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Gaudry MJ, Khudyakov J, Pirard L, Debier C, Crocker D, Crichton PG, Jastroch M. Terrestrial Birth and Body Size Tune UCP1 Functionality in Seals. Mol Biol Evol 2024; 41:msae075. [PMID: 38606905 PMCID: PMC11050727 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msae075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2023] [Revised: 03/18/2024] [Accepted: 04/05/2024] [Indexed: 04/13/2024] Open
Abstract
The molecular evolution of the mammalian heater protein UCP1 is a powerful biomarker to understand thermoregulatory strategies during species radiation into extreme climates, such as aquatic life with high thermal conductivity. While fully aquatic mammals lost UCP1, most semiaquatic seals display intact UCP1 genes, apart from large elephant seals. Here, we show that UCP1 thermogenic activity of the small-bodied harbor seal is equally potent compared to terrestrial orthologs, emphasizing its importance for neonatal survival on land. In contrast, elephant seal UCP1 does not display thermogenic activity, not even when translating a repaired or a recently highlighted truncated version. Thus, the thermogenic benefits for neonatal survival during terrestrial birth in semiaquatic pinnipeds maintained evolutionary selection pressure on UCP1 function and were only outweighed by extreme body sizes among elephant seals, fully eliminating UCP1-dependent thermogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J Gaudry
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Jane Khudyakov
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of the Pacific, Stockton, CA, USA
| | - Laura Pirard
- Louvain Institute of Biomolecular Science and Technology, Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Cathy Debier
- Louvain Institute of Biomolecular Science and Technology, Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Daniel Crocker
- Department of Biology, Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, CA, USA
| | - Paul G Crichton
- Biomedical Research Centre, Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
| | - Martin Jastroch
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
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2
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Gaudry MJ, Jastroch M. Hotly awaited structures obtained for the human protein UCP1. Nature 2023:10.1038/d41586-023-02334-w. [PMID: 37488199 DOI: 10.1038/d41586-023-02334-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/26/2023]
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Gaudry MJ, Jastroch M. Insights into the Evolution of Non‐shivering Thermogenesis from UCP1 of the Naked Mole Rat (
Heterocephalus glaber
). FASEB J 2022. [DOI: 10.1096/fasebj.2022.36.s1.r3333] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Michael J. Gaudry
- Department of BiosciencesWenner‐Gren InstituteStockholm UniversitySolna
| | - Martin Jastroch
- Stockholm UniversityStockholm
- Department of Molecular BiosciencesWenner‐Gren InstituteStockholm UniversityStockholm
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4
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Purchase CF, Rooke AC, Gaudry MJ, Treberg JR, Mittell EA, Morrissey MB, Rennie MD. A synthesis of senescence predictions for indeterminate growth, and support from multiple tests in wild lake trout. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20212146. [PMID: 34982951 PMCID: PMC8727146 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.2146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2021] [Accepted: 12/06/2021] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Senescence-the deterioration of functionality with age-varies widely across taxa in pattern and rate. Insights into why and how this variation occurs are hindered by the predominance of laboratory-focused research on short-lived model species with determinate growth. We synthesize evolutionary theories of senescence, highlight key information gaps and clarify predictions for species with low mortality and variable degrees of indeterminate growth. Lake trout are an ideal species to evaluate predictions in the wild. We monitored individual males from two populations (1976-2017) longitudinally for changes in adult mortality (actuarial senescence) and body condition (proxy for energy balance). A cross-sectional approach (2017) compared young (ages 4-10 years) and old (18-37 years) adults for (i) phenotypic performance in body condition, and semen quality-which is related to fertility under sperm competition (reproductive senescence)-and (ii) relative telomere length (potential proxy for cellular senescence). Adult growth in these particular populations is constrained by a simplified foodweb, and our data support predictions of negligible senescence when maximum size is only slightly larger than maturation size. Negative senescence (aka reverse senescence) may occur in other lake trout populations where diet shifts allow maximum sizes to greatly exceed maturation size.
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Affiliation(s)
- Craig F. Purchase
- Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St John's, Canada
| | - Anna C. Rooke
- Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St John's, Canada
| | - Michael J. Gaudry
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
| | - Jason R. Treberg
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
- Centre on Aging, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
| | | | | | - Michael D. Rennie
- Department of Biology, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Canada
- IISD Experimental Lakes Area, Canada
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5
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Gaudry MJ, Jastroch M. Comparative functional analyses of UCP1 to unravel evolution, ecophysiology and mechanisms of mammalian thermogenesis. Comp Biochem Physiol B Biochem Mol Biol 2021; 255:110613. [PMID: 33971349 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpb.2021.110613] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2021] [Revised: 04/23/2021] [Accepted: 05/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Brown adipose tissue (BAT), present in many placental mammals, provides adaptive nonshivering thermogenesis (NST) for body temperature regulation and has facilitated survival in diverse thermal niches on our planet. Intriguingly, several key details on the molecular mechanisms of NST and their potential ecophysiological adaptations are still unknown. Comparative studies at the whole animal level are unpragmatic, due to the diversity and complexity of thermoregulation among different species. We propose that the molecular evolution of mitochondrial uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1), a central component for BAT thermogenesis, represents a powerful opportunity to unravel key questions of mammalian thermoregulation. Comparative analysis of UCP1 may elucidate how its thermogenic function arose, how environmental selection has shaped protein function to support ecophysiological requirements, and how the enigmatic molecular mechanism of proton leak is governed. Several approaches for the assessment of UCP1 function in vitro have been introduced over the years. For comparative characterization of UCP1, we put forward the overexpression of UCP1 orthologues and mutated variants in a mammalian cell system as a primary strategy and discuss advantageous aspects in contrast to other experimental systems. In turn, we suggest how remaining experimental caveats can be solved by complimentary test systems before physiological consolidation in the animal model. Furthermore, we highlight the appropriate bioenergetic techniques to perform the functional analyses on UCP1. The comparative characterizations of diverse UCP1 variants may enable key insights into open questions surrounding the molecular basis of NST.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J Gaudry
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute, The Arrhenius Laboratories F3, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Martin Jastroch
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute, The Arrhenius Laboratories F3, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
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Jastroch M, Polymeropoulos ET, Gaudry MJ. Pros and cons for the evidence of adaptive non-shivering thermogenesis in marsupials. J Comp Physiol B 2021; 191:1085-1095. [PMID: 33860348 PMCID: PMC8572181 DOI: 10.1007/s00360-021-01362-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2020] [Revised: 02/05/2021] [Accepted: 02/22/2021] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
The thermogenic mechanisms supporting endothermy are still not fully understood in all major mammalian subgroups. In placental mammals, brown adipose tissue currently represents the most accepted source of adaptive non-shivering thermogenesis. Its mitochondrial protein UCP1 (uncoupling protein 1) catalyzes heat production, but the conservation of this mechanism is unclear in non-placental mammals and lost in some placentals. Here, we review the evidence for and against adaptive non-shivering thermogenesis in marsupials, which diverged from placentals about 120-160 million years ago. We critically discuss potential mechanisms that may be involved in the heat-generating process among marsupials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Jastroch
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute, Stockholm University, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Elias T. Polymeropoulos
- Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS), University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS 7001 Australia
| | - Michael J. Gaudry
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute, Stockholm University, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden
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Fyda TJ, Spencer C, Jastroch M, Gaudry MJ. Disruption of thermogenic UCP1 predated the divergence of pigs and peccaries. J Exp Biol 2020; 223:jeb223974. [PMID: 32620708 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.223974] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2020] [Accepted: 06/30/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) governs non-shivering thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue. It has been estimated that pigs lost UCP1 ∼20 million years ago (MYA), dictating cold intolerance among piglets. Our current understanding of the root causes of UCP1 loss are, however, incomplete. Thus, examination of additional species can shed light on these fundamental evolutionary questions. Here, we investigated UCP1 in the Chacoan peccary (Catagonus wagneri), a member of the Tayassuid lineage that diverged from pigs during the late Eocene-mid Oligocene. Exons 1 and 2 have been deleted in peccary UCP1 and the remaining exons display additional inactivating mutations. A common nonsense mutation in exon 6 revealed that UCP1 was pseudogenized in a shared ancestor of pigs and peccaries. Our selection pressure analyses indicate that the inactivation occurred 36.2-44.3 MYA during the mid-late Eocene, which is much earlier than previously thought. Importantly, pseudogenized UCP1 provides the molecular rationale for cold sensitivity and current tropical biogeography of extant peccaries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Jacob Fyda
