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Phylogenetic evidence for the modular evolution of metazoan signalling pathways.

ABSTRACT: Communication among cells was paramount to the evolutionary increase in cell type diversity and, ultimately, the origin of large body size. Across the diversity of Metazoa, there are only few conserved cell signalling pathways known to orchestrate the complex cell and tissue interactions regulating development; thus, modification to these few pathways has been responsible for generating diversity during the evolution of animals. Here, we summarize evidence for the origin and putative function of the intracellular, membrane-bound and secreted components of seven metazoan cell signalling pathways with a special focus on early branching metazoans (ctenophores, poriferans, placozoans and cnidarians) and basal unikonts (amoebozoans, fungi, filastereans and choanoflagellates). We highlight the modular incorporation of intra- and extracellular components in each signalling pathway and suggest that increases in the complexity of the extracellular matrix may have further promoted the modulation of cell signalling during metazoan evolution. Most importantly, this updated view of metazoan signalling pathways highlights the need for explicit study of canonical signalling pathway components in taxa that do not operate a complete signalling pathway. Studies like these are critical for developing a deeper understanding of the evolution of cell signalling.This article is part of the themed issue 'Evo-devo in the genomics era, and the origins of morphological diversity'.

SUBMITTER: Babonis LS

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5182411 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Phylogenetic evidence for the modular evolution of metazoan signalling pathways.

Babonis Leslie S LS Martindale Mark Q MQ

Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences 20170201 1713

Communication among cells was paramount to the evolutionary increase in cell type diversity and, ultimately, the origin of large body size. Across the diversity of Metazoa, there are only few conserved cell signalling pathways known to orchestrate the complex cell and tissue interactions regulating development; thus, modification to these few pathways has been responsible for generating diversity during the evolution of animals. Here, we summarize evidence for the origin and putative function of ...[more]

PMID: 27994120

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Project description:BackgroundMicrobes must sense environmental stresses, transduce these signals and mount protective responses to survive in hostile environments. In this study we have tested the hypothesis that fungal stress signalling pathways have evolved rapidly in a niche-specific fashion that is independent of phylogeny. To test this hypothesis we have compared the conservation of stress signalling molecules in diverse fungal species with their stress resistance. These fungi, which include ascomycetes, basidiomycetes and microsporidia, occupy highly divergent niches from saline environments to plant or mammalian hosts.ResultsThe fungi displayed significant variation in their resistance to osmotic (NaCl and sorbitol), oxidative (H2O2 and menadione) and cell wall stresses (Calcofluor White and Congo Red). There was no strict correlation between fungal phylogeny and stress resistance. Rather, the human pathogens tended to be more resistant to all three types of stress, an exception being the sensitivity of Candida albicans to the cell wall stress, Calcofluor White. In contrast, the plant pathogens were relatively sensitive to oxidative stress. The degree of conservation of osmotic, oxidative and cell wall stress signalling pathways amongst the eighteen fungal species was examined. Putative orthologues of functionally defined signalling components in Saccharomyces cerevisiae were identified by performing reciprocal BLASTP searches, and the percent amino acid identities of these orthologues recorded. This revealed that in general, central components of the osmotic, oxidative and cell wall stress signalling pathways are relatively well conserved, whereas the sensors lying upstream and transcriptional regulators lying downstream of these modules have diverged significantly. There was no obvious correlation between the degree of conservation of stress signalling pathways and the resistance of a particular fungus to the corresponding stress.ConclusionOur data are consistent with the hypothesis that fungal stress signalling components have undergone rapid recent evolution to tune the stress responses in a niche-specific fashion.

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Phylogenetic evidence for the modular evolution of metazoan signalling pathways.

Publications

Phylogenetic evidence for the modular evolution of metazoan signalling pathways.

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