia
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39
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Wang K, Tian S, Galindo-González J, Dávalos LM, Zhang Y, Zhao H. Molecular adaptation and convergent evolution of frugivory in Old World and neotropical fruit bats. Mol Ecol 2020; 29:4366-4381. [PMID: 32633855 DOI: 10.1111/mec.15542] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2020] [Revised: 06/22/2020] [Accepted: 06/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Although cases of independent adaptation to the same dietary niche have been documented in mammalian ecology, the molecular correlates of such shifts are seldom known. Here, we used genomewide analyses of molecular evolution to examine two lineages of bats that, from an insectivorous ancestor, have both independently evolved obligate frugivory: the Old World family Pteropodidae and the neotropical subfamily Stenodermatinae. New genome assemblies from two neotropical fruit bats (Artibeus jamaicensis and Sturnira hondurensis) provide a framework for comparisons with Old World fruit bats. Comparative genomics of 10 bat species encompassing dietary diversity across the phylogeny revealed convergent molecular signatures of frugivory in both multigene family evolution and single-copy genes. Evidence for convergent molecular adaptations associated with frugivorous diets includes the composition of three subfamilies of olfactory receptor genes, losses of three bitter taste receptor genes, losses of two digestive enzyme genes and convergent amino acid substitutions in several metabolic genes. By identifying suites of adaptations associated with the convergent evolution of frugivory, our analyses both reveal the extent of molecular mechanisms under selection in dietary shifts and will facilitate future studies of molecular ecology in mammals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kai Wang
- Department of Ecology, Tibetan Centre for Ecology and Conservation at WHU-TU, Hubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.,The State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering of China, College of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, China
| | - Shilin Tian
- Department of Ecology, Tibetan Centre for Ecology and Conservation at WHU-TU, Hubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.,Novogene Bioinformatics Institute, Beijing, China
| | - Jorge Galindo-González
- Biotechnology and Applied Ecology Institute (INBIOTECA), Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa,Veracruz, Mexico
| | - Liliana M Dávalos
- Department of Ecology and Evolution and Center for Inter-Disciplinary Environmental Research, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY, USA
| | - Yuzhi Zhang
- Department of Ecology, Tibetan Centre for Ecology and Conservation at WHU-TU, Hubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Huabin Zhao
- Department of Ecology, Tibetan Centre for Ecology and Conservation at WHU-TU, Hubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.,College of Science, Tibet University, Lhasa, China
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40
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He Z, Xu S, Shi S. Adaptive convergence at the genomic level-prevalent, uncommon or very rare? Natl Sci Rev 2020; 7:947-951. [PMID: 34692116 PMCID: PMC8289048 DOI: 10.1093/nsr/nwaa076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2019] [Revised: 02/17/2020] [Accepted: 04/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Ziwen He
- School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, China
| | - Shaohua Xu
- School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, China
| | - Suhua Shi
- School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, China
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41
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Lu B, Wang X, Fu J, Shi J, Wu Y, Qi Y. Genetic Adaptations of an Island Pit-Viper to a Unique Sedentary Life with Extreme Seasonal Food Availability. G3 (BETHESDA, MD.) 2020; 10:1639-1646. [PMID: 32184370 PMCID: PMC7202027 DOI: 10.1534/g3.120.401101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2019] [Accepted: 03/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/05/2022]
Abstract
The Shedao pit-viper (Gloydius shedaoensis) exhibits an extreme sedentary lifestyle. The island species exclusively feeds on migratory birds during migratory seasons and experiences prolonged hibernation and aestivation period each year (up to eight months). The sedentary strategy reduces energy expenditure, but may trigger a series of adverse effects and the snakes have likely evolved genetic modifications to alleviate these effects. To investigate the genetic adaptations, we sequenced and compared the transcriptomes of the Shedao pit-viper and its closest mainland relative, the black eyebrow pit-viper (G. intermedius). The Shedao pit-viper revealed a low rate of molecular evolution compared to its mainland relative, which is possibly associated with metabolic suppression. Signals of positive selection were detected in two genes related to antithrombin (SERPINC1) and muscle atrophy (AARS). Those genes exert significant functions in thrombosis, inhibiting oxidation and prolonged fasting. Convergent and parallel substitutions of amino acid with two other sedentary vertebrates, which often suggest adaptation, were found in a fatty acid beta-oxidation related gene (ACATA1) and a circadian link gene (KLF10), which regulate lipogenesis, gluconeogenesis, and glycolysis. Furthermore, a circadian clock gene (CRY2) exhibited two amino acid substitutions specific to the Shedao pit-viper and one variant was predicted to affect protein function. Modifications of these genes and their related functions may have contributed to the survival of this island snake species with a sedentary lifestyle and extreme seasonal food availability. Our study demonstrated several important clues for future research on physiological and other phenotypic adaptation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bin Lu
- Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China
| | - Xiaoping Wang
- Nature Conservation of Snake Island and Laotieshan Mountain, Dalian 116041, China
| | - Jinzhong Fu
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - Jingsong Shi
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing 100044, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Yayong Wu
- Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China
- College of life sciences and food engineering, Yibin University, Yibin 644007, China
| | - Yin Qi
- Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China
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42
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Zou Z, Zhang H, Guan Y, Zhang J. Deep Residual Neural Networks Resolve Quartet Molecular Phylogenies. Mol Biol Evol 2020; 37:1495-1507. [PMID: 31868908 PMCID: PMC8453599 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msz307] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Phylogenetic inference is of fundamental importance to evolutionary as well as other fields of biology, and molecular sequences have emerged as the primary data for this task. Although many phylogenetic methods have been developed to explicitly take into account substitution models of sequence evolution, such methods could fail due to model misspecification or insufficiency, especially in the face of heterogeneities in substitution processes across sites and among lineages. In this study, we propose to infer topologies of four-taxon trees using deep residual neural networks, a machine learning approach needing no explicit modeling of the subject system and having a record of success in solving complex nonlinear inference problems. We train residual networks on simulated protein sequence data with extensive amino acid substitution heterogeneities. We show that the well-trained residual network predictors can outperform existing state-of-the-art inference methods such as the maximum likelihood method on diverse simulated test data, especially under extensive substitution heterogeneities. Reassuringly, residual network predictors generally agree with existing methods in the trees inferred from real phylogenetic data with known or widely believed topologies. Furthermore, when combined with the quartet puzzling algorithm, residual network predictors can be used to reconstruct trees with more than four taxa. We conclude that deep learning represents a powerful new approach to phylogenetic reconstruction, especially when sequences evolve via heterogeneous substitution processes. We present our best trained predictor in a freely available program named Phylogenetics by Deep Learning (PhyDL, https://gitlab.com/ztzou/phydl; last accessed January 3, 2020).
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhengting Zou
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
| | - Hongjiu Zhang
- Department of Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
| | - Yuanfang Guan
- Department of Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
| | - Jianzhi Zhang
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
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43
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Dixon GB, Kenkel CD. Molecular convergence and positive selection associated with the evolution of symbiont transmission mode in stony corals. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 286:20190111. [PMID: 30991927 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.0111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Heritable symbioses have been critical for the evolution of life. The genetic consequences of evolving a heritable symbiosis from the perspective of the symbiont are well established, but concomitant changes in the host remain unresolved. In stony corals, heritable, vertical transmission has evolved repeatedly, providing a unique opportunity to investigate the genomic basis of this complex trait. We conducted a comparative analysis of 25 coral transcriptomes to identify orthologous genes exhibiting signatures of positive selection and convergent amino acid substitutions in vertically transmitting lineages. The frequency of convergence events tends to be higher among vertically transmitting lineages, consistent with the proposed role of selection in driving the evolution of convergent transmission mode phenotypes. Of 10 774 orthologous genes, 403 exhibited at least one molecular convergence event and evidence of positive selection in at least one vertically transmitting lineage. Functional enrichments among these top candidate genes include processes previously implicated in symbiosis including endocytosis, immune response, cytoskeletal protein binding and cytoplasmic membrane-bounded vesicles. Finally, several novel candidates were identified among 100 genes showing evidence of positive selection at the particular convergence event, highlighting the value of our approach for generating new insight into host mechanisms associated with the evolution of heritable symbioses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Groves B Dixon
- 1 Department of Integrative Biology, The University of Texas at Austin , 1 University Station C0990, Austin, TX 78712 , USA
| | - Carly D Kenkel
- 2 Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California , 3616 Trousdale Parkway, Los Angeles, CA 90089 , USA
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44
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Jia Y, Selva C, Zhang Y, Li B, McFawn LA, Broughton S, Zhang X, Westcott S, Wang P, Tan C, Angessa T, Xu Y, Whitford R, Li C. Uncovering the evolutionary origin of blue anthocyanins in cereal grains. THE PLANT JOURNAL : FOR CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2020; 101:1057-1074. [PMID: 31571294 DOI: 10.1111/tpj.14557] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2019] [Revised: 09/16/2019] [Accepted: 09/24/2019] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Functional divergence after gene duplication plays a central role in plant evolution. Among cereals, only Hordeum vulgare (barley), Triticum aestivum (wheat) and Secale cereale (rye) accumulate delphinidin-derived (blue) anthocyanins in the aleurone layer of grains, whereas Oryza sativa (rice), Zea mays (maize) and Sorghum bicolor (sorghum) do not. The underlying genetic basis for this natural occurrence remains elusive. Here, we mapped the barley Blx1 locus involved in blue aleurone to an approximately 1.13 Mb genetic interval on chromosome 4HL, thus identifying a trigenic cluster named MbHF35 (containing HvMYB4H, HvMYC4H and HvF35H). Sequence and expression data supported the role of these genes in conferring blue-coloured (blue aleurone) grains. Synteny analyses across monocot species showed that MbHF35 has only evolved within distinct Triticeae lineages, as a result of dispersed gene duplication. Phylogeny analyses revealed a shared evolution pattern for MbHF35 in Triticeae, suggesting that these genes have co-evolved together. We also identified a Pooideae-specific flavonoid 3',5'-hydroxylase (F3'5'H) lineage, termed here Mo_F35H2, which has a higher amino acid similarity with eudicot F3'5'Hs, demonstrating a scenario of convergent evolution. Indeed, selection tests identified 13 amino acid residues in Mo_F35H2 that underwent positive selection, possibly driven by protein thermostablility selection. Furthermore, through the interrogation of barley germplasm there is evidence that HvMYB4H and HvMYC4H have undergone human selection. Collectively, our study favours blue aleurone as a recently evolved trait resulting from environmental adaptation. Our findings provide an evolutionary explanation for the absence of blue anthocyanins in other cereals and highlight the importance of gene functional divergence for plant diversity and environmental adaptation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yong Jia
- Western Barley Genetic Alliance, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA, 6150, Australia
- State Agricultural Biotechnology Centre (SABC), School of Veterinary and Life Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA, 6150, Australia
| | - Caterina Selva
- School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, Adelaide University, Adelaide, SA, 5064, Australia
| | - Yujuan Zhang
- State Agricultural Biotechnology Centre (SABC), School of Veterinary and Life Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA, 6150, Australia
| | - Bo Li
- Hubei Collaborative Innovation Centre for Grain Industry, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, Hubei, 434025, China
| | - Lee A McFawn
- Western Barley Genetic Alliance, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA, 6150, Australia
- Department of Primary Industry and Regional Development, Government of Western Australia, South Perth, WA, 6155, Australia
| | - Sue Broughton
- Western Barley Genetic Alliance, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA, 6150, Australia
- Department of Primary Industry and Regional Development, Government of Western Australia, South Perth, WA, 6155, Australia
| | - Xiaoqi Zhang
- Western Barley Genetic Alliance, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA, 6150, Australia
- State Agricultural Biotechnology Centre (SABC), School of Veterinary and Life Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA, 6150, Australia
| | - Sharon Westcott
- Western Barley Genetic Alliance, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA, 6150, Australia
- Department of Primary Industry and Regional Development, Government of Western Australia, South Perth, WA, 6155, Australia
| | - Penghao Wang
- State Agricultural Biotechnology Centre (SABC), School of Veterinary and Life Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA, 6150, Australia
| | - Cong Tan
- Western Barley Genetic Alliance, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA, 6150, Australia
- State Agricultural Biotechnology Centre (SABC), School of Veterinary and Life Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA, 6150, Australia
| | - Tefera Angessa
- Western Barley Genetic Alliance, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA, 6150, Australia
- Department of Primary Industry and Regional Development, Government of Western Australia, South Perth, WA, 6155, Australia
| | - Yanhao Xu
- Hubei Collaborative Innovation Centre for Grain Industry, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, Hubei, 434025, China
| | - Ryan Whitford
- School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, Adelaide University, Adelaide, SA, 5064, Australia
| | - Chengdao Li
- Western Barley Genetic Alliance, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA, 6150, Australia
- State Agricultural Biotechnology Centre (SABC), School of Veterinary and Life Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA, 6150, Australia
- Department of Primary Industry and Regional Development, Government of Western Australia, South Perth, WA, 6155, Australia
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Maltseva AL, Varfolomeeva MA, Lobov AA, Tikanova P, Panova M, Mikhailova NA, Granovitch AI. Proteomic similarity of the Littorinid snails in the evolutionary context. PeerJ 2020; 8:e8546. [PMID: 32095363 PMCID: PMC7024583 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.8546] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2019] [Accepted: 01/10/2020] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The introduction of DNA-based molecular markers made a revolution in biological systematics. However, in cases of very recent divergence events, the neutral divergence may be too slow, and the analysis of adaptive part of the genome is more informative to reconstruct the recent evolutionary history of young species. The advantage of proteomics is its ability to reflect the biochemical machinery of life. It may help both to identify rapidly evolving genes and to interpret their functions. METHODS Here we applied a comparative gel-based proteomic analysis to several species from the gastropod family Littorinidae. Proteomes were clustered to assess differences related to species, geographic location, sex and body part, using data on presence/absence of proteins in samples and data on protein occurrence frequency in samples of different species. Cluster support was assessed using multiscale bootstrap resampling and the stability of clustering-using cluster-wise index of cluster stability. Taxon-specific protein markers were derived using IndVal method. Proteomic trees were compared to consensus phylogenetic tree (based on neutral genetic markers) using estimates of the Robinson-Foulds distance, the Fowlkes-Mallows index and cophenetic correlation. RESULTS Overall, the DNA-based phylogenetic tree and the proteomic similarity tree had consistent topologies. Further, we observed some interesting deviations of the proteomic littorinid tree from the neutral expectations. (1) There were signs of molecular parallelism in two Littoraria species that phylogenetically are quite distant, but live in similar habitats. (2) Proteome divergence was unexpectedly high between very closely related Littorina fabalis and L. obtusata, possibly reflecting their ecology-driven divergence. (3) Conservative house-keeping proteins were usually identified as markers for cryptic species groups ("saxatilis" and "obtusata" groups in the Littorina genus) and for genera (Littoraria and Echinolittorina species pairs), while metabolic enzymes and stress-related proteins (both potentially adaptively important) were often identified as markers supporting species branches. (4) In all five Littorina species British populations were separated from the European mainland populations, possibly reflecting their recent phylogeographic history. Altogether our study shows that proteomic data, when interpreted in the context of DNA-based phylogeny, can bring additional information on the evolutionary history of species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arina L. Maltseva
- Department of Invertebrate Zoology, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - Marina A. Varfolomeeva
- Department of Invertebrate Zoology, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - Arseniy A. Lobov
- Department of Invertebrate Zoology, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia
- Laboratory of Regenerative Biomedicine, Institute of Cytology Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - Polina Tikanova
- Department of Invertebrate Zoology, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - Marina Panova
- Department of Invertebrate Zoology, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia
- Department of Marine Sciences, Tjärnö, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Natalia A. Mikhailova
- Department of Invertebrate Zoology, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia
- Centre of Cell Technologies, Institute of Cytology Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - Andrei I. Granovitch
- Department of Invertebrate Zoology, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia
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Zhang Z, Qu C, Yao R, Nie Y, Xu C, Miao J, Zhong B. The Parallel Molecular Adaptations to the Antarctic Cold Environment in Two Psychrophilic Green Algae. Genome Biol Evol 2020; 11:1897-1908. [PMID: 31106822 PMCID: PMC6628873 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evz104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/09/2019] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Psychrophilic green algae from independent phylogenetic lines thrive in the polar extreme environments, but the hypothesis that their psychrophilic characteristics appeared through parallel routes of molecular evolution remains untested. The recent surge of transcriptome data enables large-scale evolutionary analyses to investigate the genetic basis for the adaptations to the Antarctic extreme environment, and the identification of the selective forces that drive molecular evolution is the foundation to understand the