Bontonou G, Saint-Leandre B, Kafle T, Baticle T, Hassan A, Sánchez-Alcañiz JA, Arguello JR. Evolution of chemosensory tissues and cells across ecologically diverse Drosophilids.
Nat Commun 2024;
15:1047. [PMID:
38316749 PMCID:
PMC10844241 DOI:
10.1038/s41467-023-44558-4]
[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: 05/10/2023] [Accepted: 12/19/2023] [Indexed: 02/07/2024] Open
Abstract
Chemosensory tissues exhibit significant between-species variability, yet the evolution of gene expression and cell types underlying this diversity remain poorly understood. To address these questions, we conducted transcriptomic analyses of five chemosensory tissues from six Drosophila species and integrated the findings with single-cell datasets. While stabilizing selection predominantly shapes chemosensory transcriptomes, thousands of genes in each tissue have evolved expression differences. Genes that have changed expression in one tissue have often changed in multiple other tissues but at different past epochs and are more likely to be cell type-specific than unchanged genes. Notably, chemosensory-related genes have undergone widespread expression changes, with numerous species-specific gains/losses including novel chemoreceptors expression patterns. Sex differences are also pervasive, including a D. melanogaster-specific excess of male-biased expression in sensory and muscle cells in its forelegs. Together, our analyses provide new insights for understanding evolutionary changes in chemosensory tissues at both global and individual gene levels.
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