Dataset Information

Origin of INSL3-mediated testicular descent in therian mammals.

ABSTRACT: Testicular descent is a unique physiological adaptation found in therian mammals allowing optimal spermatogenesis below core body temperature. Recent studies show that INSL3, produced by Leydig cells, and its receptor LGR8 (RXFP2) are essential for mediating the transabdominal phase of testicular descent during early development. However, the origin and genetic basis for this physiological adaptation is not clear. Using syntenic mapping and the functional characterization of contemporary and resurrected relaxin family hormones, we show that derivation of INSL3-mediated testicular descent involved the duplication of an ancestral RLN3-like gene that encodes an indiscriminate ligand for LGR7 (RXFP1) and LGR8. This event was followed by acquisition of the LGR7-selective characteristics by a daughter gene (RLN3) prior to the evolution of the common ancestor of monotremes, marsupials, and placentals. A subsequent mutation of the other daughter gene (INSL3) occurred before the emergence of therian mammals, which then led to the derivation of the reciprocal LGR8-specific characteristics of INSL3. The stepwise evolution of these independent signaling pathways through gene duplication and subsequent divergence is consistent with Darwinian theory of selection and adaptation, and the temporal proximity suggests an association between these genetic events and the concurrent evolution of testicular descent in ancestral therian mammals.

SUBMITTER: Park JI

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2413165 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Origin of INSL3-mediated testicular descent in therian mammals.

Park Jae-Il JI Semyonov Jenia J Chang Chia Lin CL Yi Wei W Warren Wesley W Hsu Sheau Yu Teddy SY

Genome research 20080507 6

Testicular descent is a unique physiological adaptation found in therian mammals allowing optimal spermatogenesis below core body temperature. Recent studies show that INSL3, produced by Leydig cells, and its receptor LGR8 (RXFP2) are essential for mediating the transabdominal phase of testicular descent during early development. However, the origin and genetic basis for this physiological adaptation is not clear. Using syntenic mapping and the functional characterization of contemporary and res ...[more]

PMID: 18463305

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Project description:BackgroundBody mass estimation is of paramount importance for paleobiological studies, as body size influences numerous other biological parameters. In mammals, body mass has been traditionally estimated using regression equations based on measurements of the dentition or limb bones, but for many species teeth are unreliable estimators of body mass and postcranial elements are unknown. This issue is exemplified in several groups of extinct mammals that have disproportionately large heads relative to their body size and for which postcranial remains are rare. In these taxa, previous authors have noted that the occiput is unusually small relative to the skull, suggesting that occiput dimensions may be a more accurate predictor of body mass.ResultsThe relationship between occipital condyle width (OCW) and body mass was tested using a large dataset (2127 specimens and 404 species) of mammals with associated in vivo body mass. OCW was found to be a strong predictor of body mass across therian mammals, with regression models of Mammalia as a whole producing error values (~ 31.1% error) comparable to within-order regression equations of other skeletal variables in previous studies. Some clades (e.g., monotremes, lagomorphs) exhibited specialized occiput morphology but followed the same allometric relationship as the majority of mammals. Compared to two traditional metrics of body mass estimation, skull length, and head-body length, OCW outperformed both in terms of model accuracy.ConclusionsOCW-based regression models provide an alternative method of estimating body mass to traditional craniodental and postcranial metrics and are highly accurate despite the broad taxonomic scope of the dataset. Because OCW accurately predicts body mass in most therian mammals, it can be used to estimate body mass in taxa with no close living analogues without concerns of insufficient phylogenetic bracketing or extrapolating beyond the bounds of the data. This, in turn, provides a robust method for estimating body mass in groups for which body mass estimation has previously been problematic (e.g., "creodonts" and other extinct Paleogene mammals).

Dataset Information

Origin of INSL3-mediated testicular descent in therian mammals.

Publications

Origin of INSL3-mediated testicular descent in therian mammals.

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