Dataset Information

Expansion of the fatty acyl reductase gene family shaped pheromone communication in Hymenoptera.

ABSTRACT: Fatty acyl reductases (FARs) are involved in the biosynthesis of fatty alcohols that serve a range of biological roles. Insects typically harbor numerous FAR gene family members. While some FARs are involved in pheromone biosynthesis, the biological significance of the large number of FARs in insect genomes remains unclear.Using bumble bee (Bombini) FAR expression analysis and functional characterization, hymenopteran FAR gene tree reconstruction, and inspection of transposable elements (TEs) in the genomic environment of FARs, we uncovered a massive expansion of the FAR gene family in Hymenoptera, presumably facilitated by TEs. The expansion occurred in the common ancestor of bumble bees and stingless bees (Meliponini). We found that bumble bee FARs from the expanded FAR-A ortholog group contribute to the species-specific pheromone composition. Our results indicate that expansion and functional diversification of the FAR gene family played a key role in the evolution of pheromone communication in Hymenoptera.

SUBMITTER: Tupec M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6361591 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Expansion of the fatty acyl reductase gene family shaped pheromone communication in Hymenoptera.

Tupec Michal M Buček Aleš A Janoušek Václav V Vogel Heiko H Prchalová Darina D Kindl Jiří J Pavlíčková Tereza T Wenzelová Petra P Jahn Ullrich U Valterová Irena I Pichová Iva I

eLife 20190204

Fatty acyl reductases (FARs) are involved in the biosynthesis of fatty alcohols that serve a range of biological roles. Insects typically harbor numerous FAR gene family members. While some FARs are involved in pheromone biosynthesis, the biological significance of the large number of FARs in insect genomes remains unclear.Using bumble bee (Bombini) FAR expression analysis and functional characterization, hymenopteran FAR gene tree reconstruction, and inspection of transposable elements (TEs) in ...[more]

PMID: 30714899

Similar Datasets

Project description:BACKGROUND:Sex pheromones are essential in moth mate communication. Information on pheromone biosynthetic genes and enzymes is needed to comprehend the mechanisms that contribute to specificity of pheromone signals. Most heliothine moths use sex pheromones with (Z)-11-hexadecenal as the major component in combination with minor fatty aldehydes and alcohols. In this study we focus on four closely related species, Heliothis virescens, Heliothis subflexa, Helicoverpa armigera and Helicoverpa assulta, which use (Z)-11-hexadecenal, (Z)-9-tetradecanal, and (Z)-9-hexadecenal in different ratios in their pheromone blend. The components are produced from saturated fatty acid precursors by desaturation, ?-oxidation, reduction and oxidation. RESULTS:We analyzed the composition of fatty acyl pheromone precursors and correlated it to the pheromone composition. Next, we investigated whether the downstream fatty-acyl reduction step modulates the ratio of alcohol intermediates before the final oxidation step. By isolating and functionally characterizing the Fatty Acyl Reductase (pgFAR) from each species we found that the pgFARs were active on a broad set of C8 to C16 fatty acyl substrates including the key pheromone precursors, Z9-14, Z9-16 and Z11-16:acyls. When presenting the three precursors in equal ratios to yeast cultures expressing any of the four pgFARs, all reduced (Z)-9-tetradecenoate preferentially over (Z)-11-hexadecenoate, and the latter over (Z)-9-hexadecenoate. Finally, when manipulating the precursor ratios in vitro, we found that the pgFARs display small differences in the biochemical activity on various substrates. CONCLUSIONS:We conclude that a pgFAR with broad specificity is involved in heliothine moth pheromone biosynthesis, functioning as a semi-selective funnel that produces species-specific alcohol product ratios depending on the fatty-acyl precursor ratio in the pheromone gland. This study further supports the key role of these in pheromone biosynthesis and emphasizes the interplay between the pheromone fatty acyl precursors and the Lepidoptera specific pgFARs in shaping the pheromone composition.

Project description:Many rhodococci are oleaginous and, as such, have considerable potential for the sustainable production of lipid-based commodity chemicals. Herein, we demonstrated that Rhodococcus jostii RHA1, a soil bacterium that catabolizes a wide range of organic compounds, produced wax esters (WEs) up to 0.0002% of its cellular dry weight during exponential growth on glucose. These WEs were fully saturated and contained primarily 31 to 34 carbon atoms. Moreover, they were present at higher levels during exponential growth than under lipid-accumulating conditions. Bioinformatics analyses revealed that RHA1 contains a gene encoding a putative fatty acyl coenzyme A (acyl-CoA) reductase (FcrA). The purified enzyme catalyzed the NADPH-dependent transformation of stearoyl-CoA to stearyl alcohol with a specific activity of 45 ± 3 nmol/mg · min and dodecanal to dodecanol with a specific activity of 5,300 ± 300 nmol/mg · min. Deletion of fcrA did not affect WE accumulation when grown in either carbon- or nitrogen-limited medium. However, the ?fcrA mutant accumulated less than 20% of the amount of WEs as the wild-type strain under conditions of nitric oxide stress. A strain of RHA1 overproducing FcrA accumulated WEs to ?13% cellular dry weight under lipid-accumulating conditions, and their acyl moieties had longer average chain lengths than those in wild-type cells (C17 versus C16). The results provide insight into the biosynthesis of WEs in rhodococci and facilitate the development of this genus for the production of high-value neutral lipids.IMPORTANCE Among the best-studied oleaginous bacteria, rhodococci have considerable potential for the sustainable production of lipid-based commodity chemicals, such as wax esters. However, many aspects of lipid synthesis in these bacteria are poorly understood. The current study identifies a key enzyme in wax ester synthesis in rhodococci and exploits it to significantly improve the yield of wax esters in bacteria. In so doing, this work contributes to the development of novel bioprocesses for an important class of oleochemicals that may ultimately allow us to phase out their unsustainable production from sources such as petroleum and palm oil.

Dataset Information

Expansion of the fatty acyl reductase gene family shaped pheromone communication in Hymenoptera.

Publications

Expansion of the fatty acyl reductase gene family shaped pheromone communication in Hymenoptera.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets