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Julca I, Ferrari C, Flores-Tornero M, Proost S, Lindner AC, Hackenberg D, Steinbachová L, Michaelidis C, Gomes Pereira S, Misra CS, Kawashima T, Borg M, Berger F, Goldberg J, Johnson M, Honys D, Twell D, Sprunck S, Dresselhaus T, Becker JD, Mutwil M. Comparative transcriptomic analysis reveals conserved programmes underpinning organogenesis and reproduction in land plants. NATURE PLANTS 2021; 7:1143-1159. [PMID: 34253868 DOI: 10.1101/2020.10.29.361501] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2020] [Accepted: 06/02/2021] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
The appearance of plant organs mediated the explosive radiation of land plants, which shaped the biosphere and allowed the establishment of terrestrial animal life. The evolution of organs and immobile gametes required the coordinated acquisition of novel gene functions, the co-option of existing genes and the development of novel regulatory programmes. However, no large-scale analyses of genomic and transcriptomic data have been performed for land plants. To remedy this, we generated gene expression atlases for various organs and gametes of ten plant species comprising bryophytes, vascular plants, gymnosperms and flowering plants. A comparative analysis of the atlases identified hundreds of organ- and gamete-specific orthogroups and revealed that most of the specific transcriptomes are significantly conserved. Interestingly, our results suggest that co-option of existing genes is the main mechanism for evolving new organs. In contrast to female gametes, male gametes showed a high number and conservation of specific genes, which indicates that male reproduction is highly specialized. The expression atlas capturing pollen development revealed numerous transcription factors and kinases essential for pollen biogenesis and function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene Julca
- School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Camilla Ferrari
- Max Planck Institute for Molecular Plant Physiology, Potsdam-Golm, Germany
| | - María Flores-Tornero
- Cell Biology and Plant Biochemistry, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Sebastian Proost
- Max Planck Institute for Molecular Plant Physiology, Potsdam-Golm, Germany
- Laboratory of Molecular Bacteriology, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Rega Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- VIB, Center for Microbiology, Leuven, Belgium
| | | | - Dieter Hackenberg
- Department of Genetics and Genome Biology, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
- School of Life Sciences, Gibbet Hill Campus, The University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
| | - Lenka Steinbachová
- Laboratory of Pollen Biology, Institute of Experimental Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Christos Michaelidis
- Laboratory of Pollen Biology, Institute of Experimental Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | | | - Chandra Shekhar Misra
- Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Oeiras, Portugal
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Tomokazu Kawashima
- Gregor Mendel Institute (GMI), Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, BioCenter (VBC), Vienna, Austria
- Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA
| | - Michael Borg
- Gregor Mendel Institute (GMI), Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, BioCenter (VBC), Vienna, Austria
| | - Frédéric Berger
- Gregor Mendel Institute (GMI), Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, BioCenter (VBC), Vienna, Austria
| | - Jacob Goldberg
- Department of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, and Biochemistry, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
| | - Mark Johnson
- Department of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, and Biochemistry, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
| | - David Honys
- Laboratory of Pollen Biology, Institute of Experimental Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - David Twell
- Department of Genetics and Genome Biology, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
| | - Stefanie Sprunck
- Cell Biology and Plant Biochemistry, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Thomas Dresselhaus
- Cell Biology and Plant Biochemistry, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Jörg D Becker
- Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Oeiras, Portugal.
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Oeiras, Portugal.
| | - Marek Mutwil
- School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore.
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2
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Warsi O, Knopp M, Surkov S, Jerlström Hultqvist J, Andersson DI. Evolution of a New Function by Fusion between Phage DNA and a Bacterial Gene. Mol Biol Evol 2021; 37:1329-1341. [PMID: 31977019 PMCID: PMC7182210 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msaa007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Mobile genetic elements, such as plasmids, phages, and transposons, are important sources for evolution of novel functions. In this study, we performed a large-scale screening of metagenomic phage libraries for their ability to suppress temperature-sensitivity in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium strain LT2 mutants to examine how phage DNA could confer evolutionary novelty to bacteria. We identified an insert encoding 23 amino acids from a phage that when fused with a bacterial DNA-binding repressor protein (LacI) resulted in the formation of a chimeric protein that localized to the outer membrane. This relocalization of the chimeric protein resulted in increased membrane vesicle formation and an associated suppression of the temperature sensitivity of the bacterium. Both the host LacI protein and the extracellular 23-amino acid stretch are necessary for the generation of the novel phenotype. Furthermore, mutational analysis of the chimeric protein showed that although the native repressor function of the LacI protein is maintained in this chimeric structure, it is not necessary for the new function. Thus, our study demonstrates how a gene fusion between foreign DNA and bacterial DNA can generate novelty without compromising the native function of a given gene.
