Evolutionary dynamics of olfactory receptor genes in Drosophila species.

ABSTRACT: Olfactory receptor (OR) genes are of vital importance for animals to find food, identify mates, and avoid dangers. In mammals, the number of OR genes is large and varies extensively among different orders, whereas, in insects, the extent of interspecific variation appears to be small, although only a few species have been studied. To understand the evolutionary changes of OR genes, we identified all OR genes from 12 Drosophila species, of which the evolutionary time is roughly equivalent to that of eutherian mammals. The results showed that all species examined have similar numbers ( approximately 60) of functional OR genes. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the ancestral species also had similar numbers of genes, but there were frequent gains and losses of genes that occurred in each e

SUBMITTER: Nozawa M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1855360 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature