1
|
Forni G, Mantovani B, Mikheyev AS, Luchetti A. Parthenogenetic stick insects exhibit signatures of preservation in the molecular architecture of male reproduction. Genome Biol Evol 2024:evae073. [PMID: 38573594 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evae073] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2023] [Revised: 03/06/2024] [Accepted: 04/02/2024] [Indexed: 04/05/2024] Open
Abstract
After the loss of a trait, theory predicts that the molecular machinery underlying its phenotypic expression should decay. Yet, empirical evidence is contrasting. Here, we test the hypotheses that (1) the molecular ground plan of a lost trait could persist due to pleiotropic effects on other traits and (2) that gene co-expression network architecture could constrain individual gene expression. Our testing ground has been the Bacillus stick insect species complex, which contains close relatives that are either bisexual or parthenogenetic. After the identification of genes expressed in male reproductive tissues in a bisexual species, we investigated their gene co-expression network structure in two parthenogenetic species. We found that gene co-expression within the male gonads was partially preserved in parthenogens. Furthermore, parthenogens did not show relaxed selection on genes upregulated in male gonads in the bisexual species. As these genes were mostly expressed in female gonads, this preservation could be driven by pleiotropic interactions and an ongoing role in female reproduction. Connectivity within the network also played a key role, with highly connected - and more pleiotropic - genes within male gonad also having a gonad-biased expression in parthenogens. Our findings provide novel insight into the mechanisms which could underlie the production of rare males in parthenogenetic lineages; more generally, they provide an example of the cryptic persistence of a lost trait molecular architecture, driven by gene pleiotropy on other traits and within their co-expression network.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Giobbe Forni
- Dip. Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche e Ambientali (BiGeA), University of Bologna, Italy
| | - Barbara Mantovani
- Dip. Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche e Ambientali (BiGeA), University of Bologna, Italy
| | | | - Andrea Luchetti
- Dip. Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche e Ambientali (BiGeA), University of Bologna, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
He L, Palos-Jasso A, Yi Y, Qin M, Qiu L, Yang X, Zhang Y, Yu J. Bioinformatic Analysis Revealed the Essential Regulatory Genes and Pathways of Early and Advanced Atherosclerotic Plaque in Humans. Cells 2022; 11:cells11243976. [PMID: 36552740 PMCID: PMC9776921 DOI: 10.3390/cells11243976] [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] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2022] [Revised: 12/01/2022] [Accepted: 12/05/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Atherosclerosis (AS) is a lipid-induced, chronic inflammatory, autoimmune disease affecting multiple arteries. Although much effort has been put into AS research in the past decades, it is still the leading cause of death worldwide. The complex genetic network regulation underlying the pathogenesis of AS still needs further investigation to provide effective targeted therapy for AS. We performed a bioinformatic microarray data analysis at different atherosclerotic plaque stages from the Gene Expression Omnibus database with accession numbers GSE43292 and GSE28829. Using gene set enrichment analysis, we further confirmed the immune-related pathways that play an important role in the development of AS. We are reporting, for the first time, that the metabolism of the three branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs; leucine, isoleucine, and valine) and short-chain fatty acids (SCFA; propanoate, and butanoate) are involved in the progression of AS using microarray data of atherosclerotic plaque tissue. Immune and muscle system-related pathways were further confirmed as highly regulated pathways during the development of AS using gene expression pattern analysis. Furthermore, we also identified four modules mainly involved in histone modification, immune-related processes, macroautophagy, and B cell activation with modular differential connectivity in the dataset of GSE43292, and three modules related to immune-related processes, B cell activation, and nuclear division in the dataset of GSE28829 also display modular differential connectivity based on the weighted gene co-expression network analysis. Finally, we identified eight key genes related to the pathways of immune and muscle system function as potential therapeutic biomarkers to distinguish patients with early or advanced stages in AS, and two of the eight genes were validated using the gene expression dataset from gene-deficient mice. The results of the current study will improve our understanding of the molecular mechanisms in the progression of AS. The key genes and pathways identified could be potential biomarkers or new drug targets for AS management.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Luling He
- Key Laboratory for Pharmacology and Translational Research of Traditional Chinese Medicine of Nanchang, Centre for Translational Medicine, Jiangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanchang 330006, China
- Jiangxi Key Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine for Prevention and Treatment of Vascular Remodeling Diseases, Nanchang 330006, China
| | - Andrea Palos-Jasso
- Department of Cardiovascular Sciences and Centre for Metabolic Disease Research, Lewis Katz School of Medicine, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19140, USA
| | - Yao Yi
- Institute of Gynecology and Obstetrics of traditional Chinese Medicine, Jiangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanchang 330006, China
| | - Manman Qin
- Key Laboratory for Pharmacology and Translational Research of Traditional Chinese Medicine of Nanchang, Centre for Translational Medicine, Jiangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanchang 330006, China
- Jiangxi Key Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine for Prevention and Treatment of Vascular Remodeling Diseases, Nanchang 330006, China
