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Margaritelis NV. Personalized redox biology: Designs and concepts. Free Radic Biol Med 2023; 208:112-125. [PMID: 37541453 DOI: 10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2023.08.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2023] [Revised: 07/19/2023] [Accepted: 08/01/2023] [Indexed: 08/06/2023]
Abstract
Personalized interventions are regarded as a next-generation approach in almost all fields of biomedicine, such as clinical medicine, exercise, nutrition and pharmacology. At the same time, an increasing body of evidence indicates that redox processes regulate, at least in part, multiple aspects of human physiology and pathology. As a result, the idea of applying personalized redox treatments to improve their efficacy has gained popularity among researchers in recent years. The aim of the present primer-style review was to highlight some crucial yet underappreciated methodological, statistical, and interpretative concepts within the redox biology literature, while also providing a physiology-oriented perspective on personalized redox biology. The topics addressed are: (i) the critical issue of investigating the potential existence of inter-individual variability; (ii) the importance of distinguishing a genuine and consistent response of a subject from a chance finding; (iii) the challenge of accurately quantifying the effect of a redox treatment when dealing with 'extreme' groups due to mathematical coupling and regression to the mean; and (iv) research designs and analyses that have been implemented in other fields, and can be reframed and exploited in a redox biology context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nikos V Margaritelis
- Department of Physical Education and Sports Science at Serres, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Agios Ioannis, 62122, Serres, Greece.
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2
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Gualtieri CT. Genomic Variation, Evolvability, and the Paradox of Mental Illness. Front Psychiatry 2021; 11:593233. [PMID: 33551865 PMCID: PMC7859268 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.593233] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2020] [Accepted: 11/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Twentieth-century genetics was hard put to explain the irregular behavior of neuropsychiatric disorders. Autism and schizophrenia defy a principle of natural selection; they are highly heritable but associated with low reproductive success. Nevertheless, they persist. The genetic origins of such conditions are confounded by the problem of variable expression, that is, when a given genetic aberration can lead to any one of several distinct disorders. Also, autism and schizophrenia occur on a spectrum of severity, from mild and subclinical cases to the overt and disabling. Such irregularities reflect the problem of missing heritability; although hundreds of genes may be associated with autism or schizophrenia, together they account for only a small proportion of cases. Techniques for higher resolution, genomewide analysis have begun to illuminate the irregular and unpredictable behavior of the human genome. Thus, the origins of neuropsychiatric disorders in particular and complex disease in general have been illuminated. The human genome is characterized by a high degree of structural and behavioral variability: DNA content variation, epistasis, stochasticity in gene expression, and epigenetic changes. These elements have grown more complex as evolution scaled the phylogenetic tree. They are especially pertinent to brain development and function. Genomic variability is a window on the origins of complex disease, neuropsychiatric disorders, and neurodevelopmental disorders in particular. Genomic variability, as it happens, is also the fuel of evolvability. The genomic events that presided over the evolution of the primate and hominid lineages are over-represented in patients with autism and schizophrenia, as well as intellectual disability and epilepsy. That the special qualities of the human genome that drove evolution might, in some way, contribute to neuropsychiatric disorders is a matter of no little interest.