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute, The Arrhenius Laboratories F3, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Connor Spencer
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute, The Arrhenius Laboratories F3, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Martin Jastroch
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute, The Arrhenius Laboratories F3, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Michael J Gaudry
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute, The Arrhenius Laboratories F3, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
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Gaudry MJ, Keuper M, Jastroch M. Molecular evolution of thermogenic uncoupling protein 1 and implications for medical intervention of human disease. Mol Aspects Med 2019; 68:6-17. [DOI: 10.1016/j.mam.2019.06.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2019] [Revised: 06/20/2019] [Accepted: 06/21/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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Campbell KL, Gaudry MJ, He K, Suzuki H, Zhang YP, Jiang XL, Weber RE. Altered hemoglobin co-factor sensitivity does not underlie the evolution of derived fossorial specializations in the family Talpidae. Comp Biochem Physiol B Biochem Mol Biol 2018; 224:150-155. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpb.2018.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2017] [Revised: 12/22/2017] [Accepted: 01/02/2018] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Abstract
Brown adipose tissue (BAT), the specialized heat-producing organ found in many placental mammals including humans, may be accessible for clinical drug intervention to help combat metabolic diseases. Understanding the biology of BAT and its thermogenic uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) will benefit from an assessment of its evolution, answering where UCP1 originated and how it has been modified and integrated into cellular energy metabolism. Here, we review topical insights regarding the molecular evolution of UCP1-also reconstructing the proximate and ultimate factors selecting for brown fat thermogenesis in placental mammals. This new thinking on "old" events will assist our understanding of how thermogenic mitochondrial uncoupling was integrated into the physiology of the brown adipocyte. Recent comparative studies examining the occurrence of UCP1 in vertebrates not only identified the ancient (pre-mammal) rise of UCP1 but also its repeated downfall during mammalian evolution as evidenced by multiple independent gene loss and/or inactivation events. Together with the comparative physiology of various species, we may be able to find conditions that favor UCP1 thermogenesis and, learning from these insights, identify molecular networks that will be useful to pharmacologically stimulate the tissue.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J Gaudry
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
| | - Kevin L Campbell
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
| | - Martin Jastroch
- Institute for Diabetes and Obesity, Helmholtz Diabetes Center at Helmholtz Zentrum München, Neuherberg, Germany. .,German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), München-Neuherberg, Germany.
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11
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Abstract
Uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) permits non-shivering thermogenesis (NST) when highly expressed in brown adipose tissue (BAT) mitochondria. Exclusive to placental mammals, BAT has commonly been regarded to be advantageous for thermoregulation in hibernators, small-bodied species, and the neonates of larger species. While numerous regulatory control motifs associated with UCP1 transcription have been proposed for murid rodents, it remains unclear whether these are conserved across the eutherian mammal phylogeny and hence essential for UCP1 expression. To address this shortcoming, we conducted a broad comparative survey of putative UCP1 transcriptional regulatory elements in 139 mammals (135 eutherians). We find no evidence for presence of a UCP1 enhancer in monotremes and marsupials, supporting the hypothesis that this control region evolved in a stem eutherian ancestor. We additionally reveal that several putative promoter elements (e.g., CRE-4, CCAAT) identified in murid rodents are not conserved among BAT-expressing eutherians, and together with the putative regulatory region (PRR) and CpG island do not appear to be crucial for UCP1 expression. The specificity and importance of the upTRE, dnTRE, URE1, CRE-2, RARE-2, NBRE, BRE-1, and BRE-2 enhancer elements first described from rats and mice are moreover uncertain as these motifs differ substantially—but generally remain highly conserved—in other BAT-expressing eutherians. Other UCP1 enhancer motifs (CRE-3, PPRE, and RARE-3) as well as the TATA box are also highly conserved in nearly all eutherian lineages with an intact UCP1. While these transcriptional regulatory motifs are generally also maintained in species where this gene is pseudogenized, the loss or degeneration of key basal promoter (e.g., TATA box) and enhancer elements in other UCP1-lacking lineages make it unlikely that the enhancer region is pleiotropic (i.e., co-regulates additional genes). Importantly, differential losses of (or mutations within) putative regulatory elements among the eutherian lineages with an intact UCP1 suggests that the transcriptional control of gene expression is not highly conserved in this mammalian clade.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J Gaudry
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of ManitobaWinnipeg, MB, Canada
| | - Kevin L Campbell