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Affiliation(s)
- Omar Warsi
- Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Michael Knopp
- Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Serhiy Surkov
- Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | | | - Dan I Andersson
- Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
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Cassone BJ, Kay RGG, Daugherty MP, White BJ. Comparative Transcriptomics of Malaria Mosquito Testes: Function, Evolution, and Linkage. G3 (BETHESDA, MD.) 2017; 7:1127-1136. [PMID: 28159865 PMCID: PMC5386861 DOI: 10.1534/g3.117.040089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2016] [Accepted: 01/31/2017] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Testes-biased genes evolve rapidly and are important in the establishment, solidification, and maintenance of reproductive isolation between incipient species. The Anopheles gambiae complex, a group of at least eight isomorphic mosquito species endemic to Sub-Saharan Africa, is an excellent system to explore the evolution of testes-biased genes. Within this group, the testes are an important tissue in the diversification process because hybridization between species results in sterile hybrid males, but fully fertile females. We conducted RNA sequencing of A. gambiae and A. merus carcass and testes to explore tissue- and species-specific patterns of gene expression. Our data provides support for transcriptional repression of X-linked genes in the male germline, which likely drives demasculinization of the X chromosome. Testes-biased genes predominately function in cellular differentiation and show a number of interesting patterns indicative of their rapid evolution, including elevated dN/dS values, low evolutionary conservation, poor annotation in existing reference genomes, and a high likelihood of differential expression between species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bryan J Cassone
- Department of Biology, Brandon University, Manitoba R7A 6A9, Canada
| | - Raissa G G Kay
- Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, California 92521
- Graduate Program in Genetics, Genomics, and Bioinformatics, University of California, Riverside, California 92521
| | - Matthew P Daugherty
- Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, California 92521
| | - Bradley J White
- Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, California 92521
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Lee YCG, Leek C, Levine MT. Recurrent Innovation at Genes Required for Telomere Integrity in Drosophila. Mol Biol Evol 2017; 34:467-482. [PMID: 27836984 PMCID: PMC6307840 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msw248] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Telomeres are nucleoprotein complexes at the ends of linear chromosomes. These specialized structures ensure genome integrity and faithful chromosome inheritance. Recurrent addition of repetitive, telomere-specific DNA elements to chromosome ends combats end-attrition, while specialized telomere-associated proteins protect naked, double-stranded chromosome ends from promiscuous repair into end-to-end fusions. Although telomere length homeostasis and end-protection are ubiquitous across eukaryotes, there is sporadic but building evidence that the molecular machinery supporting these essential processes evolves rapidly. Nevertheless, no global analysis of the evolutionary forces that shape these fast-evolving proteins has been performed on any eukaryote. The abundant population and comparative genomic resources of Drosophila melanogaster and its close relatives offer us a unique opportunity to fill this gap. Here we leverage population genetics, molecular evolution, and phylogenomics to define the scope and evolutionary mechanisms driving fast evolution of genes required for telomere integrity. We uncover evidence of pervasive positive selection across multiple evolutionary timescales. We also document prolific expansion, turnover, and expression evolution in gene families founded by telomeric proteins. Motivated by the mutant phenotypes and molecular roles of these fast-evolving genes, we put forward four alternative, but not mutually exclusive, models of intra-genomic conflict that may play out at very termini of eukaryotic chromosomes. Our findings set the stage for investigating both the genetic causes and functional consequences of telomere protein evolution in Drosophila and beyond.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuh Chwen G Lee
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
| | - Courtney Leek
- Department of Biology, School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
| | - Mia T Levine
- Department of Biology, School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
- Epigenetics Program, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