| | - Liang Qiu
- Key Laboratory for Pharmacology and Translational Research of Traditional Chinese Medicine of Nanchang, Centre for Translational Medicine, Jiangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanchang 330006, China
- Jiangxi Key Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine for Prevention and Treatment of Vascular Remodeling Diseases, Nanchang 330006, China
| | - Xiaofeng Yang
- Department of Cardiovascular Sciences and Centre for Metabolic Disease Research, Lewis Katz School of Medicine, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19140, USA
| | - Yifeng Zhang
- Key Laboratory for Pharmacology and Translational Research of Traditional Chinese Medicine of Nanchang, Centre for Translational Medicine, Jiangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanchang 330006, China
- Jiangxi Key Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine for Prevention and Treatment of Vascular Remodeling Diseases, Nanchang 330006, China
- Correspondence:
| | - Jun Yu
- Department of Cardiovascular Sciences and Centre for Metabolic Disease Research, Lewis Katz School of Medicine, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19140, USA
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Abstract
The connectivity of a gene, defined as the number of interactions a gene's product has with other genes' products, is a key characteristic of a gene. In prokaryotes, the complexity hypothesis predicts that genes which undergo more frequent horizontal transfer will be less connected than genes which are only very rarely transferred. We tested the role of horizontal gene transfer, and other potentially important factors, by examining the connectivity of chromosomal and plasmid genes, across 134 diverse prokaryotic species. We found that (i) genes on plasmids were less connected than genes on chromosomes; (ii) connectivity of plasmid genes was not correlated with plasmid mobility; and (iii) the sociality of genes (cooperative or private) was not correlated with gene connectivity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Chunhui Hao
- Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3SZ, UK
| | - Anna E. Dewar
- Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3SZ, UK
| | - Stuart A. West
- Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3SZ, UK
| | - Melanie Ghoul
- Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3SZ, UK
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Zhang Y, Sun Y, Wu Z, Xiong X, Zhang J, Ma J, Xiao S, Huang L, Yang B. Subcutaneous and intramuscular fat transcriptomes show large differences in network organization and associations with adipose traits in pigs. Sci China Life Sci 2021; 64:1732-1746. [PMID: 33527326 DOI: 10.1007/s11427-020-1824-7] [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] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2020] [Accepted: 09/14/2020] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Subcutaneous fat (SCF) and intramuscular fat (IMF) deposition is relevant to health in humans, as well as meat production and quality in pigs. In this study, we generated RNA sequence data for 122 SCF, 120 IMF, and 87 longissimus dorsi muscle (LDM) samples using 155 F6 pigs from a specially designed heterogeneous population generated by intercrossing four highly selected European commercial breeds and four indigenous Chinese pig breeds. The phenotypes including waist back fat thickness and intramuscular fat content were also measured in the 155 F6 pigs. We found that the genes in SCF and IMF differed largely in both expression levels and network connectivity, and highlighted network modules that exhibited strongest gain of connectivity in SCF and IMF, containing genes that were associated with the immune process and DNA double-strand repair, respectively. We identified 215 SCF genes related to kinase inhibitor activity, mitochondrial fission, and angiogenesis, and 90 IMF genes related to lipolysis and fat cell differentiation, displayed a tissue-specific association with back fat thickness and IMF content, respectively. We found that cis-expression QTL for trait-associated genes in the two adipose tissues tended to have tissue-dependent predictability for the two adipose traits. Alternative splicing of genes was also found to be associated with SCF or IMF deposition, but the association was much less extensive than that based on expression levels. This study provides a better understanding of SCF and IMF gene transcription and network organization and identified critical genes and network modules that displayed tissue-specific associations with subcutaneous and intramuscular fat deposition. These features are helpful for designing breeding programs to genetically improve the two adipose traits in a balanced way.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yifeng Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Pig Genetic Improvement and Production Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, 330045, China
| | - Yingchun Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Pig Genetic Improvement and Production Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, 330045, China
| | - Zhongzi Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Pig Genetic Improvement and Production Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, 330045, China
| | - Xinwei Xiong
- State Key Laboratory of Pig Genetic Improvement and Production Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, 330045, China
| | - Junjie Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Pig Genetic Improvement and Production Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, 330045, China
| | - Junwu Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Pig Genetic Improvement and Production Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, 330045, China
| | - Shijun Xiao
- State Key Laboratory of Pig Genetic Improvement and Production Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, 330045, China
| | - Lusheng Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Pig Genetic Improvement and Production Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, 330045, China.
| | - Bin Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Pig Genetic Improvement and Production Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, 330045, China.
| |
Collapse
|