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Bracci AN, Dallmann A, Ding Q, Hubisz MJ, Caballero M, Koren A. The evolution of the human DNA replication timing program. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2213896120. [PMID: 36848554 PMCID: PMC10013799 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2213896120] [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: 08/15/2022] [Accepted: 01/23/2023] [Indexed: 03/01/2023] Open
Abstract
DNA is replicated according to a defined spatiotemporal program that is linked to both gene regulation and genome stability. The evolutionary forces that have shaped replication timing programs in eukaryotic species are largely unknown. Here, we studied the molecular causes and consequences of replication timing evolution across 94 humans, 95 chimpanzees, and 23 rhesus macaques. Replication timing differences recapitulated the species' phylogenetic tree, suggesting continuous evolution of the DNA replication timing program in primates. Hundreds of genomic regions had significant replication timing variation between humans and chimpanzees, of which 66 showed advances in replication origin firing in humans, while 57 were delayed. Genes overlapping these regions displayed correlated changes in expression levels and chromatin structure. Many human-chimpanzee variants also exhibited interindividual replication timing variation, pointing to ongoing evolution of replication timing at these loci. Association of replication timing variation with genetic variation revealed that DNA sequence evolution can explain replication timing variation between species. Taken together, DNA replication timing shows substantial and ongoing evolution in the human lineage that is driven by sequence alterations and could impact regulatory evolution at specific genomic sites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexa N. Bracci
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY14853
| | - Anissa Dallmann
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY14853
| | - Qiliang Ding
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY14853
| | - Melissa J. Hubisz
- Bioinformatics Facility, Institute of Biotechnology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY14853
| | - Madison Caballero
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY14853
| | - Amnon Koren
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY14853
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2
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Tissue-specific impacts of aging and genetics on gene expression patterns in humans. Nat Commun 2022; 13:5803. [PMID: 36192477 PMCID: PMC9530233 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-33509-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2021] [Accepted: 09/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Age is the primary risk factor for many common human diseases. Here, we quantify the relative contributions of genetics and aging to gene expression patterns across 27 tissues from 948 humans. We show that the predictive power of expression quantitative trait loci is impacted by age in many tissues. Jointly modelling the contributions of age and genetics to transcript level variation we find expression heritability (h2) is consistent among tissues while the contribution of aging varies by >20-fold with [Formula: see text] in 5 tissues. We find that while the force of purifying selection is stronger on genes expressed early versus late in life (Medawar's hypothesis), several highly proliferative tissues exhibit the opposite pattern. These non-Medawarian tissues exhibit high rates of cancer and age-of-expression-associated somatic mutations. In contrast, genes under genetic control are under relaxed constraint. Together, we demonstrate the distinct roles of aging and genetics on expression phenotypes.
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3
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Chen Q, Yang H, Feng X, Chen Q, Shi S, Wu CI, He Z. Two decades of suspect evidence for adaptive molecular evolution – Negative selection confounding positive selection signals. Natl Sci Rev 2021; 9:nwab217. [PMID: 35663241 PMCID: PMC9154339 DOI: 10.1093/nsr/nwab217] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2021] [Accepted: 11/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
There has been a large literature in the last two decades affirming adaptive DNA sequence evolution between species. The main lines of evidence are from (i) the McDonald-Kreitman (MK) test, which compares divergence and polymorphism data, and (ii) the phylogenetic analysis by maximum likelihood (PAML) test, which analyzes multispecies divergence data. Here, we apply these two tests concurrently to genomic data of Drosophila and Arabidopsis. To our surprise, the >100 genes identified by the two tests do not overlap beyond random expectation. Because the non-concordance could be due to low powers leading to high false negatives, we merge every 20–30 genes into a ‘supergene’. At the supergene level, the power of detection is large but the calls still do not overlap. We rule out methodological reasons for the non-concordance. In particular, extensive simulations fail to find scenarios whereby positive selection can only be detected by either MK or PAML, but not both. Since molecular evolution is governed by positive and negative selection concurrently, a fundamental assumption for estimating one of these (say, positive selection) is that the other is constant. However, in a broad survey of primates, birds, Drosophila and Arabidopsis, we found that negative selection rarely stays constant for long in evolution. As a consequence, the variation in negative selection is often misconstrued as a signal of positive selection. In conclusion, MK, PAML and any method that examines genomic sequence evolution has to explicitly address the variation in negative selection before estimating positive selection. In a companion study, we propose a possible path forward in two stages—first, by mapping out the changes in negative selection and then using this map to estimate positive selection. For now, the large literature on positive selection between species has to await reassessment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qipian Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Guangdong Key Lab of Plant Resources, School of Life Sciences, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Hao Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Guangdong Key Lab of Plant Resources, School of Life Sciences, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xiao Feng
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Guangdong Key Lab of Plant Resources, School of Life Sciences, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Qingjian Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Guangdong Key Lab of Plant Resources, School of Life Sciences, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Suhua Shi
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Guangdong Key Lab of Plant Resources, School of Life Sciences, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Chung-I Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Guangdong Key Lab of Plant Resources, School of Life Sciences, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Ziwen He
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Guangdong Key Lab of Plant Resources, School of Life Sciences, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
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4
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Pajkos M, Dosztányi Z. Functions of intrinsically disordered proteins through evolutionary lenses. PROGRESS IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND TRANSLATIONAL SCIENCE 2021; 183:45-74. [PMID: 34656334 DOI: 10.1016/bs.pmbts.2021.06.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Protein sequences are the result of an evolutionary process that involves the balancing act of experimenting with novel mutations and selecting out those that have an undesirable functional outcome. In the case of globular proteins, the function relies on a well-defined conformation, therefore, there is a strong evolutionary pressure to preserve the structure. However, different evolutionary rules might apply for the group of intrinsically disordered regions and proteins (IDR/IDPs) that exist as an ensemble of fluctuating conformations. The function of IDRs can directly originate from their disordered state or arise through different types of molecular recognition processes. There is an amazing variety of ways IDRs can carry out their functions, and this is also reflected in their evolutionary properties. In this chapter we give an overview of the different types of evolutionary behavior of disordered proteins and associated functions in normal and disease settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mátyás Pajkos
- Department of Biochemistry, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Zsuzsanna Dosztányi
- Department of Biochemistry, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary.
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5
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Jackson EK, Bellott DW, Cho TJ, Skaletsky H, Hughes JF, Pyntikova T, Page DC. Large palindromes on the primate X Chromosome are preserved by natural selection. Genome Res 2021; 31:1337-1352. [PMID: 34290043 PMCID: PMC8327919 DOI: 10.1101/gr.275188.120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2020] [Accepted: 05/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Mammalian sex chromosomes carry large palindromes that harbor protein-coding gene families with testis-biased expression. However, there are few known examples of sex-chromosome palindromes conserved between species. We identified 26 palindromes on the human X Chromosome, constituting more than 2% of its sequence, and characterized orthologous palindromes in the chimpanzee and the rhesus macaque using a clone-based sequencing approach that incorporates full-length nanopore reads. Many of these palindromes are missing or misassembled in the current reference assemblies of these species' genomes. We find that 12 human X palindromes have been conserved for at least 25 million years, with orthologs in both chimpanzee and rhesus macaque. Insertions and deletions between species are significantly depleted within the X palindromes' protein-coding genes compared to their noncoding sequence, demonstrating that natural selection has preserved these gene families. The spacers that separate the left and right arms of palindromes are a site of localized structural instability, with seven of 12 conserved palindromes showing no spacer orthology between human and rhesus macaque. Analysis of the 1000 Genomes Project data set revealed that human X-palindrome spacers are enriched for deletions relative to arms and flanking sequence, including a common spacer deletion that affects 13% of human X Chromosomes. This work reveals an abundance of conserved palindromes on primate X Chromosomes and suggests that protein-coding gene families in palindromes (most of which remain poorly characterized) promote X-palindrome survival in the face of ongoing structural instability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily K Jackson
- Whitehead Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Whitehead Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | | | - Ting-Jan Cho
- Whitehead Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA
| | - Helen Skaletsky
- Whitehead Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Whitehead Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA
| | | | | | - David C Page
- Whitehead Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Whitehead Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
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6
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Sahm A, Koch P, Horvath S, Hoffmann S. An analysis of methylome evolution in primates. Mol Biol Evol 2021; 38:4700-4714. [PMID: 34175932 PMCID: PMC8557466 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msab189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Although the investigation of the epigenome becomes increasingly important, still little is known about the long-term evolution of epigenetic marks and systematic investigation strategies are still lacking. Here, we systematically demonstrate the transfer of classic phylogenetic methods such as maximum likelihood based on substitution models, parsimony, and distance-based to interval-scaled epigenetic data. Using a great apes blood data set, we demonstrate that DNA methylation is evolutionarily conserved at the level of individual CpGs in promotors, enhancers, and genic regions. Our analysis also reveals that this epigenomic conservation is significantly correlated with its transcription factor binding density. Binding sites for transcription factors involved in neuron differentiation and components of AP-1 evolve at a significantly higher rate at methylation than at the nucleotide level. Moreover, our models suggest an accelerated epigenomic evolution at binding sites of BRCA1, chromobox homolog protein 2, and factors of the polycomb repressor 2 complex in humans. For most genomic regions, the methylation-based reconstruction of phylogenetic trees is at par with sequence-based reconstruction. Most strikingly, phylogenetic reconstruction using methylation rates in enhancer regions was ineffective independently of the chosen model. We identify a set of phylogenetically uninformative CpG sites enriched in enhancers controlling immune-related genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arne Sahm
- Computational Biology Group, Leibniz Institute on Aging - Fritz Lipmann Institute, Jena, Germany
| | - Philipp Koch
- Core Facility Life Science Computing, Leibniz Institute on Aging - Fritz Lipmann Institute, Jena, Germany
| | - Steve Horvath
- Department of Human Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Steve Hoffmann
- Computational Biology Group, Leibniz Institute on Aging - Fritz Lipmann Institute, Jena, Germany
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7
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Huang X, Fortier AL, Coffman AJ, Struck TJ, Irby MN, James JE, León-Burguete JE, Ragsdale AP, Gutenkunst RN. Inferring genome-wide correlations of mutation fitness effects between populations. Mol Biol Evol 2021; 38:4588-4602. [PMID: 34043790 PMCID: PMC8476148 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msab162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The effect of a mutation on fitness may differ between populations depending on environmental and genetic context, but little is known about the factors that underlie such differences. To quantify genome-wide correlations in mutation fitness effects, we developed a novel concept called a joint distribution of fitness effects (DFE) between populations. We then proposed a new statistic w to measure the DFE correlation between populations. Using simulation, we showed that inferring the DFE correlation from the joint allele frequency spectrum is statistically precise and robust. Using population genomic data, we inferred DFE correlations of populations in humans, Drosophila melanogaster, and wild tomatoes. In these species, we found that the overall correlation of the joint DFE was inversely related to genetic differentiation. In humans and D. melanogaster, deleterious mutations had a lower DFE correlation than tolerated mutations, indicating a complex joint DFE. Altogether, the DFE correlation can be reliably inferred, and it offers extensive insight into the genetics of population divergence.
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8
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Jovanovic VM, Sarfert M, Reyna-Blanco CS, Indrischek H, Valdivia DI, Shelest E, Nowick K. Positive Selection in Gene Regulatory Factors Suggests Adaptive Pleiotropic Changes During Human Evolution. Front Genet 2021; 12:662239. [PMID: 34079582 PMCID: PMC8166252 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2021.662239] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2021] [Accepted: 04/19/2021] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Gene regulatory factors (GRFs), such as transcription factors, co-factors and histone-modifying enzymes, play many important roles in modifying gene expression in biological processes. They have also been proposed to underlie speciation and adaptation. To investigate potential contributions of GRFs to primate evolution, we analyzed GRF genes in 27 publicly available primate genomes. Genes coding for zinc finger (ZNF) proteins, especially ZNFs with a Krüppel-associated box (KRAB) domain were the most abundant TFs in all genomes. Gene numbers per TF family differed between all species. To detect signs of positive selection in GRF genes we investigated more than 3,000 human GRFs with their more than 70,000 orthologs in 26 non-human primates. We implemented two independent tests for positive selection, the branch-site-model of the PAML suite and aBSREL of the HyPhy suite, focusing on the human and great ape branch. Our workflow included rigorous procedures to reduce the number of false positives: excluding distantly similar orthologs, manual corrections of alignments, and considering only genes and sites detected by both tests for positive selection. Furthermore, we verified the candidate sites for selection by investigating their variation within human and non-human great ape population data. In order to approximately assign a date to positively selected sites in the human lineage, we analyzed archaic human genomes. Our work revealed with high confidence five GRFs that have been positively selected on the human lineage and one GRF that has been positively selected on the great ape lineage. These GRFs are scattered on different chromosomes and have been previously linked to diverse functions. For some of them a role in speciation and/or adaptation can be proposed based on the expression pattern or association with human diseases, but it seems that they all contributed independently to human evolution. Four of the positively selected GRFs are KRAB-ZNF proteins, that induce changes in target genes co-expression and/or through arms race with transposable elements. Since each positively selected GRF contains several sites with evidence for positive selection, we suggest that these GRFs participated pleiotropically to phenotypic adaptations in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vladimir M Jovanovic
- Human Biology and Primate Evolution, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.,Bioinformatics Solution Center, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Melanie Sarfert
- Human Biology and Primate Evolution, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Carlos S Reyna-Blanco
- Department of Biology, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland.,Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Fribourg, Switzerland
| | - Henrike Indrischek
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany.,Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Dresden, Germany.,Center for Systems Biology Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Dulce I Valdivia
- Evolutionary Genomics Laboratory and Genome Topology and Regulation Laboratory, Genetic Engineering Department, Center for Research and Advanced Studies of the National Polytechnic Institute (CINVESTAV-Irapuato), Irapuato, Mexico
| | - Ekaterina Shelest
- Centre for Enzyme Innovation, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, United Kingdom
| | - Katja Nowick
- Human Biology and Primate Evolution, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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9
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Molecular evolution and the decline of purifying selection with age. Nat Commun 2021; 12:2657. [PMID: 33976227 PMCID: PMC8113359 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-22981-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2020] [Accepted: 04/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Life history theory predicts that the intensity of selection declines with age, and this trend should impact how genes expressed at different ages evolve. Here we find consistent relationships between a gene’s age of expression and patterns of molecular evolution in two mammals (the human Homo sapiens and the mouse Mus musculus) and two insects (the malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae and the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster). When expressed later in life, genes fix nonsynonymous mutations more frequently, are more polymorphic for nonsynonymous mutations, and have shorter evolutionary lifespans, relative to those expressed early. The latter pattern is explained by a simple evolutionary model. Further, early-expressed genes tend to be enriched in similar gene ontology terms across species, while late-expressed genes show no such consistency. In humans, late-expressed genes are more likely to be linked to cancer and to segregate for dominant disease-causing mutations. Last, the effective strength of selection (Nes) decreases and the fraction of beneficial mutations increases with a gene’s age of expression. These results are consistent with the diminishing efficacy of purifying selection with age, as proposed by Medawar’s classic hypothesis for the evolution of senescence, and provide links between life history theory and molecular evolution. A fundamental principle of evolutionary theory is that the force of natural selection is weaker on traits expressed late in life relative to traits expressed early. Here, the authors find strong and consistent patterns of molecular evolution reflecting this principle in four species of animals, including humans.
