Dataset Information

Baby Genomics: Tracing the Evolutionary Changes That Gave Rise to Placentation.

ABSTRACT: It has long been challenging to uncover the molecular mechanisms behind striking morphological innovations such as mammalian pregnancy. We studied the power of a robust comparative orthology pipeline based on gene synteny to address such problems. We inferred orthology relations between human genes and genes from each of 43 other vertebrate genomes, resulting in ?18,000 orthologous pairs for each genome comparison. By identifying genes that first appear coincident with origin of the placental mammals, we hypothesized that we would define a subset of the genome enriched for genes that played a role in placental evolution. We thus pinpointed orthologs that appeared before and after the divergence of eutherian mammals from marsupials. Reinforcing previous work, we found instead that much of the genetic toolkit of mammalian pregnancy evolved through the repurposing of preexisting genes to new roles. These genes acquired regulatory controls for their novel roles from a group of regulatory genes, many of which did in fact originate at the appearance of the eutherians. Thus, orthologs appearing at the origin of the eutherians are enriched in functions such as transcriptional regulation by Krüppel-associated box-zinc-finger proteins, innate immune responses, keratinization, and the melanoma-associated antigen protein class. Because the cellular mechanisms of invasive placentae are similar to those of metastatic cancers, we then used our orthology inferences to explore the association between placenta invasion and cancer metastasis. Again echoing previous work, we find that genes that are phylogenetically older are more likely to be implicated in cancer development.

SUBMITTER: Hao Y

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7144826 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Baby Genomics: Tracing the Evolutionary Changes That Gave Rise to Placentation.

Hao Yue Y Lee Hyuk Jin HJ Baraboo Michael M Burch Katherine K Maurer Taylor T Somarelli Jason A JA Conant Gavin C GC

Genome biology and evolution 20200301 3

It has long been challenging to uncover the molecular mechanisms behind striking morphological innovations such as mammalian pregnancy. We studied the power of a robust comparative orthology pipeline based on gene synteny to address such problems. We inferred orthology relations between human genes and genes from each of 43 other vertebrate genomes, resulting in ∼18,000 orthologous pairs for each genome comparison. By identifying genes that first appear coincident with origin of the placental ma ...[more]

PMID: 32053193

Similar Datasets

Project description:BACKGROUND: The arrangement of the amino acids in the genetic code is such that neighbouring codons are assigned to amino acids with similar physical properties. Hence, the effects of translational error are minimized with respect to randomly reshuffled codes. Further inspection reveals that it is amino acids in the same column of the code (i.e. same second base) that are similar, whereas those in the same row show no particular similarity. We propose a 'four-column' theory for the origin of the code that explains how the action of selection during the build-up of the code leads to a final code that has the observed properties. RESULTS: The theory makes the following propositions. (i) The earliest amino acids in the code were those that are easiest to synthesize non-biologically, namely Gly, Ala, Asp, Glu and Val. (ii) These amino acids are assigned to codons with G at first position. Therefore the first code may have used only these codons. (iii) The code rapidly developed into a four-column code where all codons in the same column coded for the same amino acid: NUN = Val, NCN = Ala, NAN = Asp and/or Glu, and NGN = Gly. (iv) Later amino acids were added sequentially to the code by a process of subdivision of codon blocks in which a subset of the codons assigned to an early amino acid were reassigned to a later amino acid. (v) Later amino acids were added into positions formerly occupied by amino acids with similar properties because this can occur with minimal disruption to the proteins already encoded by the earlier code. As a result, the properties of the amino acids in the final code retain a four-column pattern that is a relic of the earliest stages of code evolution. CONCLUSION: The driving force during this process is not the minimization of translational error, but positive selection for the increased diversity and functionality of the proteins that can be made with a larger amino acid alphabet. Nevertheless, the code that results is one in which translational error is minimized. We define a cost function with which we can compare the fitness of codes with varying numbers of amino acids, and a barrier function, which measures the change in cost immediately after addition of a new amino acid. We show that the barrier is positive if an amino acid is added into a column with dissimilar properties, but negative if an amino acid is added into a column with similar physical properties. Thus, natural selection favours the assignment of amino acids to the positions that they occupy in the final code.

Project description:Emerging infectious diseases are rising globally and understanding host-pathogen interactions during the initial stages of disease emergence is essential for assessing potential evolutionary dynamics and designing novel management strategies. Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii) are endangered due to a transmissible cancer-devil facial tumour disease (DFTD)-that since its emergence in the 1990s, has affected most populations throughout Tasmania. Recent studies suggest that devils are adapting to the DFTD epidemic and that disease-induced extinction is unlikely. However, in 2014, a second and independently evolved transmissible cancer-devil facial tumour 2 (DFT2)-was discovered at the d'Entrecasteaux peninsula, in south-east Tasmania, suggesting that the species is prone to transmissible cancers. To date, there is little information about the distribution, epidemiology and effects of DFT2 and its interaction with DFTD. Here, we use data from monitoring surveys and roadkills found within and adjacent to the d'Entrecasteaux peninsula to determine the distribution of both cancers and to compare their epidemiological patterns. Since 2012, a total of 51 DFTD tumours have been confirmed among 26 individuals inside the peninsula and its surroundings, while 40 DFT2 tumours have been confirmed among 23 individuals, and two individuals co-infected with both tumours. All devils with DFT2 were found within the d'Entrecasteaux peninsula, suggesting that this new transmissible cancer is geographically confined to this area. We found significant differences in tumour bodily location in DFTD and DFT2, with non-facial tumours more commonly found in DFT2. There was a significant sex bias in DFT2, with most cases reported in males, suggesting that since DFT2 originated from a male host, females might be less susceptible to this cancer. We discuss the implications of our results for understanding the epidemiological and evolutionary interactions of these two contemporary transmissible cancers and evaluating the effectiveness of potential management strategies.

Dataset Information

Baby Genomics: Tracing the Evolutionary Changes That Gave Rise to Placentation.

Publications

Baby Genomics: Tracing the Evolutionary Changes That Gave Rise to Placentation.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets