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Changes throughout a Genetic Network Mask the Contribution of Hox Gene Evolution.

ABSTRACT: Hox genes pattern the anterior-posterior axis of animals and are posited to drive animal body plan evolution, yet their precise role in evolution has been difficult to determine. Here, we identified evolutionary modifications in the Hox gene Abd-B that dramatically altered its expression along the body plan of Drosophila santomea. Abd-B is required for pigmentation in Drosophila yakuba, the sister species of D. santomea, and changes to Abd-B expression would be predicted to make large contributions to the loss of body pigmentation in D. santomea. However, manipulating Abd-B expression in current-day D. santomea does not affect pigmentation. We attribute this epistatic interaction to four other genes within the D. santomea pigmentation network, three of which have evolved expression patterns that do not respond to Abd-B. Our results demonstrate how body plans may evolve through small evolutionary steps distributed throughout Hox-regulated networks. Polygenicity and epistasis may hinder efforts to identify genes and mechanisms underlying macroevolutionary traits.

SUBMITTER: Liu Y

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6624651 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Changes throughout a Genetic Network Mask the Contribution of Hox Gene Evolution.

Liu Yang Y Ramos-Womack Margarita M Han Clair C Reilly Patrick P Brackett Kelly LaRue KL Rogers William W Williams Thomas M TM Andolfatto Peter P Stern David L DL Rebeiz Mark M

Current biology : CB 20190627 13

Hox genes pattern the anterior-posterior axis of animals and are posited to drive animal body plan evolution, yet their precise role in evolution has been difficult to determine. Here, we identified evolutionary modifications in the Hox gene Abd-B that dramatically altered its expression along the body plan of Drosophila santomea. Abd-B is required for pigmentation in Drosophila yakuba, the sister species of D. santomea, and changes to Abd-B expression would be predicted to make large contributi ...[more]

PMID: 31257142

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Project description:IntroductionOnychophora is a relatively small phylum within Ecdysozoa, and is considered to be the sister group to Arthropoda. Compared to the arthropods, that have radiated into countless divergent forms, the onychophoran body plan is overall comparably simple and does not display much in-phylum variation. An important component of arthropod morphological diversity consists of variation of tagmosis, i.e. the grouping of segments into functional units (tagmata), and this in turn is correlated with differences in expression patterns of the Hox genes. How these genes are expressed in the simpler onychophorans, the subject of this paper, would therefore be of interest in understanding their subsequent evolution in the arthropods, especially if an argument can be made for the onychophoran system broadly reflecting the ancestral state in the arthropods.ResultsThe sequences and embryonic expression patterns of the complete set of ten Hox genes of an onychophoran (Euperipatoides kanangrensis) are described for the first time. We find that they are all expressed in characteristic patterns that suggest a function as classical Hox genes. The onychophoran Hox genes obey spatial colinearity, and with the exception of Ultrabithorax (Ubx), they all have different and distinct anterior expression borders. Notably, Ubx transcripts form a posterior to anterior gradient in the onychophoran trunk. Expression of all onychophoran Hox genes extends continuously from their anterior border to the rear end of the embryo.ConclusionsThe spatial expression pattern of the onychophoran Hox genes may contribute to a combinatorial Hox code that is involved in giving each segment its identity. This patterning of segments in the uniform trunk, however, apparently predates the evolution of distinct segmental differences in external morphology seen in arthropods. The gradient-like expression of Ubx may give posterior segments their specific identity, even though they otherwise express the same set of Hox genes. We suggest that the confined domains of Hox gene expression seen in arthropods evolved from an ancestral onychophoran-like Hox gene pattern. Reconstruction of the ancestral arthropod Hox pattern and comparison with the patterns in the different arthropod classes reveals phylogenetic support for Mandibulata and Tetraconata, but not Myriochelata and Atelocerata.

Project description:CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) is a microbial immune system against foreign DNA. Recognition sequences (spacers) encoded within the CRISPR array mediate the immune reaction in a sequence-specific manner. The known mechanisms for the evolution of CRISPR arrays include spacer acquisition from foreign DNA elements at the time of invasion and array erosion through spacer deletion. Here, we consider the contribution of genetic recombination between homologous CRISPR arrays to the evolution of spacer repertoire. Acquisition of spacers from exogenic arrays via recombination may confer the recipient with immunity against unencountered antagonists. For this purpose, we develop a novel method for the detection of recombination in CRISPR arrays by modeling the spacer order in arrays from multiple strains from the same species. Because the evolutionary signal of spacer recombination may be similar to that of pervasive spacer deletions or independent spacer acquisition, our method entails a robustness analysis of the recombination inference by a statistical comparison to resampled and perturbed data sets. We analyze CRISPR data sets from four bacterial species: two Gammaproteobacteria species harboring CRISPR type I and two Streptococcus species harboring CRISPR type II loci. We find that CRISPR array evolution in Escherichia coli and Streptococcus agalactiae can be explained solely by vertical inheritance and differential spacer deletion. In Pseudomonas aeruginosa, we find an excess of single spacers potentially incorporated into the CRISPR locus during independent acquisition events. In Streptococcus thermophilus, evidence for spacer acquisition by recombination is present in 5 out of 70 strains. Genetic recombination has been proposed to accelerate adaptation by combining beneficial mutations that arose in independent lineages. However, for most species under study, we find that CRISPR evolution is shaped mainly by spacer acquisition and loss rather than recombination. Since the evolution of spacer content is characterized by a rapid turnover, it is likely that recombination is not beneficial for improving phage resistance in the strains under study, or that it cannot be detected in the resolution of intraspecies comparisons.

Dataset Information

Changes throughout a Genetic Network Mask the Contribution of Hox Gene Evolution.

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Changes throughout a Genetic Network Mask the Contribution of Hox Gene Evolution.

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