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Evolutionary EST analysis identifies rapidly evolving male reproductive proteins in Drosophila.

ABSTRACT: Sequence comparisons of genomes or expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from related organisms provide insight into functional conservation and diversification. We compare the sequences of ESTs from the male accessory gland of Drosophila simulans to their orthologs in its close relative Drosophila melanogaster, and demonstrate rapid divergence of many of these reproductive genes. Nineteen ( approximately 11%) of 176 independent genes identified in the EST screen contain protein-coding regions with an excess of nonsynonymous over synonymous changes, suggesting that their divergence has been accelerated by positive Darwinian selection. Genes that encode putative accessory gland-specific seminal fluid proteins had a significantly elevated level of nonsynonymous substitution relative to nonaccessory gland-specific genes. With the 57 new accessory gland genes reported here, we predict that approximately 90% of the male accessory gland genes have been identified. The evolutionary EST approach applied here to identify putative targets of adaptive evolution is readily applicable to other tissues and organisms.

SUBMITTER: Swanson WJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC34676 | biostudies-literature | 2001 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Evolutionary EST analysis identifies rapidly evolving male reproductive proteins in Drosophila.

Swanson W J WJ Clark A G AG Waldrip-Dail H M HM Wolfner M F MF Aquadro C F CF

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20010612 13

Sequence comparisons of genomes or expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from related organisms provide insight into functional conservation and diversification. We compare the sequences of ESTs from the male accessory gland of Drosophila simulans to their orthologs in its close relative Drosophila melanogaster, and demonstrate rapid divergence of many of these reproductive genes. Nineteen ( approximately 11%) of 176 independent genes identified in the EST screen contain protein-coding regions with an ...[more]

PMID: 11404480

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Project description:Female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes impose a severe global public health burden as primary vectors of multiple viral and parasitic pathogens. Under optimal environmental conditions, Aedes aegypti females have access to human hosts that provide blood proteins for egg development, conspecific males that provide sperm for fertilization, and freshwater that serves as an egg-laying substrate suitable for offspring survival. As global temperatures rise, Aedes aegypti females are faced with climate challenges, like intense droughts and intermittent precipitation, which create unpredictable and suboptimal conditions for the egg-laying step of their reproductive cycle. Aedes aegypti mosquitoes nonetheless show remarkable reproductive resilience, but how they achieve this is unknown. Here we show that under drought-like conditions simulated in the laboratory, mated, blood-fed Aedes aegypti females carrying mature eggs retain them in their ovaries for extended periods, while maintaining the viability of these eggs until they can be deposited in freshwater. Using transcriptomic and proteomic profiling of Aedes aegypti ovaries, we identify two previously uncharacterized genes – here named tweedledee and tweedledum – that show ovary-enriched, temporally-restricted expression during egg retention. These genes are mosquito-specific, linked within a syntenic locus, and rapidly evolving under positive selection, raising the possibility that they serve an adaptive function. Using loss-of-function mutagenesis to disrupt both genes, we show that, tweedledee and tweedledum, which encode secreted proteins, are specifically required for extended retention of viable eggs, such as during intermittent precipitation or drought. These results highlight an elegant example of taxon-restricted genes at the heart of an important adaptation that equips Aedes aegypti females with “insurance” to, when contextually appropriate, flexibly extend their reproductive sequence without losing reproductive capacity, thus allowing this species to exploit diverse and unpredictable/chaotic/changing habitats.

Dataset Information

Evolutionary EST analysis identifies rapidly evolving male reproductive proteins in Drosophila.

Publications

Evolutionary EST analysis identifies rapidly evolving male reproductive proteins in Drosophila.

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