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Zelkowski M, Zelkowska K, Conrad U, Hesse S, Lermontova I, Marzec M, Meister A, Houben A, Schubert V. Arabidopsis NSE4 Proteins Act in Somatic Nuclei and Meiosis to Ensure Plant Viability and Fertility. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2019; 10:774. [PMID: 31281325 PMCID: PMC6596448 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2019.00774] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2019] [Accepted: 05/28/2019] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
The SMC 5/6 complex together with cohesin and condensin is a member of the structural maintenance of chromosome (SMC) protein family. In non-plant organisms SMC5/6 is engaged in DNA repair, meiotic synapsis, genome organization and stability. In plants, the function of SMC5/6 is still enigmatic. Therefore, we analyzed the crucial δ-kleisin component NSE4 of the SMC5/6 complex in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Two functional conserved Nse4 paralogs (Nse4A and Nse4B) are present in A. thaliana, which may have evolved via gene subfunctionalization. Due to its high expression level, Nse4A seems to be the more essential gene, whereas Nse4B appears to be involved mainly in seed development. The morphological characterization of A. thaliana T-DNA mutants suggests that the NSE4 proteins are essential for plant growth and fertility. Detailed investigations in wild-type and the mutants based on live cell imaging of transgenic GFP lines, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), immunolabeling and super-resolution microscopy suggest that NSE4A acts in several processes during plant development, such as mitosis, meiosis and chromatin organization of differentiated nuclei, and that NSE4A operates in a cell cycle-dependent manner. Differential response of NSE4A and NSE4B mutants after induced DNA double strand breaks (DSBs) suggests their involvement in DNA repair processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mateusz Zelkowski
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research, Gatersleben, Germany
| | - Katarzyna Zelkowska
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research, Gatersleben, Germany
| | - Udo Conrad
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research, Gatersleben, Germany
| | - Susann Hesse
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research, Gatersleben, Germany
| | - Inna Lermontova
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research, Gatersleben, Germany
- Plant Cytogenomics Research Group, Central European Institute of Technology, Masaryk University, Brno, Czechia
| | - Marek Marzec
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research, Gatersleben, Germany
- Department of Genetics, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland
| | - Armin Meister
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research, Gatersleben, Germany
| | - Andreas Houben
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research, Gatersleben, Germany
| | - Veit Schubert
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research, Gatersleben, Germany
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Sunden F, AlSadhan I, Lyubimov A, Doukov T, Swan J, Herschlag D. Differential catalytic promiscuity of the alkaline phosphatase superfamily bimetallo core reveals mechanistic features underlying enzyme evolution. J Biol Chem 2017; 292:20960-20974. [PMID: 29070681 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m117.788240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2017] [Revised: 10/19/2017] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Members of enzyme superfamilies specialize in different reactions but often exhibit catalytic promiscuity for one another's reactions, consistent with catalytic promiscuity as an important driver in the evolution of new enzymes. Wanting to understand how catalytic promiscuity and other factors may influence evolution across a superfamily, we turned to the well-studied alkaline phosphatase (AP) superfamily, comparing three of its members, two evolutionarily distinct phosphatases and a phosphodiesterase. We mutated distinguishing active-site residues to generate enzymes that had a common Zn2+ bimetallo core but little sequence similarity and different auxiliary domains. We then tested the catalytic capabilities of these pruned enzymes with a series of substrates. A substantial rate enhancement of ∼1011-fold for both phosphate mono- and diester hydrolysis by each enzyme indicated that the Zn2+ bimetallo core is an effective mono/di-esterase generalist and that the bimetallo cores were not evolutionarily tuned to prefer their cognate reactions. In contrast, our pruned enzymes were ineffective sulfatases, and this limited promiscuity may have provided a driving force for founding the distinct one-metal-ion branch that contains all known AP superfamily sulfatases. Finally, our pruned enzymes exhibited 107-108-fold phosphotriesterase rate enhancements, despite absence of such enzymes within the AP superfamily. We speculate that the superfamily active-site architecture involved in nucleophile positioning prevents accommodation of the additional triester substituent. Overall, we suggest that catalytic promiscuity, and the ease or difficulty of remodeling and building onto existing protein scaffolds, have greatly influenced the course of enzyme evolution. Uncovering principles and properties of enzyme function, promiscuity, and repurposing provides lessons for engineering new enzymes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fanny Sunden
- From the Department of Biochemistry, Beckman Center
| | | | - Artem Lyubimov
- the Departments of Molecular and Cellular Physiology.,Neurology and Neurological Science.,Structural Biology, and.,Photon Science.,Howard Hughes Medical Institute
| | - Tzanko Doukov
- the Macromolecular Crystallographic Group, Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, National Accelerator Laboratory, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94309
| | - Jeffrey Swan
- From the Department of Biochemistry, Beckman Center