strategies of cold adaptation. Here, we conducted transcriptome sequencing of two Antarctic psychrophilic green algae (Chlamydomonas sp. ICE-L and Tetrabaena socialis) and performed positive selection and convergent substitution analyses to investigate their molecular convergence and adaptive strategies against extreme cold conditions. Our results revealed considerable shared positively selected genes and significant evidence of molecular convergence in two Antarctic psychrophilic algae. Significant evidence of positive selection and convergent substitution were detected in genes associated with photosynthetic machinery, multiple antioxidant systems, and several crucial translation elements in Antarctic psychrophilic algae. Our study reveals that the psychrophilic algae possess more stable photosynthetic apparatus and multiple protective mechanisms and provides new clues of parallel adaptive evolution in Antarctic psychrophilic green algae.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhenhua Zhang
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biodiversity and Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, China
| | - Changfeng Qu
- First Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Qingdao, China.,Laboratory for Marine Drugs and Bioproducts of Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, China
| | - Ru Yao
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biodiversity and Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, China
| | - Yuan Nie
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biodiversity and Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, China
| | - Chenjie Xu
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biodiversity and Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, China
| | - Jinlai Miao
- First Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Qingdao, China.,Laboratory for Marine Drugs and Bioproducts of Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, China
| | - Bojian Zhong
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biodiversity and Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, China
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Convergent genomic signatures of flight loss in birds suggest a switch of main fuel. Nat Commun 2019; 10:2756. [PMID: 31227702 PMCID: PMC6588704 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-10682-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2018] [Accepted: 05/17/2019] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Flight loss in birds is as characteristic of the class Aves as flight itself. Although morphological and physiological differences are recognized in flight-degenerate bird species, their contributions to recurrent flight degeneration events across modern birds and underlying genetic mechanisms remain unclear. Here, in an analysis of 295 million nucleotides from 48 bird genomes, we identify two convergent sites causing amino acid changes in ATGLSer321Gly and ACOT7Ala197Val in flight-degenerate birds, which to our knowledge have not previously been implicated in loss of flight. Functional assays suggest that Ser321Gly reduces lipid hydrolytic ability of ATGL, and Ala197Val enhances acyl-CoA hydrolytic activity of ACOT7. Modeling simulations suggest a switch of main energy sources from lipids to carbohydrates in flight-degenerate birds. Our results thus suggest that physiological convergence plays an important role in flight degeneration, and anatomical convergence often invoked may not. Flight loss has occurred numerous times in bird evolution. Here, the authors examine convergent sites in the exonic and intronic sequences of 48 bird genomes, finding amino-acid changes in two genes, ATGL and ACOT7, with potential implications for a change in metabolism rather than anatomy.
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48
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Chen L, Qiu Q, Jiang Y, Wang K, Lin Z, Li Z, Bibi F, Yang Y, Wang J, Nie W, Su W, Liu G, Li Q, Fu W, Pan X, Liu C, Yang J, Zhang C, Yin Y, Wang Y, Zhao Y, Zhang C, Wang Z, Qin Y, Liu W, Wang B, Ren Y, Zhang R, Zeng Y, da Fonseca RR, Wei B, Li R, Wan W, Zhao R, Zhu W, Wang Y, Duan S, Gao Y, Zhang YE, Chen C, Hvilsom C, Epps CW, Chemnick LG, Dong Y, Mirarab S, Siegismund HR, Ryder OA, Gilbert MTP, Lewin HA, Zhang G, Heller R, Wang W. Large-scale ruminant genome sequencing provides insights into their evolution and distinct traits. Science 2019; 364:364/6446/eaav6202. [DOI: 10.1126/science.aav6202] [Citation(s) in RCA: 163] [Impact Index Per Article: 32.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2018] [Accepted: 05/16/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
The ruminants are one of the most successful mammalian lineages, exhibiting morphological and habitat diversity and containing several key livestock species. To better understand their evolution, we generated and analyzed de novo assembled genomes of 44 ruminant species, representing all six Ruminantia families. We used these genomes to create a time-calibrated phylogeny to resolve topological controversies, overcoming the challenges of incomplete lineage sorting. Population dynamic analyses show that population declines commenced between 100,000 and 50,000 years ago, which is concomitant with expansion in human populations. We also reveal genes and regulatory elements that possibly contribute to the evolution of the digestive system, cranial appendages, immune system, metabolism, body size, cursorial locomotion, and dentition of the ruminants.