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of ManitobaWinnipeg, MB, Canada
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Gaudry MJ, Jastroch M, Treberg JR, Hofreiter M, Paijmans JLA, Starrett J, Wales N, Signore AV, Springer MS, Campbell KL. Inactivation of thermogenic UCP1 as a historical contingency in multiple placental mammal clades. Sci Adv 2017; 3:e1602878. [PMID: 28706989 PMCID: PMC5507634 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1602878] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2016] [Accepted: 06/21/2017] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
Mitochondrial uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) is essential for nonshivering thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue and is widely accepted to have played a key thermoregulatory role in small-bodied and neonatal placental mammals that enabled the exploitation of cold environments. We map ucp1 sequences from 133 mammals onto a species tree constructed from a ~51-kb sequence alignment and show that inactivating mutations have occurred in at least 8 of the 18 traditional placental orders, thereby challenging the physiological importance of UCP1 across Placentalia. Selection and timetree analyses further reveal that ucp1 inactivations temporally correspond with strong secondary reductions in metabolic intensity in xenarthrans and pangolins, or in six other lineages coincided with a ~30 million-year episode of global cooling in the Paleogene that promoted sharp increases in body mass and cladogenesis evident in the fossil record. Our findings also demonstrate that members of various lineages (for example, cetaceans, horses, woolly mammoths, Steller's sea cows) evolved extreme cold hardiness in the absence of UCP1-mediated thermogenesis. Finally, we identify ucp1 inactivation as a historical contingency that is linked to the current low species diversity of clades lacking functional UCP1, thus providing the first evidence for species selection related to the presence or absence of a single gene product.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J. Gaudry
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3T 2N2, Canada
| | - Martin Jastroch
- Institute for Diabetes and Obesity, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Parkring 13, 85748 Garching, Germany
- Department of Animal Physiology, Faculty of Biology, Philipps University of Marburg, D-35032 Marburg, Germany
| | - Jason R. Treberg
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3T 2N2, Canada
- Department of Human Nutritional Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3T 2N2, Canada
| | - Michael Hofreiter
- Department of Biology, University of York, Heslington, York YO10 5DD, UK
| | | | - James Starrett
- Department of Biology, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA
| | - Nathan Wales
- Centre for GeoGenetics, Natural History Museum of Denmark, Øster Voldgade 5-7, 1350 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Anthony V. Signore
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3T 2N2, Canada
| | - Mark S. Springer
- Department of Biology, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA
| | - Kevin L. Campbell
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3T 2N2, Canada
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Gaudry MJ, Storz JF, Butts GT, Campbell KL, Hoffmann FG. Repeated evolution of chimeric fusion genes in the β-globin gene family of laurasiatherian mammals. Genome Biol Evol 2014; 6:1219-34. [PMID: 24814285 PMCID: PMC4041002 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evu097] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/05/2014] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The evolutionary fate of chimeric fusion genes may be strongly influenced by their recombinational mode of origin and the nature of functional divergence between the parental genes. In the β-globin gene family of placental mammals, the two postnatally expressed δ- and β-globin genes (HBD and HBB, respectively) have a propensity for recombinational exchange via gene conversion and unequal crossing-over. In the latter case, there are good reasons to expect differences in retention rates for the reciprocal HBB/HBD and HBD/HBB fusion genes due to thalassemia pathologies associated with the HBD/HBB "Lepore" deletion mutant in humans. Here, we report a comparative genomic analysis of the mammalian β-globin gene cluster, which revealed that chimeric HBB/HBD fusion genes originated independently in four separate lineages of laurasiatherian mammals: Eulipotyphlans (shrews, moles, and hedgehogs), carnivores, microchiropteran bats, and cetaceans. In cases where an independently derived "anti-Lepore" duplication mutant has become fixed, the parental HBD and/or HBB genes have typically been inactivated or deleted, so that the newly created HBB/HBD fusion gene is primarily responsible for synthesizing the β-type subunits of adult and fetal hemoglobin (Hb). Contrary to conventional wisdom that the HBD gene is a vestigial relict that is typically inactivated or expressed at negligible levels, we show that HBD-like genes often encode a substantial fraction (20-100%) of β-chain Hbs in laurasiatherian taxa. Our results indicate that the ascendancy or resuscitation of genes with HBD-like coding sequence requires the secondary acquisition of HBB-like promoter sequence via unequal crossing-over or interparalog gene conversion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J Gaudry
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
| | - Jay F Storz
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska, Lincoln
| | - Gary Tyler Butts
- Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology, and Plant Pathology, Mississippi State University
| | - Kevin L Campbell
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
| | - Federico G Hoffmann
- Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology, and Plant Pathology, Mississippi State UniversityInstitute for Genomics, Biocomputing and Biotechnology, Mississippi State University
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