| | - Daniel Herschlag
- From the Department of Biochemistry, Beckman Center, .,the Departments of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, and.,Stanford ChEM-H (Chemistry, Engineering, and Medicine for Human Health), Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305 and
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Wolfe MD, Tonsor SJ. Adaptation to spring heat and drought in northeastern Spanish Arabidopsis thaliana. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2014; 201:323-334. [PMID: 24117851 DOI: 10.1111/nph.12485] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2013] [Accepted: 08/02/2013] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
The extent to which a species' environmental range reflects adaptive differentiation remains an open question. Environmental gradients can lead to adaptive divergence when differences in stressors among sites along the gradient place conflicting demands on the balance of stress responses. The extent to which this is accomplished through stress tolerance vs stress avoidance is also an open question. We present results from a controlled environment study of 48 lineages of Arabidopsis thaliana collected along a gradient in northeastern Spain across which temperatures increase and precipitation decreases with decreasing elevation. We tested the extent to which clinal adaptive divergence in heat and drought is explained through tolerance and avoidance traits by subjecting plants to a dynamic growth chamber cycle of increasing heat and drought stress analogous to low elevation spring in northeastern Spain. Lineages collected at low elevation were the most fit and fitness scaled with elevation of origin. Higher fitness was associated with earlier bolting, greater early allocation to increased numbers of inflorescences, reduction in rosette leaf photosynthesis and earlier fruit ripening. We propose that this is a syndrome of avoidance through early flowering accompanied by restructuring of the organism that adapts A. thaliana to low-elevation Mediterranean climates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marnin D Wolfe
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, 162 Crawford Hall, 4249 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15260, USA
| | - Stephen J Tonsor
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, 162 Crawford Hall, 4249 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15260, USA
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Donaldson ZR, Young LJ. The relative contribution of proximal 5' flanking sequence and microsatellite variation on brain vasopressin 1a receptor (Avpr1a) gene expression and behavior. PLoS Genet 2013; 9:e1003729. [PMID: 24009523 PMCID: PMC3757045 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1003729] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2013] [Accepted: 07/01/2013] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Certain genes exhibit notable diversity in their expression patterns both within and between species. One such gene is the vasopressin receptor 1a gene (Avpr1a), which exhibits striking differences in neural expression patterns that are responsible for mediating differences in vasopressin-mediated social behaviors. The genomic mechanisms that contribute to these remarkable differences in expression are not well understood. Previous work has suggested that both the proximal 5′ flanking region and a polymorphic microsatellite element within that region of the vole Avpr1a gene are associated with variation in V1a receptor (V1aR) distribution and behavior, but neither has been causally linked. Using homologous recombination in mice, we reveal the modest contribution of proximal 5′ flanking sequences to species differences in V1aR distribution, and confirm that variation in V1aR distribution impacts stress-coping in the forced swim test. We also demonstrate that the vole Avpr1a microsatellite structure contributes to Avpr1a expression in the amygdala, thalamus, and hippocampus, mirroring a subset of the inter- and intra-species differences observed in central V1aR patterns in voles. This is the first direct evidence that polymorphic microsatellite elements near behaviorally relevant genes can contribute to diversity in brain gene expression profiles, providing a mechanism for generating behavioral diversity both at the individual and species level. However, our results suggest that many features of species-specific expression patterns are mediated by elements outside of the immediate 5′ flanking region of the gene. DNA sequence variation underlies many differences both within and between species. In this paper, we investigate a specific DNA sequence that is thought to influence expression of a gene that modulates behavior, the vasopressin V1a receptor gene (Avpr1a). Specifically, differences in the expression of V1a receptor in the brain have been causally tied to social behavior differences, but the genetic basis of these differences is not understood. Using transgenic mice, we investigate the role of DNA sequences upstream of this gene in generating species-specific and individual variation in Avpr1a expression. We find that, contrary to our expectation, this region has only a modest influence on differences in expression patterns across rodent species. This indicates that DNA elements outside of this region play a larger role in species-level differences in expression. We confirm that variation in Avpr1a expression mediated by this upstream region translates to differences in behavior. We also find that variable DNA sequences associated with repetitive motifs within this region subtly influence gene expression. Together these findings highlight the complexity of genetic mechanisms that influence diversity in brain receptor patterns and support the idea that variable repetitive elements can influence both species and individual differences in gene expression patterns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zoe R Donaldson
- Division of Integrative Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, New York, United States of America.
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7
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Evolutionary analyses of non-genealogical bonds produced by introgressive descent. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2012; 109:18266-72. [PMID: 23090996 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1206541109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
All evolutionary biologists are familiar with evolutionary units that evolve by vertical descent in a tree-like fashion in single lineages. However, many other kinds of processes contribute to evolutionary diversity. In vertical descent, the genetic material of a particular evolutionary unit is propagated by replication inside its own lineage. In what we call introgressive descent, the genetic material of a particular evolutionary unit propagates into different host structures and is replicated within these host structures. Thus, introgressive descent generates a variety of evolutionary units and leaves recognizable patterns in resemblance networks. We characterize six kinds of evolutionary units, of which five involve mosaic lineages generated by introgressive descent. To facilitate detection of these units in resemblance networks, we introduce terminology based on two notions, P3s (subgraphs of three nodes: A, B, and C) and mosaic P3s, and suggest an apparatus for systematic detection of introgressive descent. Mosaic P3s correspond to a distinct type of evolutionary bond that is orthogonal to the bonds of kinship and genealogy usually examined by evolutionary biologists. We argue that recognition of these evolutionary bonds stimulates radical rethinking of key questions in evolutionary biology (e.g., the relations among evolutionary players in very early phases of evolutionary history, the origin and emergence of novelties, and the production of new lineages). This line of research will expand the study of biological complexity beyond the usual genealogical bonds, revealing additional sources of biodiversity. It provides an important step to a more realistic pluralist treatment of evolutionary complexity.
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Careau V, Garland T. Performance, personality, and energetics: correlation, causation, and mechanism. Physiol Biochem Zool 2012; 85:543-71. [PMID: 23099454 DOI: 10.1086/666970] [Citation(s) in RCA: 307] [Impact Index Per Article: 25.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
The study of phenotypic evolution should be an integrative endeavor that combines different approaches and crosses disciplinary and phylogenetic boundaries to consider complex traits and organisms that historically have been studied in isolation from each other. Analyses of individual variation within populations can act to bridge studies focused at the levels of morphology, physiology, biochemistry, organismal performance, behavior, and life history. For example, the study of individual variation recently facilitated the integration of behavior into the concept of a pace-of-life syndrome and effectively linked the field of energetics with research on animal personality. Here, we illustrate how studies on the pace-of-life syndrome and the energetics of personality can be integrated within a physiology-performance-behavior-fitness paradigm that includes consideration of ecological context. We first introduce key concepts and definitions and then review the rapidly expanding literature on the links between energy metabolism and personality traits commonly studied in nonhuman animals (activity, exploration, boldness, aggressiveness, sociability). We highlight some empirical literature involving mammals and squamates that demonstrates how emerging fields can develop in rather disparate ways because of historical accidents and/or particularities of different kinds of organisms. We then briefly discuss potentially interesting avenues for future conceptual and empirical research in relation to motivation, intraindividual variation, and mechanisms underlying trait correlations. The integration of performance traits within the pace-of-life-syndrome concept has the potential to fill a logical gap between the context dependency of selection and how energetics and personality are expected to interrelate. Studies of how performance abilities and/or aspects of Darwinian fitness relate to both metabolic rate and personality traits are particularly lacking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vincent Careau
- Department of Biology, University of California, Riverside, California 92521, USA.