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Baker RH, Narechania A, DeSalle R, Johns PM, Reinhardt JA, Wilkinson GS. Spermatogenesis Drives Rapid Gene Creation and Masculinization of the X Chromosome in Stalk-Eyed Flies (Diopsidae). Genome Biol Evol 2016; 8:896-914. [PMID: 26951781 PMCID: PMC4824122 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evw043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Throughout their evolutionary history, genomes acquire new genetic material that facilitates phenotypic innovation and diversification. Developmental processes associated with reproduction are particularly likely to involve novel genes. Abundant gene creation impacts the evolution of chromosomal gene content and general regulatory mechanisms such as dosage compensation. Numerous studies in model organisms have found complex and, at times contradictory, relationships among these genomic attributes highlighting the need to examine these patterns in other systems characterized by abundant sexual selection. Therefore, we examined the association among novel gene creation, tissue-specific gene expression, and chromosomal gene content within stalk-eyed flies. Flies in this family are characterized by strong sexual selection and the presence of a newly evolved X chromosome. We generated RNA-seq transcriptome data from the testes for three species within the family and from seven additional tissues in the highly dimorphic species, Teleopsis dalmanni. Analysis of dipteran gene orthology reveals dramatic testes-specific gene creation in stalk-eyed flies, involving numerous gene families that are highly conserved in other insect groups. Identification of X-linked genes for the three species indicates that the X chromosome arose prior to the diversification of the family. The most striking feature of this X chromosome is that it is highly masculinized, containing nearly twice as many testes-specific genes as expected based on its size. All the major processes that may drive differential sex chromosome gene content—creation of genes with male-specific expression, development of male-specific expression from pre-existing genes, and movement of genes with male-specific expression—are elevated on the X chromosome of T. dalmanni. This masculinization occurs despite evidence that testes expressed genes do not achieve the same levels of gene expression on the X chromosome as they do on the autosomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard H Baker
- Sackler Institute for Comparative Genomics, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY
| | - Apurva Narechania
- Sackler Institute for Comparative Genomics, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY
| | - Rob DeSalle
- Sackler Institute for Comparative Genomics, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY
| | - Philip M Johns
- Life Sciences Department, Yale-NUS College, Singapore, Singapore
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Vedelek B, Blastyák A, Boros IM. Cross-Species Interaction between Rapidly Evolving Telomere-Specific Drosophila Proteins. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0142771. [PMID: 26566042 PMCID: PMC4643883 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0142771] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2015] [Accepted: 10/27/2015] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Telomere integrity in Drosophila melanogaster is maintained by a putative multisubunit complex called terminin that is believed to act in analogy to the mammalian shelterin complex in protecting chromosome ends from being recognized as sites of DNA damage. The five proteins supposed to form the terminin complex are HP1-ORC associated protein, HP1-HOAP interacting protein, Verrocchio, Drosophila Telomere Loss/Modigliani and Heterochromatic Protein 1. Four of these proteins evolve rapidly within the Drosophila genus. The accelerated evolution of terminin components may indicate the involvement of these proteins in the process by which new species arise, as the resulting divergence of terminin proteins might prevent hybrid formation, thus driving speciation. However, terminin is not an experimentally proven entity, and no biochemical studies have been performed to investigate its assembly and action in detail. Motivated by these facts in order to initiate biochemical studies on terminin function, we attempted to reconstitute terminin by co-expressing its subunits in bacteria and investigated the possible role of the fast-evolving parts of terminin components in complex assembly. Our results suggest formation of stable subcomplexes of terminin, but not of the whole complex in vitro. We found that the accelerated evolution is restricted to definable regions of terminin components, and that the divergence of D. melanogaster Drosophila Telomere Loss and D. yakuba Verrocchio proteins does not preclude their stable interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Balázs Vedelek
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
| | - András Blastyák
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
- Institute of Biochemistry, Biological Research Centre of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Szeged, Hungary
| | - Imre M. Boros
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
- Institute of Biochemistry, Biological Research Centre of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Szeged, Hungary
- * E-mail:
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Cui X, Lv Y, Chen M, Nikoloski Z, Twell D, Zhang D. Young Genes out of the Male: An Insight from Evolutionary Age Analysis of the Pollen Transcriptome. MOLECULAR PLANT 2015; 8:935-45. [PMID: 25670339 DOI: 10.1016/j.molp.2014.12.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2014] [Revised: 12/10/2014] [Accepted: 12/11/2014] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
The birth of new genes in genomes is an important evolutionary event. Several studies reveal that new genes in animals tend to be preferentially expressed in male reproductive tissues such as testis (Betrán et al., 2002; Begun et al., 2007; Dubruille et al., 2012), and thus an "out of testis" hypothesis for the emergence of new genes has been proposed (Vinckenbosch et al., 2006; Kaessmann, 2010). However, such phenomena have not been examined in plant species. Here, by employing a phylostratigraphic method, we dated the origin of protein-coding genes in rice and Arabidopsis thaliana and observed a number of young genes in both species. These young genes tend to encode short extracellular proteins, which may be involved in rapid evolving processes, such as reproductive barriers, species specification, and anti-microbial processes. Further analysis of transcriptome age indexes across different tissues revealed that male reproductive cells express a phylogenetically younger transcriptome than other plant tissues. Compared with sporophytic tissues, the young transcriptomes of the male gametophyte displayed greater complexity and diversity, which included a higher ratio of anti-sense and inter-genic transcripts, reflecting a pervasive transcription state that facilitated the emergence of new genes. Here, we propose that pollen may act as an "innovation incubator" for the birth of de novo genes. With cases of male-biased expression of young genes reported in animals, the "new genes out of the male" model revealed a common evolutionary force that drives reproductive barriers, species specification, and the upgrading of defensive mechanisms against pathogens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao Cui
- State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice, Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic & Developmental Sciences, SJTU-Adelaide Joint Centre for Agriculture and Health, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Yang Lv
- State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice, Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic & Developmental Sciences, SJTU-Adelaide Joint Centre for Agriculture and Health, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Miaolin Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice, Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic & Developmental Sciences, SJTU-Adelaide Joint Centre for Agriculture and Health, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Zoran Nikoloski
- Systems Biology and Mathematical Modeling Group, University of Potsdam and Max-Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Am Muehlenberg, Potsdam 114424, Germany
| | - David Twell
- Department of Biology, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RA, UK
| | - Dabing Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice, Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic & Developmental Sciences, SJTU-Adelaide Joint Centre for Agriculture and Health, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China; Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic & Developmental Sciences, University of Adelaide-Shanghai Jiao Tong University Joint Centre for Agriculture and Health, School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, University of Adelaide, Waite Campus, Urrbrae, South Australia 5064, Australia.
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Dubruille R, Loppin B. Protection of Drosophila chromosome ends through minimal telomere capping. J Cell Sci 2015; 128:1969-81. [PMID: 25908850 DOI: 10.1242/jcs.167825] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2014] [Accepted: 03/18/2015] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
In Drosophila, telomere-capping proteins have the remarkable capacity to recognize chromosome ends in a sequence-independent manner. This epigenetic protection is essential to prevent catastrophic ligations of chromosome extremities. Interestingly, capping proteins occupy a large telomere chromatin domain of several kilobases; however, the functional relevance of this to end protection is unknown. Here, we investigate the role of the large capping domain by manipulating HOAP (encoded by caravaggio) capping-protein expression in the male germ cells, where telomere protection can be challenged without compromising viability. We show that the exhaustion of HOAP results in a dramatic reduction of other capping proteins at telomeres, including K81 [encoded by ms(3)K81], which is essential for male fertility. Strikingly however, we demonstrate that, although capping complexes are barely detected in HOAP-depleted male germ cells, telomere protection and male fertility are not dramatically affected. Our study thus demonstrates that efficient protection of Drosophila telomeres can be achieved with surprisingly low amounts of capping complexes. We propose that these complexes prevent fusions by acting at the very extremity of chromosomes, reminiscent of the protection conferred by extremely short telomeric arrays in yeast or mammalian systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raphaëlle Dubruille
- Centre de Génétique et de Physiologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, CNRS UMR 5534, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Université de Lyon, 69100 Villeurbanne, France
| | - Benjamin Loppin
- Centre de Génétique et de Physiologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, CNRS UMR 5534, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Université de Lyon, 69100 Villeurbanne, France
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