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10
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Judd EN, Gilchrist AR, Meyerson NR, Sawyer SL. Positive natural selection in primate genes of the type I interferon response. BMC Ecol Evol 2021; 21:65. [PMID: 33902453 PMCID: PMC8074226 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-021-01783-z] [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: 10/28/2020] [Accepted: 03/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The Type I interferon response is an important first-line defense against viruses. In turn, viruses antagonize (i.e., degrade, mis-localize, etc.) many proteins in interferon pathways. Thus, hosts and viruses are locked in an evolutionary arms race for dominance of the Type I interferon pathway. As a result, many genes in interferon pathways have experienced positive natural selection in favor of new allelic forms that can better recognize viruses or escape viral antagonists. Here, we performed a holistic analysis of selective pressures acting on genes in the Type I interferon family. We initially hypothesized that the genes responsible for inducing the production of interferon would be antagonized more heavily by viruses than genes that are turned on as a result of interferon. Our logic was that viruses would have greater effect if they worked upstream of the production of interferon molecules because, once interferon is produced, hundreds of interferon-stimulated proteins would activate and the virus would need to counteract them one-by-one.
Results We curated multiple sequence alignments of primate orthologs for 131 genes active in interferon production and signaling (herein, “induction” genes), 100 interferon-stimulated genes, and 100 randomly chosen genes. We analyzed each multiple sequence alignment for the signatures of recurrent positive selection. Counter to our hypothesis, we found the interferon-stimulated genes, and not interferon induction genes, are evolving significantly more rapidly than a random set of genes. Interferon induction genes evolve in a way that is indistinguishable from a matched set of random genes (22% and 18% of genes bear signatures of positive selection, respectively). In contrast, interferon-stimulated genes evolve differently, with 33% of genes evolving under positive selection and containing a significantly higher fraction of codons that have experienced selection for recurrent replacement of the encoded amino acid. Conclusion Viruses may antagonize individual products of the interferon response more often than trying to neutralize the system altogether.
Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12862-021-01783-z.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena N Judd
- Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology; BioFrontiers Institute, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, USA
| | - Alison R Gilchrist
- Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology; BioFrontiers Institute, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, USA
| | - Nicholas R Meyerson
- Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology; BioFrontiers Institute, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, USA
| | - Sara L Sawyer
- Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology; BioFrontiers Institute, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, USA.
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11
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Human-chimpanzee fused cells reveal cis-regulatory divergence underlying skeletal evolution. Nat Genet 2021; 53:467-476. [PMID: 33731941 PMCID: PMC8038968 DOI: 10.1038/s41588-021-00804-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2020] [Accepted: 01/26/2021] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Gene regulatory divergence is thought to play a central role in determining human-specific traits. However, our ability to link divergent regulation to divergent phenotypes is limited. Here, we utilized human-chimpanzee hybrid induced pluripotent stem cells to study gene expression separating these species. The tetraploid hybrid cells allowed us to separate cis- from trans-regulatory effects, and to control for non-genetic confounding factors. We differentiated these cells into cranial neural crest cells (CNCCs), the primary cell type giving rise to the face. We discovered evidence of lineage-specific selection on the hedgehog signaling pathway, including a human-specific 6-fold down-regulation of EVC2 (LIMBIN), a key hedgehog gene. Inducing a similar down-regulation of EVC2 substantially reduced hedgehog signaling output. Mice and humans lacking functional EVC2 show striking phenotypic parallels to human-chimpanzee craniofacial differences, suggesting that the regulatory divergence of hedgehog signaling may have contributed to the unique craniofacial morphology of humans.
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12
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Pajkos M, Zeke A, Dosztányi Z. Ancient Evolutionary Origin of Intrinsically Disordered Cancer Risk Regions. Biomolecules 2020; 10:biom10081115. [PMID: 32731489 PMCID: PMC7465906 DOI: 10.3390/biom10081115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2020] [Revised: 07/17/2020] [Accepted: 07/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Cancer is a heterogeneous genetic disease that alters the proper functioning of proteins involved in key regulatory processes such as cell cycle, DNA repair, survival, or apoptosis. Mutations often accumulate in hot-spots regions, highlighting critical functional modules within these proteins that need to be altered, amplified, or abolished for tumor formation. Recent evidence suggests that these mutational hotspots can correspond not only to globular domains, but also to intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs), which play a significant role in a subset of cancer types. IDRs have distinct functional properties that originate from their inherent flexibility. Generally, they correspond to more recent evolutionary inventions and show larger sequence variations across species. In this work, we analyzed the evolutionary origin of disordered regions that are specifically targeted in cancer. Surprisingly, the majority of these disordered cancer risk regions showed remarkable conservation with ancient evolutionary origin, stemming from the earliest multicellular animals or even beyond. Nevertheless, we encountered several examples where the mutated region emerged at a later stage compared with the origin of the gene family. We also showed the cancer risk regions become quickly fixated after their emergence, but evolution continues to tinker with their genes with novel regulatory elements introduced even at the level of humans. Our concise analysis provides a much clearer picture of the emergence of key regulatory elements in proteins and highlights the importance of taking into account the modular organisation of proteins for the analyses of evolutionary origin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mátyás Pajkos
- Department of Biochemistry, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter stny 1/c, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary;
| | - András Zeke
- Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Magyar tudósok körútja 2, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary;
| | - Zsuzsanna Dosztányi
- Department of Biochemistry, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter stny 1/c, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary;
- Correspondence:
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13
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Grigorev K, Kliver S, Dobrynin P, Komissarov A, Wolfsberger W, Krasheninnikova K, Afanador-Hernández YM, Brandt AL, Paulino LA, Carreras R, Rodríguez LE, Núñez A, Brandt JR, Silva F, Hernández-Martich JD, Majeske AJ, Antunes A, Roca AL, O'Brien SJ, Martínez-Cruzado JC, Oleksyk TK. Innovative assembly strategy contributes to understanding the evolution and conservation genetics of the endangered Solenodon paradoxus from the island of Hispaniola. Gigascience 2018; 7:4931057. [PMID: 29718205 PMCID: PMC6009670 DOI: 10.1093/gigascience/giy025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2017] [Revised: 01/26/2018] [Accepted: 03/07/2018] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Solenodons are insectivores that live in Hispaniola and Cuba. They form an isolated branch in the tree of placental mammals that are highly divergent from other eulipothyplan insectivores The history, unique biology, and adaptations of these enigmatic venomous species could be illuminated by the availability of genome data. However, a whole genome assembly for solenodons has not been previously performed, partially due to the difficulty in obtaining samples from the field. Island isolation and reduced numbers have likely resulted in high homozygosity within the Hispaniolan solenodon (Solenodon paradoxus). Thus, we tested the performance of several assembly strategies on the genome of this genetically impoverished species. The string graph-based assembly strategy seemed a better choice compared to the conventional de Bruijn graph approach due to the high levels of homozygosity, which is often a hallmark of endemic or endangered species. A consensus reference genome was assembled from sequences of 5 individuals from the southern subspecies (S. p. woodi). In addition, we obtained an additional sequence from 1 sample of the northern subspecies (S. p. paradoxus). The resulting genome assemblies were compared to each other and annotated for genes, with an emphasis on venom genes, repeats, variable microsatellite loci, and other genomic variants. Phylogenetic positioning and selection signatures were inferred based on 4,416 single-copy orthologs from 10 other mammals. We estimated that solenodons diverged from other extant mammals 73.6 million years ago. Patterns of single-nucleotide polymorphism variation allowed us to infer population demography, which supported a subspecies split within the Hispaniolan solenodon at least 300 thousand years ago.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kirill Grigorev
- Department of Biology, University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
| | - Sergey Kliver
- Theodosius Dobzhansky Center for Genome Bioinformatics, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - Pavel Dobrynin
- Theodosius Dobzhansky Center for Genome Bioinformatics, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - Aleksey Komissarov
- Theodosius Dobzhansky Center for Genome Bioinformatics, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - Walter Wolfsberger
- Department of Biology, University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
- Biology Department, Uzhhorod National University, Uzhhorod, Ukraine
| | - Ksenia Krasheninnikova
- Theodosius Dobzhansky Center for Genome Bioinformatics, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia
| | | | - Adam L Brandt
- Department of Animal Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA
- Division of Natural Sciences, St. Norbert College, De Pere, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Liz A Paulino
- Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (INTEC), Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
| | - Rosanna Carreras
- Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (INTEC), Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
| | - Luis E Rodríguez
- Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (INTEC), Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
| | - Adrell Núñez
- Department of Conservation and Science, Parque Zoologico Nacional (ZOODOM), Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
| | - Jessica R Brandt
- Department of Animal Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA
- Department of Biology, Marian University, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Filipe Silva
- CIIMAR/CIMAR, Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research, University of Porto, Terminal de Cruzeiros do Porto de Leixões, Av. General Norton de Matos, s/n, 4450–208 Porto, Portugal
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto. Rua do Campo Alegre, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal
| | - J David Hernández-Martich
- Instituto de Investigaciones Botánicas y Zoológicas, Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
| | - Audrey J Majeske
- Department of Biology, University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
| | - Agostinho Antunes
- CIIMAR/CIMAR, Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research, University of Porto, Terminal de Cruzeiros do Porto de Leixões, Av. General Norton de Matos, s/n, 4450–208 Porto, Portugal
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto. Rua do Campo Alegre, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal
| | - Alfred L Roca
- Department of Animal Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
| | - Stephen J O'Brien
- Theodosius Dobzhansky Center for Genome Bioinformatics, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia
- Oceanographic Center, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA
| | | | - Taras K Oleksyk
- Department of Biology, University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
- Biology Department, Uzhhorod National University, Uzhhorod, Ukraine
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14
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Zhao ZM, Campbell MC, Li N, Lee DSW, Zhang Z, Townsend JP. Detection of Regional Variation in Selection Intensity within Protein-Coding Genes Using DNA Sequence Polymorphism and Divergence. Mol Biol Evol 2018; 34:3006-3022. [PMID: 28962009 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msx213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Numerous approaches have been developed to infer natural selection based on the comparison of polymorphism within species and divergence between species. These methods are especially powerful for the detection of uniform selection operating across a gene. However, empirical analyses have demonstrated that regions of protein-coding genes exhibiting clusters of amino acid substitutions are subject to different levels of selection relative to other regions of the same gene. To quantify this heterogeneity of selection within coding sequences, we developed Model Averaged Site Selection via Poisson Random Field (MASS-PRF). MASS-PRF identifies an ensemble of intragenic clustering models for polymorphic and divergent sites. This ensemble of models is used within the Poisson Random Field framework to estimate selection intensity on a site-by-site basis. Using simulations, we demonstrate that MASS-PRF has high power to detect clusters of amino acid variants in small genic regions, can reliably estimate the probability of a variant occurring at each nucleotide site in sequence data and is robust to historical demographic trends and recombination. We applied MASS-PRF to human gene polymorphism derived from the 1,000 Genomes Project and divergence data from the common chimpanzee. On the basis of this analysis, we discovered striking regional variation in selection intensity, indicative of positive or negative selection, in well-defined domains of genes that have previously been associated with neurological processing, immunity, and reproduction. We suggest that amino acid-altering substitutions within these regions likely are or have been selectively advantageous in the human lineage, playing important roles in protein function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zi-Ming Zhao
- Department of Biostatistics, Yale University, New Haven, CT
| | - Michael C Campbell
- Department of Biostatistics, Yale University, New Haven, CT.,Department of Biology, Howard University, Washington, DC
| | - Ning Li
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT
| | - Daniel S W Lee
- Department of Biostatistics, Yale University, New Haven, CT
| | - Zhang Zhang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Genome Sciences and Information, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - 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
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15
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Translation of neutrally evolving peptides provides a basis for de novo gene evolution. Nat Ecol Evol 2018; 2:890-896. [DOI: 10.1038/s41559-018-0506-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 85] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2017] [Accepted: 02/16/2018] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
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16
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Telford M, Navarro A, Santpere G. Whole genome diversity of inherited chromosomally integrated HHV-6 derived from healthy individuals of diverse geographic origin. Sci Rep 2018; 8:3472. [PMID: 29472617 PMCID: PMC5823862 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-21645-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2017] [Accepted: 01/31/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Human herpesviruses 6-A and -B (HHV-6A, HHV-6B) are ubiquitous in human populations worldwide. These viruses have been associated with several diseases such as multiple sclerosis, Hodgkin's lymphoma or encephalitis. Despite of the need to understand the genetic diversity and geographic stratification of these viruses, the availability of complete viral sequences from different populations is still limited. Here, we present nine new inherited chromosomally integrated HHV-6 sequences from diverse geographical origin which were generated through target DNA enrichment on lymphoblastoid cell lines derived from healthy individuals. Integration with available HHV-6 sequences allowed the assessment of HHV-6A and -6B phylogeny, patterns of recombination and signatures of natural selection. Analysis of the intra-species variability showed differences between A and B diversity levels and revealed that the HHV-6B reference (Z29) is an uncommon sequence, suggesting the need for an alternative reference sequence. Signs of geographical variation are present and more defined in HHV-6A, while they appear partly masked by recombination in HHV-6B. Finally, we conducted a scan for signatures of selection in protein coding genes that yielded at least 6 genes (4 and 2 respectively for the A and B species) showing significant evidence for accelerated evolution, and 1 gene showing evidence of positive selection in HHV-6A.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Telford
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology (UPF-CSIC), Departament de Ciències Experimentals i la Salut, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, PRBB, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Arcadi Navarro
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology (UPF-CSIC), Departament de Ciències Experimentals i la Salut, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, PRBB, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
- National Institute for Bioinformatics (INB), PRBB, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
- Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), PRBB, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
- Center for Genomic Regulation (CRG), PRBB, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
| | - Gabriel Santpere
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology (UPF-CSIC), Departament de Ciències Experimentals i la Salut, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, PRBB, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
- Department of Neuroscience, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06510, USA.
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17
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Sánchez-Gracia A, Guirao-Rico S, Hinojosa-Alvarez S, Rozas J. Computational prediction of the phenotypic effects of genetic variants: basic concepts and some application examples in Drosophila nervous system genes. J Neurogenet 2017; 31:307-319. [DOI: 10.1080/01677063.2017.1398241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Alejandro Sánchez-Gracia
- Departament de Genètica, Microbiologia i Estadística and Institut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat (IRBio), Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Sara Guirao-Rico
- Center for Research in Agricultural Genomics (CRAG) CSIC-IRTA-UAB-UB, Bellaterra, Spain
| | - Silvia Hinojosa-Alvarez
- Departament de Genètica, Microbiologia i Estadística and Institut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat (IRBio), Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Julio Rozas
- Departament de Genètica, Microbiologia i Estadística and Institut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat (IRBio), Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
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18
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Sahm A, Bens M, Platzer M, Szafranski K. PosiGene: automated and easy-to-use pipeline for genome-wide detection of positively selected genes. Nucleic Acids Res 2017; 45:e100. [PMID: 28334822 PMCID: PMC5499814 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkx179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2016] [Accepted: 03/09/2017] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Many comparative genomics studies aim to find the genetic basis of species-specific phenotypic traits. A prevailing strategy is to search genome-wide for genes that evolved under positive selection based on the non-synonymous to synonymous substitution ratio. However, incongruent results largely due to high false positive rates indicate the need for standardization of quality criteria and software tools. Main challenges are the ortholog and isoform assignment, the high sensitivity of the statistical models to alignment errors and the imperative to parallelize large parts of the software. We developed the software tool PosiGene that (i) detects positively selected genes (PSGs) on genome-scale, (ii) allows analysis of specific evolutionary branches, (iii) can be used in arbitrary species contexts and (iv) offers visualization of the results for further manual validation and biological interpretation. We exemplify PosiGene's performance using simulated and real data. In the simulated data approach, we determined a false positive rate <1%. With real data, we found that 68.4% of the PSGs detected by PosiGene, were shared by at least one previous study that used the same set of species. PosiGene is a user-friendly, reliable tool for reproducible genome-wide identification of PSGs and freely available at https://github.com/gengit/PosiGene.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arne Sahm
- Leibniz Institute on Aging, Fritz Lipmann Institute, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Martin Bens
- Leibniz Institute on Aging, Fritz Lipmann Institute, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Matthias Platzer
- Leibniz Institute on Aging, Fritz Lipmann Institute, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Karol Szafranski
- Leibniz Institute on Aging, Fritz Lipmann Institute, 07745 Jena, Germany
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19
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Ho PT, Park E, Hong SG, Kim EH, Kim K, Jang SJ, Vrijenhoek RC, Won YJ. Geographical structure of endosymbiotic bacteria hosted by Bathymodiolus mussels at eastern Pacific hydrothermal vents. BMC Evol Biol 2017; 17:121. [PMID: 28558648 PMCID: PMC5450337 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-017-0966-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2017] [Accepted: 05/12/2017] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Chemolithoautotrophic primary production sustains dense invertebrate communities at deep-sea hydrothermal vents and hydrocarbon seeps. Symbiotic bacteria that oxidize dissolved sulfur, methane, and hydrogen gases nourish bathymodiolin mussels that thrive in these environments worldwide. The mussel symbionts are newly acquired in each generation via infection by free-living forms. This study examined geographical subdivision of the thiotrophic endosymbionts hosted by Bathymodiolus mussels living along the eastern Pacific hydrothermal vents. High-throughput sequencing data of 16S ribosomal RNA encoding gene and fragments of six protein-coding genes of symbionts were examined in the samples collected from nine vent localities at the East Pacific Rise, Galápagos Rift, and Pacific-Antarctic Ridge. RESULTS Both of the parapatric sister-species, B. thermophilus and B. antarcticus, hosted the same numerically dominant phylotype of thiotrophic Gammaproteobacteria. However, sequences from six protein-coding genes revealed highly divergent symbiont lineages living north and south of the Easter Microplate and hosted by these two Bathymodiolus mussel species. High heterogeneity of symbiont haplotypes among host individuals sampled from the same location suggested that stochasticity associated with initial infections was amplified as symbionts proliferated within the host individuals. The mussel species presently contact one another and hybridize along the Easter Microplate, but the northern and southern symbionts appear to be completely isolated. Vicariance associated with orogeny of the Easter Microplate region, 2.5-5.3 million years ago, may have initiated isolation of the symbiont and host populations. Estimates of synonymous substitution rates for the protein-coding bacterial genes examined in this study were 0.77-1.62%/nucleotide/million years. CONCLUSIONS Our present study reports the most comprehensive population genetic analyses of the chemosynthetic endosymbiotic bacteria based on high-throughput genetic data and extensive geographical sampling to date, and demonstrates the role of the geographical features, the Easter Microplate and geographical distance, in the intraspecific divergence of this bacterial species along the mid-ocean ridge axes in the eastern Pacific. Altogether, our results provide insights into extrinsic and intrinsic factors affecting the dispersal and evolution of chemosynthetic symbiotic partners in the hydrothermal vents along the eastern Pacific Ocean.
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Affiliation(s)
- Phuong-Thao Ho
- Interdisciplinary Program of EcoCreative, The Graduate School, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, 03760, Korea
| | - Eunji Park
- Division of EcoScience, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, 03760, Korea
| | - Soon Gyu Hong
- Division of Polar Life Sciences, Korea Polar Research Institute, 26 Songdomirae-ro, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, 21990, Republic of Korea
| | - Eun-Hye Kim
- Division of Polar Life Sciences, Korea Polar Research Institute, 26 Songdomirae-ro, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, 21990, Republic of Korea
| | - Kangchon Kim
- Interdisciplinary Program of EcoCreative, The Graduate School, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, 03760, Korea
| | - Sook-Jin Jang
- Interdisciplinary Program of EcoCreative, The Graduate School, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, 03760, Korea
| | | | - Yong-Jin Won
- Interdisciplinary Program of EcoCreative, The Graduate School, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, 03760, Korea. .,Division of EcoScience, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, 03760, Korea.
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20
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Abstract
Adhesion G protein-coupled receptors (aGPCRs) have a long evolutionary history dating back to very basal unicellular eukaryotes. Almost every vertebrate is equipped with a set of different aGPCRs. Genomic sequence data of several hundred extinct and extant species allows for reconstruction of aGPCR phylogeny in vertebrates and non-vertebrates in general but also provides a detailed view into the recent evolutionary history of human aGPCRs. Mining these sequence sources with bioinformatic tools can unveil many facets of formerly unappreciated aGPCR functions. In this review, we extracted such information from the literature and open public sources and provide insights into the history of aGPCR in humans. This includes comprehensive analyses of signatures of selection, variability of human aGPCR genes, and quantitative traits at human aGPCR loci. As indicated by a large number of genome-wide genotype-phenotype association studies, variations in aGPCR contribute to specific human phenotypes. Our survey demonstrates that aGPCRs are significantly involved in adaptation processes, phenotype variations, and diseases in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Kovacs
- Integrated Research and Treatment Center (IFB) AdiposityDiseases, Medical Faculty, University of Leipzig, Liebigstr. 21, Leipzig, 04103, Germany.
| | - Torsten Schöneberg
- Institute of Biochemistry, Medical Faculty, University of Leipzig, Johannisallee 30, Leipzig, 04103, Germany.
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21
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Hirbo J, Eidem H, Rokas A, Abbot P. Integrating Diverse Types of Genomic Data to Identify Genes that Underlie Adverse Pregnancy Phenotypes. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0144155. [PMID: 26641094 PMCID: PMC4671692 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0144155] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2015] [Accepted: 11/14/2015] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Progress in understanding complex genetic diseases has been bolstered by synthetic approaches that overlay diverse data types and analyses to identify functionally important genes. Pre-term birth (PTB), a major complication of pregnancy, is a leading cause of infant mortality worldwide. A major obstacle in addressing PTB is that the mechanisms controlling parturition and birth timing remain poorly understood. Integrative approaches that overlay datasets derived from comparative genomics with function-derived ones have potential to advance our understanding of the genetics of birth timing, and thus provide insights into the genes that may contribute to PTB. We intersected data from fast evolving coding and non-coding gene regions in the human and primate lineage with data from genes expressed in the placenta, from genes that show enriched expression only in the placenta, as well as from genes that are differentially expressed in four distinct PTB clinical subtypes. A large fraction of genes that are expressed in placenta, and differentially expressed in PTB clinical subtypes (23–34%) are fast evolving, and are associated with functions that include adhesion neurodevelopmental and immune processes. Functional categories of genes that express fast evolution in coding regions differ from those linked to fast evolution in non-coding regions. Finally, there is a surprising lack of overlap between fast evolving genes that are differentially expressed in four PTB clinical subtypes. Integrative approaches, especially those that incorporate evolutionary perspectives, can be successful in identifying potential genetic contributions to complex genetic diseases, such as PTB.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jibril Hirbo
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Box 35164 Station B, Nashville, TN, 37235–1634, United States of America
| | - Haley Eidem
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Box 35164 Station B, Nashville, TN, 37235–1634, United States of America
| | - Antonis Rokas
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Box 35164 Station B, Nashville, TN, 37235–1634, United States of America
| | - Patrick Abbot
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Box 35164 Station B, Nashville, TN, 37235–1634, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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22
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Insights into the genetic foundations of human communication. Neuropsychol Rev 2015; 25:3-26. [PMID: 25597031 DOI: 10.1007/s11065-014-9277-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2014] [Accepted: 12/22/2014] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
The human capacity to acquire sophisticated language is unmatched in the animal kingdom. Despite the discontinuity in communicative abilities between humans and other primates, language is built on ancient genetic foundations, which are being illuminated by comparative genomics. The genetic architecture of the language faculty is also being uncovered by research into neurodevelopmental disorders that disrupt the normally effortless process of language acquisition. In this article, we discuss the strategies that researchers are using to reveal genetic factors contributing to communicative abilities, and review progress in identifying the relevant genes and genetic variants. The first gene directly implicated in a speech and language disorder was FOXP2. Using this gene as a case study, we illustrate how evidence from genetics, molecular cell biology, animal models and human neuroimaging has converged to build a picture of the role of FOXP2 in neurodevelopment, providing a framework for future endeavors to bridge the gaps between genes, brains and behavior.
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