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9
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Regulatory changes contribute to the adaptive enhancement of thermogenic capacity in high-altitude deer mice. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2012; 109:8635-40. [PMID: 22586089 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1120523109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 137] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
In response to hypoxic stress, many animals compensate for a reduced cellular O(2) supply by suppressing total metabolism, thereby reducing O(2) demand. For small endotherms that are native to high-altitude environments, this is not always a viable strategy, as the capacity for sustained aerobic thermogenesis is critical for survival during periods of prolonged cold stress. For example, survivorship studies of deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) have demonstrated that thermogenic capacity is under strong directional selection at high altitude. Here, we integrate measures of whole-organism thermogenic performance with measures of metabolic enzyme activities and genomic transcriptional profiles to examine the mechanistic underpinnings of adaptive variation in this complex trait in deer mice that are native to different elevations. We demonstrate that highland deer mice have an enhanced thermogenic capacity under hypoxia compared with lowland conspecifics and a closely related lowland species, Peromyscus leucopus. Our findings suggest that the enhanced thermogenic performance of highland deer mice is largely attributable to an increased capacity to oxidize lipids as a primary metabolic fuel source. This enhanced capacity for aerobic thermogenesis is associated with elevated activities of muscle metabolic enzymes that influence flux through fatty-acid oxidation and oxidative phosphorylation pathways in high-altitude deer mice and by concomitant changes in the expression of genes in these same pathways. Contrary to predictions derived from studies of humans at high altitude, our results suggest that selection to sustain prolonged thermogenesis under hypoxia promotes a shift in metabolic fuel use in favor of lipids over carbohydrates.
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Evans JA, Rzhetsky A. Advancing science through mining libraries, ontologies, and communities. J Biol Chem 2011; 286:23659-66. [PMID: 21566119 PMCID: PMC3129146 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.r110.176370] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Life scientists today cannot hope to read everything relevant to their research. Emerging text-mining tools can help by identifying topics and distilling statements from books and articles with increased accuracy. Researchers often organize these statements into ontologies, consistent systems of reality claims. Like scientific thinking and interchange, however, text-mined information (even when accurately captured) is complex, redundant, sometimes incoherent, and often contradictory: it is rooted in a mixture of only partially consistent ontologies. We review work that models scientific reason and suggest how computational reasoning across ontologies and the broader distribution of textual statements can assess the certainty of statements and the process by which statements become certain. With the emergence of digitized data regarding networks of scientific authorship, institutions, and resources, we explore the possibility of accounting for social dependences and cultural biases in reasoning models. Computational reasoning is starting to fill out ontologies and flag internal inconsistencies in several areas of bioscience. In the not too distant future, scientists may be able to use statements and rich models of the processes that produced them to identify underexplored areas, resurrect forgotten findings and ideas, deconvolute the spaghetti of underlying ontologies, and synthesize novel knowledge and hypotheses.
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Affiliation(s)
- James A Evans
- Department of Sociology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA.
