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Manti PG, Darbellay F, Leleu M, Coughlan AY, Moret B, Cuennet J, Droux F, Stoudmann M, Mancini GF, Hautier A, Sordet-Dessimoz J, Vincent SD, Testa G, Cossu G, Barrandon Y. The Transcriptional Regulator Prdm1 Is Essential for the Early Development of the Sensory Whisker Follicle and Is Linked to the Beta-Catenin First Dermal Signal. Biomedicines 2022; 10:2647. [PMID: 36289911 PMCID: PMC9599752 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines10102647] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2022] [Revised: 10/06/2022] [Accepted: 10/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Prdm1 mutant mice are one of the rare mutant strains that do not develop whisker hair follicles while still displaying a pelage. Here, we show that Prdm1 is expressed at the earliest stage of whisker development in clusters of mesenchymal cells before placode formation. Its conditional knockout in the murine soma leads to the loss of expression of Bmp2, Shh, Bmp4, Krt17, Edar, and Gli1, though leaving the β-catenin-driven first dermal signal intact. Furthermore, we show that Prdm1 expressing cells not only act as a signaling center but also as a multipotent progenitor population contributing to the several lineages of the adult whisker. We confirm by genetic ablation experiments that the absence of macro vibrissae reverberates on the organization of nerve wiring in the mystacial pads and leads to the reorganization of the barrel cortex. We demonstrate that Lef1 acts upstream of Prdm1 and identify a primate-specific deletion of a Lef1 enhancer named Leaf. This loss may have been significant in the evolutionary process, leading to the progressive defunctionalization and disappearance of vibrissae in primates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pierluigi G Manti
- Laboratory of Stem Cell Dynamics, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
- Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, University of Milan, Via Santa Sofia 9, 20122 Milan, Italy
- Department of Experimental Oncology, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Via Adamello 16, 20139 Milan, Italy
| | - Fabrice Darbellay
- Laboratory of Developmental Genomics, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
- Department of Genetic Medicine and Development, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva Medical School, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Marion Leleu
- BioInformatics Competence Center, UNIL-EPFL, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Aisling Y Coughlan
- Department of Experimental Oncology, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Via Adamello 16, 20139 Milan, Italy
| | - Bernard Moret
- Laboratory of Stem Cell Dynamics, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Julien Cuennet
- Laboratory of Stem Cell Dynamics, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Frederic Droux
- Laboratory of Stem Cell Dynamics, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Magali Stoudmann
- Laboratory of Stem Cell Dynamics, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Gian-Filippo Mancini
- Histology Core Facility, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Agnès Hautier
- Histology Core Facility, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | | | - Stephane D Vincent
- Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, 67404 Illkirch, France
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), UMR7104, 67404 Illkirch, France
- Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), U1258, 67404 Illkirch, France
- Université de Strasbourg, 67404 Illkirch, France
| | - Giuseppe Testa
- Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, University of Milan, Via Santa Sofia 9, 20122 Milan, Italy
- Department of Experimental Oncology, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Via Adamello 16, 20139 Milan, Italy
| | - Giulio Cossu
- Division of Cell Matrix Biology and Regenerative Medicine, University of Manchester, Manchester M139PL, UK
- Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital, 20132 Milan, Italy
| | - Yann Barrandon
- Laboratory of Stem Cell Dynamics, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
- Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland
- Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School, Singapore 169857, Singapore
- Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore 169608, Singapore
- A*STAR Skin Research Labs, Singapore 138648, Singapore
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2
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Hollox EJ, Zuccherato LW, Tucci S. Genome structural variation in human evolution. Trends Genet 2021; 38:45-58. [PMID: 34284881 DOI: 10.1016/j.tig.2021.06.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2021] [Revised: 06/21/2021] [Accepted: 06/22/2021] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Structural variation (SV) is a large difference (typically >100 bp) in the genomic structure of two genomes and includes both copy number variation and variation that does not change copy number of a genomic region, such as an inversion. Improved reference genomes, combined with widespread genome sequencing using short-read sequencing technology, and increasingly using long-read sequencing, have reignited interest in SV. Recent large-scale studies and functional focused analyses have highlighted the role of SV in human evolution. In this review, we highlight human-specific SVs involved in changes in the brain, population-specific SVs that affect response to the environment, including adaptation to diet and infectious diseases, and summarise the contribution of archaic hominin admixture to present-day human SV.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edward J Hollox
- Department of Genetics and Genome Biology, University of Leicester, UK.
| | - Luciana W Zuccherato
- Núcleo de Ensino e Pesquisa, Instituto Mário Penna, Belo Horizonte, Brazil; Departmento de Bioquímica e Imunologia, Universidade de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Serena Tucci
- Department of Anthropology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
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3
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Grant RA, Goss VGA. What can whiskers tell us about mammalian evolution, behaviour, and ecology? Mamm Rev 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/mam.12253] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Robyn A. Grant
- Department of Natural Sciences Manchester Metropolitan University John Dalton Building, Chester Street ManchesterM1 5GDUK
| | - Victor G. A. Goss
- School of Engineering London South Bank University Borough Road LondonSE1 0AAUK
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4
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Jakovlić I. The missing human baculum: a victim of conspecific aggression and budding self‐awareness? Mamm Rev 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/mam.12237] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ivan Jakovlić
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro‐Ecosystem Institute of Innovation Ecology Lanzhou University Lanzhou730000China
- Bio‐Transduction Lab, Biolake Wuhan430075China
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5
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Grogan KE, Perry GH. Studying human and nonhuman primate evolutionary biology with powerful in vitro and in vivo functional genomics tools. Evol Anthropol 2020; 29:143-158. [PMID: 32142200 PMCID: PMC10574139 DOI: 10.1002/evan.21825] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2019] [Revised: 09/18/2019] [Accepted: 02/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
In recent years, tools for functional genomic studies have become increasingly feasible for use by evolutionary anthropologists. In this review, we provide brief overviews of several exciting in vitro techniques that can be paired with "-omics" approaches (e.g., genomics, epigenomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics) for potentially powerful evolutionary insights. These in vitro techniques include ancestral protein resurrection, cell line experiments using primary, immortalized, and induced pluripotent stem cells, and CRISPR-Cas9 genetic manipulation. We also discuss how several of these methods can be used in vivo, for transgenic organism studies of human and nonhuman primate evolution. Throughout this review, we highlight example studies in which these approaches have already been used to inform our understanding of the evolutionary biology of modern and archaic humans and other primates while simultaneously identifying future opportunities for anthropologists to use this toolkit to help answer additional outstanding questions in evolutionary anthropology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathleen E. Grogan
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802
- Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802
| | - George H. Perry
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802
- Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802
- Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802
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6
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Brennan PL, Orbach DN. Copulatory behavior and its relationship to genital morphology. ADVANCES IN THE STUDY OF BEHAVIOR 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.asb.2020.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
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7
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Doan RN, Shin T, Walsh CA. Evolutionary Changes in Transcriptional Regulation: Insights into Human Behavior and Neurological Conditions. Annu Rev Neurosci 2019; 41:185-206. [PMID: 29986162 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-neuro-080317-062104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Understanding the biological basis for human-specific cognitive traits presents both immense challenges and unique opportunities. Although the question of what makes us human has been investigated with several different methods, the rise of comparative genomics, epigenomics, and medical genetics has provided tools to help narrow down and functionally assess the regions of the genome that seem evolutionarily relevant along the human lineage. In this review, we focus on how medical genetic cases have provided compelling functional evidence for genes and loci that appear to have interesting evolutionary signatures in humans. Furthermore, we examine a special class of noncoding regions, human accelerated regions (HARs), that have been suggested to show human-lineage-specific divergence, and how the use of clinical and population data has started to provide functional information to examine these regions. Finally, we outline methods that provide new insights into functional noncoding sequences in evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan N Doan
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA; .,Allen Discovery Center for Human Brain Evolution, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA
| | - Taehwan Shin
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA; .,Allen Discovery Center for Human Brain Evolution, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA
| | - Christopher A Walsh
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA; .,Allen Discovery Center for Human Brain Evolution, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.,Departments of Pediatrics and Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02138, USA
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8
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Kronenberg ZN, Fiddes IT, Gordon D, Murali S, Cantsilieris S, Meyerson OS, Underwood JG, Nelson BJ, Chaisson MJP, Dougherty ML, Munson KM, Hastie AR, Diekhans M, Hormozdiari F, Lorusso N, Hoekzema K, Qiu R, Clark K, Raja A, Welch AE, Sorensen M, Baker C, Fulton RS, Armstrong J, Graves-Lindsay TA, Denli AM, Hoppe ER, Hsieh P, Hill CM, Pang AWC, Lee J, Lam ET, Dutcher SK, Gage FH, Warren WC, Shendure J, Haussler D, Schneider VA, Cao H, Ventura M, Wilson RK, Paten B, Pollen A, Eichler EE. High-resolution comparative analysis of great ape genomes. Science 2018; 360:eaar6343. [PMID: 29880660 PMCID: PMC6178954 DOI: 10.1126/science.aar6343] [Citation(s) in RCA: 237] [Impact Index Per Article: 39.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2017] [Accepted: 04/02/2018] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Genetic studies of human evolution require high-quality contiguous ape genome assemblies that are not guided by the human reference. We coupled long-read sequence assembly and full-length complementary DNA sequencing with a multiplatform scaffolding approach to produce ab initio chimpanzee and orangutan genome assemblies. By comparing these with two long-read de novo human genome assemblies and a gorilla genome assembly, we characterized lineage-specific and shared great ape genetic variation ranging from single- to mega-base pair-sized variants. We identified ~17,000 fixed human-specific structural variants identifying genic and putative regulatory changes that have emerged in humans since divergence from nonhuman apes. Interestingly, these variants are enriched near genes that are down-regulated in human compared to chimpanzee cerebral organoids, particularly in cells analogous to radial glial neural progenitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zev N Kronenberg
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Ian T Fiddes
- UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
| | - David Gordon
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Shwetha Murali
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Stuart Cantsilieris
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Olivia S Meyerson
- Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Jason G Underwood
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Pacific Biosciences (PacBio) of California, Inc., Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA
| | - Bradley J Nelson
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Mark J P Chaisson
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
| | - Max L Dougherty
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Katherine M Munson
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | | | - Mark Diekhans
- UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
| | - Fereydoun Hormozdiari
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95817, USA
| | - Nicola Lorusso
- Department of Biology, University of Bari, Aldo Moro, Bari 70121, Italy
| | - Kendra Hoekzema
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Ruolan Qiu
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Karen Clark
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20894, USA
| | - Archana Raja
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - AnneMarie E Welch
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Melanie Sorensen
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Carl Baker
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Robert S Fulton
- Departments of Medicine and Genetics, McDonnell Genome Institute, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63108, USA
| | - Joel Armstrong
- UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
| | - Tina A Graves-Lindsay
- Departments of Medicine and Genetics, McDonnell Genome Institute, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63108, USA
| | - Ahmet M Denli
- The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Emma R Hoppe
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - PingHsun Hsieh
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Christopher M Hill
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | | | - Joyce Lee
- Bionano Genomics, San Diego, CA 92121, USA
| | | | - Susan K Dutcher
- Departments of Medicine and Genetics, McDonnell Genome Institute, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63108, USA
| | - Fred H Gage
- The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Wesley C Warren
- Departments of Medicine and Genetics, McDonnell Genome Institute, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63108, USA
| | - Jay Shendure
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - David Haussler
- UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
| | - Valerie A Schneider
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20894, USA
| | - Han Cao
- Bionano Genomics, San Diego, CA 92121, USA
| | - Mario Ventura
- Department of Biology, University of Bari, Aldo Moro, Bari 70121, Italy
| | - Richard K Wilson
- Departments of Medicine and Genetics, McDonnell Genome Institute, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63108, USA
| | - Benedict Paten
- UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
| | - Alex Pollen
- Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
- Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Evan E Eichler
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
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9
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Dixson A. Copulatory and Postcopulatory Sexual Selection in Primates. Folia Primatol (Basel) 2018; 89:258-286. [DOI: 10.1159/000488105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2017] [Accepted: 03/04/2018] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
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10
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Abstract
Panid, gorillid, and hominid social structures appear to have diverged as dramatically as did their locomotor patterns as they emerged from a late Miocene last common ancestor (LCA). Despite their elimination of the sectorial canine complex and adoption of bipedality with its attendant removal of their ready access to the arboreal canopy, Australopithecus was able to easily invade novel habitats after florescence from its likely ancestral genus, Ardipithecus sp. Other hominoids, unable to sustain sufficient population growth, began an inexorable decline, culminating in their restriction to modern refugia. Success similar to that of earliest hominids also characterizes several species of macaques, often termed "weed species." We here review their most salient demographic features and find that a key element is irregularly elevated female survival. It is reasonable to conclude that a similar feature characterized early hominids, most likely made possible by the adoption of social monogamy. Reduced female mortality is a more probable key to early hominid success than a reduction in birth space, which would have been physiologically more difficult.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard S Meindl
- Department of Anthropology, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242;
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242
| | - Morgan E Chaney
- Department of Anthropology, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242
| | - C Owen Lovejoy
- Department of Anthropology, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242;
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242
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11
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Franchini LF, Pollard KS. Genomic approaches to studying human-specific developmental traits. Development 2015; 142:3100-12. [DOI: 10.1242/dev.120048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Changes in developmental regulatory programs drive both disease and phenotypic differences among species. Linking human-specific traits to alterations in development is challenging, because we have lacked the tools to assay and manipulate regulatory networks in human and primate embryonic cells. This field was transformed by the sequencing of hundreds of genomes – human and non-human – that can be compared to discover the regulatory machinery of genes involved in human development. This approach has identified thousands of human-specific genome alterations in developmental genes and their regulatory regions. With recent advances in stem cell techniques, genome engineering, and genomics, we can now test these sequences for effects on developmental gene regulation and downstream phenotypes in human cells and tissues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucía F. Franchini
- Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular (INGEBI), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires C1428, Argentina
| | - Katherine S. Pollard
- Gladstone Institutes, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
- Institute for Human Genetics, Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
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12
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Singarete ME, Grizante MB, Milograna SR, Nery MF, Kin K, Wagner GP, Kohlsdorf T. Molecular evolution of HoxA13 and the multiple origins of limbless morphologies in amphibians and reptiles. Genet Mol Biol 2015; 38:255-62. [PMID: 26500429 PMCID: PMC4612600 DOI: 10.1590/s1415-475738320150039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2015] [Accepted: 04/23/2015] [Indexed: 03/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Developmental processes and their results, morphological characters, are inherited through transmission of genes regulating development. While there is ample evidence that cis-regulatory elements tend to be modular, with sequence segments dedicated to different roles, the situation for proteins is less clear, being particularly complex for transcription factors with multiple functions. Some motifs mediating protein-protein interactions may be exclusive to particular developmental roles, but it is also possible that motifs are mostly shared among different processes. Here we focus on HoxA13, a protein essential for limb development. We asked whether the HoxA13 amino acid sequence evolved similarly in three limbless clades: Gymnophiona, Amphisbaenia and Serpentes. We explored variation in ω (dN/dS) using a maximum-likelihood framework and HoxA13sequences from 47 species. Comparisons of evolutionary models provided low ω global values and no evidence that HoxA13 experienced relaxed selection in limbless clades. Branch-site models failed to detect evidence for positive selection acting on any site along branches of Amphisbaena and Gymnophiona, while three sites were identified in Serpentes. Examination of alignments did not reveal consistent sequence differences between limbed and limbless species. We conclude that HoxA13 has no modules exclusive to limb development, which may be explained by its involvement in multiple developmental processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina E Singarete
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Celular e Molecular, Departamento de Biologia Celular e Molecular e Bioagentes Patogênicos, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil
| | - Mariana B Grizante
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA. ; Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil
| | - Sarah R Milograna
- Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil
| | - Mariana F Nery
- Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil. ; Departamento de Genética, Evolução e Bioagentes, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, SP, Brazil
| | - Koryu Kin
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Günter P Wagner
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA. ; Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, Yale Systems Biology Institute, Yale University, West Haven, CT, USA
| | - Tiana Kohlsdorf
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Celular e Molecular, Departamento de Biologia Celular e Molecular e Bioagentes Patogênicos, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil. ; Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil
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