Dataset Information

Molecular evolution of a Drosophila homolog of human BRCA2.

ABSTRACT: The human cancer susceptibility gene, BRCA2, functions in double-strand break repair by homologous recombination, and it appears to function via interaction of a repetitive region ("BRC repeats") with RAD-51. A putatively simpler homolog, dmbrca2, was identified in Drosophila melanogaster recently and also affects mitotic and meiotic double-strand break repair. In this study, we examined patterns of repeat variation both within Drosophila pseudoobscura and among available Drosophila genome sequences. We identified extensive variation within and among closely related Drosophila species in BRC repeat number, to the extent that variation within this genus recapitulates the extent of variation found across the entire animal kingdom. We describe patterns of evolution across species by documenting recent repeat expansions (sometimes in tandem arrays) and homogenizations within available genome sequences. Overall, we have documented patterns and modes of evolution in a new model system of a gene which is important to human health.

SUBMITTER: Bennett SM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2756332 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Molecular evolution of a Drosophila homolog of human BRCA2.

Bennett Sarah M SM Noor Mohamed A F MA

Genetica 20090625 2

The human cancer susceptibility gene, BRCA2, functions in double-strand break repair by homologous recombination, and it appears to function via interaction of a repetitive region ("BRC repeats") with RAD-51. A putatively simpler homolog, dmbrca2, was identified in Drosophila melanogaster recently and also affects mitotic and meiotic double-strand break repair. In this study, we examined patterns of repeat variation both within Drosophila pseudoobscura and among available Drosophila genome seque ...[more]

PMID: 19554456

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Project description:Several multigene families have been described that together encode scores of structural cuticular proteins in Drosophila, although the functional significance of this diversity remains to be explored. Here I investigate the evolutionary histories of several multigene families (CPR, Tweedle, CPLCG, and CPF/CPFL) that vary in age, size, and sequence complexity, using sequenced Drosophila genomes and mosquito outgroups. My objective is to describe the rates and mechanisms of 'cuticle-ome' divergence, in order to identify conserved and rapidly evolving elements. I also investigate potential examples of interlocus gene conversion and concerted evolution within these families during Drosophila evolution. The absolute rate of change in gene number (per million years) is an order of magnitude lower for cuticular protein families within Drosophila than it is among Drosophila and the two mosquito taxa, implying that major transitions in the cuticle proteome have occurred at higher taxonomic levels. Several hotspots of intergenic conversion and/or gene turnover were identified, e.g. some gene pairs have independently undergone intergenic conversion within different lineages. Some gene conversion hotspots were characterized by conversion tracts initiating near nucleotide repeats within coding regions, and similar repeats were found within concertedly evolving cuticular protein genes in Anopheles gambiae. Rates of amino-acid substitution were generally severalfold higher along the branch connecting the Sophophora and Drosophila species groups, and 13 genes have Ka/Ks significantly greater than one along this branch, indicating adaptive divergence. Insect cuticular proteins appear to be a source of adaptive evolution within genera and, at higher taxonomic levels, subject to periods of gene-family expansion and contraction followed by quiescence. However, this relative stasis is belied by hotspots of molecular evolution, particularly concerted evolution, during the diversification of Drosophila. The prominent association between interlocus gene conversion and repeats within the coding sequence of interacting genes suggests that the latter promote strand exchange.

Dataset Information

Molecular evolution of a Drosophila homolog of human BRCA2.

Publications

Molecular evolution of a Drosophila homolog of human BRCA2.

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