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11
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Zera AJ. Microevolution of intermediary metabolism: evolutionary genetics meets metabolic biochemistry. J Exp Biol 2011; 214:179-90. [DOI: 10.1242/jeb.046912] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Summary
During the past decade, microevolution of intermediary metabolism has become an important new research focus at the interface between metabolic biochemistry and evolutionary genetics. Increasing recognition of the importance of integrative studies in evolutionary analysis, the rising interest in ‘evolutionary systems biology’, and the development of various ‘omics’ technologies have all contributed significantly to this developing interface. The present review primarily focuses on five prominent areas of recent research on pathway microevolution: lipid metabolism and life-history evolution; the electron transport system, hybrid breakdown and speciation; glycolysis, alcohol metabolism and population adaptation in Drosophila; chemostat selection in microorganisms; and anthocyanin pigment biosynthesis and flower color evolution. Some of these studies have provided a new perspective on important evolutionary topics that have not been investigated extensively from a biochemical perspective (hybrid breakdown, parallel evolution). Other studies have provided new data that augment previous biochemical information, resulting in a deeper understanding of evolutionary mechanisms (allozymes and biochemical adaptation to climate, life-history evolution, flower pigments and the genetics of adaptation). Finally, other studies have provided new insights into how the function or position of an enzyme in a pathway influences its evolutionary dynamics, in addition to providing powerful experimental models for investigations of network evolution. Microevolutionary studies of metabolic pathways will undoubtedly become increasingly important in the future because of the central importance of intermediary metabolism in organismal fitness, the wealth of biochemical data being provided by various omics technologies, and the increasing influence of integrative and systems perspectives in biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anthony J. Zera
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588, USA
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12
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Evans TG, Somero GN. Phosphorylation Events Catalyzed by Major Cell Signaling Proteins Differ in Response to Thermal and Osmotic Stress among Native (Mytilus californianus and Mytilus trossulus) and Invasive (Mytilus galloprovincialis) Species of Mussels. Physiol Biochem Zool 2010; 83:984-96. [DOI: 10.1086/656192] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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Ronconi V, Turchi F, Rilli S, Di Mattia D, Agostinelli L, Boscaro M, Giacchetti G. Metabolic syndrome in primary aldosteronism and essential hypertension: relationship to adiponectin gene variants. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis 2010; 20:93-100. [PMID: 19481913 DOI: 10.1016/j.numecd.2009.03.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2008] [Revised: 02/13/2009] [Accepted: 03/02/2009] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Evidence shows that aldosterone excess is crucial for the development of cardiac and metabolic complications. Among the possible pathogenetic elements of the metabolic syndrome, adiponectin and its polymorphisms seem to confer a genetic risk for metabolic alterations and type 2 diabetes. Aims of the study were to investigate whether metabolic syndrome represents a common feature in patients with primary aldosteronism (PA) compared with essential hypertensives (EH) and to study the impact of two common adiponectin gene variants on the parameters of metabolic syndrome. METHODS AND RESULTS Metabolic syndrome was defined according to ATPIII criteria. Eighty-nine patients with PA and 164 matched EH were studied. In all patients with PA and in 135 EH two single nucleotide polymorphisms of the adiponectin gene, T45G and G276T, were detected. Patients with PA displayed a higher prevalence of metabolic syndrome compared with EH (45% vs. 30%, p<0.05). In patients with PA, genotypes 45T/G+G/G were associated with significantly lower values of waist circumference, HOMA-IR and serum aldosterone. In both PA patients and EH, the 276T/T genotype was associated with significantly worse metabolic profile and a higher risk for the metabolic syndrome (OR=1.5 for PA and OR=1.3 for EH). CONCLUSIONS Our data confirm a higher prevalence of metabolic syndrome among patients with PA compared with matched EH. Genetic analysis of T45G and G276T adiponectin gene polymorphisms showed that, while the genotypes 45G/G+G/T seemed to have a protective role on the metabolic complications, the genotype 276T/T defined PA and EH patients with a worse metabolic profile.
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Affiliation(s)
- V Ronconi
- Division of Endocrinology, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universtaria, Ospedali Riuniti Umberto I-GM Lancisi-G Salesi, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy
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Dalziel AC, Rogers SM, Schulte PM. Linking genotypes to phenotypes and fitness: how mechanistic biology can inform molecular ecology. Mol Ecol 2009; 18:4997-5017. [PMID: 19912534 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-294x.2009.04427.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 146] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The accessibility of new genomic resources, high-throughput molecular technologies and analytical approaches such as genome scans have made finding genes contributing to fitness variation in natural populations an increasingly feasible task. Once candidate genes are identified, we argue that it is necessary to take a mechanistic approach and work up through the levels of biological organization to fully understand the impacts of genetic variation at these candidate genes. We demonstrate how this approach provides testable hypotheses about the causal links among levels of biological organization, and assists in designing relevant experiments to test the effects of genetic variation on phenotype, whole-organism performance capabilities and fitness. We review some of the research programs that have incorporated mechanistic approaches when examining naturally occurring genetic and phenotypic variation and use these examples to highlight the value of developing a comprehensive understanding of the relationship between genotype and fitness. We give suggestions to guide future research aimed at uncovering and understanding the genetic basis of adaptation and argue that further integration of mechanistic approaches will help molecular ecologists better understand the evolution of natural populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne C Dalziel
- Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
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15
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Gaston KJ, Chown SL, Calosi P, Bernardo J, Bilton DT, Clarke A, Clusella-Trullas S, Ghalambor CK, Konarzewski M, Peck LS, Porter WP, Pörtner HO, Rezende EL, Schulte PM, Spicer JI, Stillman JH, Terblanche JS, van Kleunen M. Macrophysiology: A Conceptual Reunification. Am Nat 2009; 174:595-612. [PMID: 19788354 DOI: 10.1086/605982] [Citation(s) in RCA: 197] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Kevin J Gaston
- Biodiversity and Macroecology Group, Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, United Kingdom.
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Abstract
The contribution of horizontal gene transfer to evolution has been controversial since it was suggested to be a force driving evolution in the microbial world. In this paper, I review the current standpoint on horizontal gene transfer in evolutionary thinking and discuss how important horizontal gene transfer is in evolution in the broad sense, and particularly in prokaryotic evolution. I review recent literature, asking, first, which processes are involved in the evolutionary success of transferred genes and, secondly, about the extent of horizontal gene transfer towards different evolutionary times. Moreover, I discuss the feasibility of reconstructing ancient phylogenetic relationships in the face of horizontal gene transfer. Finally, I discuss how horizontal gene transfer fits in the current neo-Darwinian evolutionary paradigm and conclude there is a need for a new evolutionary paradigm that includes horizontal gene transfer as well as other mechanisms in the explanation of evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis Boto
- Departamento Biodiversidad y Biología Evolutiva, Museo Nacional Ciencias Naturales, CSIC, C/José Gutierrez Abascal 2, 28006 Madrid, Spain.
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17
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Ryan FP. An alternative approach to medical genetics based on modern evolutionary biology. Part 1: mutation and symbiogenesis. J R Soc Med 2009; 102:272-7. [PMID: 19605858 PMCID: PMC2711204 DOI: 10.1258/jrsm.2009.080372] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Frank P Ryan
- Sheffield Primary Care Trust - CPC, Sheffield, UK.
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18
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Pucciarelli S, La Terza A, Ballarini P, Barchetta S, Yu T, Marziale F, Passini V, Methé B, Detrich HW, Miceli C. Molecular cold-adaptation of protein function and gene regulation: The case for comparative genomic analyses in marine ciliated protozoa. Mar Genomics 2009; 2:57-66. [PMID: 21798173 DOI: 10.1016/j.margen.2009.03.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2008] [Revised: 03/16/2009] [Accepted: 03/25/2009] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Euplotes focardii is a marine ciliated protozoan discovered in the Ross Sea near Terra Nova Bay, Antarctica. This organism is strictly psychrophilic, survives and reproduces optimally at 4-5 °C, and has a genome rich in A/T base pairs. Like other ciliated protozoans, Euplotes spp. are characterized by nuclear dimorphism: 1) the germline micronucleus contains the entire genome as large chromosomes; and 2) the somatic macronucleus (∼50 megabases, or 5% of the micronuclear genome) contains small linear DNA nanochromosomes [1-12 kilobases], each of which constitutes a single genetic unit. These characteristics make E. focardii an ideal model for genome-level analysis to understand the evolutionary mechanisms that determine the adaptation of organisms to cold environments. Here we describe two examples that are controlled by phylogenetically appropriate comparison with mesophilic and psychrotolerant Euplotes species: 1) the genes and encoded proteins of the E. focardii tubulin superfamily, including α-, β-, and γ-tubulins; and 2) the genes of the heat-shock protein (Hsp) 70 family. The tubulins provide particular insight into protein-level structural changes that are likely to facilitate microtubule nucleation and polymerization in an energy poor environment. By contrast, the hsp70 genes of E. focardii and of its psychrotolerant relative E. nobilii reveal adaptive alterations in the regulation of gene expression in the cold. The unique characteristics of the E. focardii genome and the results that we present here argue strongly for a concerted effort to characterize the relatively low complexity macronuclear genome of this psychrophilic organism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandra Pucciarelli
- Dipartimento di Biologia Molecolare, Cellulare, Animale, University of Camerino, Camerino (MC), Italy
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19
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Köhler HR, Lazzara R, Dittbrenner N, Capowiez Y, Mazzia C, Triebskorn R. Snail phenotypic variation and stress proteins: do different heat response strategies contribute to Waddington's widget in field populations? JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL ZOOLOGY PART B-MOLECULAR AND DEVELOPMENTAL EVOLUTION 2009; 312:136-47. [PMID: 19065565 DOI: 10.1002/jez.b.21253] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
On the basis of studies with laboratory strains of Drosophila and Arabidopsis, it has been hypothesized that potential buffers to the expression of phenotypic morphological variation, such as Hsp90 and possibly Hsp70, represent important components of Waddington's widget, which may confer capacitive evolution. As studies on field populations of living organisms to test this hypothesis are lacking, we tested whether a heat response strategy involving high stress protein levels is associated with low morphological variation and vice versa, using four natural populations of Mediterranean pulmonate snails. In response to 8 hr of elevated temperatures, a population of Xeropicta derbentina with uniform shell pigmentation pattern showed remarkably high Hsp70 but low Hsp90 levels. In contrast, a highly variable population of Cernuella virgata kept both Hsp90 and Hsp70 levels low when held at diverse though environmentally relevant temperatures. Two other populations (Theba pisana and another X. derbentina population) with intermediate variation in shell pigmentation pattern were also intermediate in inducing Hsp70, though Hsp90 was maintained at a low level. The observed correlation of stress protein levels and coloration pattern variation provide the first indirect evidence for an association of stress proteins with Waddington's widget under natural conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heinz-R Köhler
- Animal Physiological Ecology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
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20
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In silico prediction of horizontal gene transfer events in Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus reveals protocooperation in yogurt manufacturing. Appl Environ Microbiol 2009; 75:4120-9. [PMID: 19395564 DOI: 10.1128/aem.02898-08] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus, used in yogurt starter cultures, are well known for their stability and protocooperation during their coexistence in milk. In this study, we show that a close interaction between the two species also takes place at the genetic level. We performed an in silico analysis, combining gene composition and gene transfer mechanism-associated features, and predicted horizontally transferred genes in both L. bulgaricus and S. thermophilus. Putative horizontal gene transfer (HGT) events that have occurred between the two bacterial species include the transfer of exopolysaccharide (EPS) biosynthesis genes, transferred from S. thermophilus to L. bulgaricus, and the gene cluster cbs-cblB(cglB)-cysE for the metabolism of sulfur-containing amino acids, transferred from L. bulgaricus or Lactobacillus helveticus to S. thermophilus. The HGT event for the cbs-cblB(cglB)-cysE gene cluster was analyzed in detail, with respect to both evolutionary and functional aspects. It can be concluded that during the coexistence of both yogurt starter species in a milk environment, agonistic coevolution at the genetic level has probably been involved in the optimization of their combined growth and interactions.
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21
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Schlichting CD. Hidden Reaction Norms, Cryptic Genetic Variation, and Evolvability. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2008; 1133:187-203. [DOI: 10.1196/annals.1438.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 192] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
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