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49
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Yang L, Ravikanthachari N, Mariño-Pérez R, Deshmukh R, Wu M, Rosenstein A, Kunte K, Song H, Andolfatto P. Predictability in the evolution of Orthopteran cardenolide insensitivity. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2019; 374:20180246. [PMID: 31154978 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2018.0246] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The repeated evolutionary specialization of distantly related insects to cardenolide-containing host plants provides a stunning example of parallel adaptation. Hundreds of herbivorous insect species have independently evolved insensitivity to cardenolides, which are potent inhibitors of the alpha-subunit of Na+,K+-ATPase (ATPα). Previous studies investigating ATPα-mediated cardenolide insensitivity in five insect orders have revealed remarkably high levels of parallelism in the evolution of this trait, including the frequent occurrence of parallel amino acid substitutions at two sites and recurrent episodes of duplication followed by neo-functionalization. Here we add data for a sixth insect order, Orthoptera, which includes an ancient group of highly aposematic cardenolide-sequestering grasshoppers in the family Pyrgomorphidae. We find that Orthopterans exhibit largely predictable patterns of evolution of insensitivity established by sampling other insect orders. Taken together the data lend further support to the proposal that negative pleiotropic constraints are a key determinant in the evolution of cardenolide insensitivity in insects. Furthermore, analysis of our expanded taxonomic survey implicates positive selection acting on site 111 of cardenolide-sequestering species with a single-copy of ATPα, and sites 115, 118 and 122 in lineages with neo-functionalized duplicate copies, all of which are sites of frequent parallel amino acid substitution. This article is part of the theme issue 'Convergent evolution in the genomics era: new insights and directions'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lu Yang
- 1 Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University , Princeton, NJ 08544 , USA
| | - Nitin Ravikanthachari
- 2 National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research , Bengaluru , India
| | - Ricardo Mariño-Pérez
- 3 Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843 , USA
| | - Riddhi Deshmukh
- 2 National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research , Bengaluru , India
| | - Mariana Wu
- 1 Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University , Princeton, NJ 08544 , USA
| | - Adam Rosenstein
- 1 Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University , Princeton, NJ 08544 , USA
| | - Krushnamegh Kunte
- 2 National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research , Bengaluru , India
| | - Hojun Song
- 3 Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843 , USA
| | - Peter Andolfatto
- 4 Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University , New York, NY 10027 , USA
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50
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Mendes FK, Livera AP, Hahn MW. The perils of intralocus recombination for inferences of molecular convergence. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2019; 374:20180244. [PMID: 31154973 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2018.0244] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Accurate inferences of convergence require that the appropriate tree topology be used. If there is a mismatch between the tree a trait has evolved along and the tree used for analysis, then false inferences of convergence ('hemiplasy') can occur. To avoid problems of hemiplasy when there are high levels of gene tree discordance with the species tree, researchers have begun to construct tree topologies from individual loci. However, due to intralocus recombination, even locus-specific trees may contain multiple topologies within them. This implies that the use of individual tree topologies discordant with the species tree can still lead to incorrect inferences about molecular convergence. Here, we examine the frequency with which single exons and single protein-coding genes contain multiple underlying tree topologies, in primates and Drosophila, and quantify the effects of hemiplasy when using trees inferred from individual loci. In both clades, we find that there are most often multiple diagnosable topologies within single exons and whole genes, with 91% of Drosophila protein-coding genes containing multiple topologies. Because of this underlying topological heterogeneity, even using trees inferred from individual protein-coding genes results in 25% and 38% of substitutions falsely labelled as convergent in primates and Drosophila, respectively. While constructing local trees can reduce the problem of hemiplasy, our results suggest that it will be difficult to completely avoid false inferences of convergence. We conclude by suggesting several ways forward in the analysis of convergent evolution, for both molecular and morphological characters. This article is part of the theme issue 'Convergent evolution in the genomics era: new insights and directions'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fábio K Mendes
- 1 Department of Computer Science, The University of Auckland , Auckland 1010 , New Zealand.,2 Department of Biology, Indiana University , Bloomington, IN 47405 , USA
| | - Andrew P Livera
- 2 Department of Biology, Indiana University , Bloomington, IN 47405 , USA
| | - Matthew W Hahn
- 2 Department of Biology, Indiana University , Bloomington, IN 47405 , USA.,3 Department of Computer Science, Indiana University , Bloomington, IN 47405 , USA
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