期刊名称:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
印刷版ISSN:0027-8424
电子版ISSN:1091-6490
出版年度:2015
卷号:112
期号:5
页码:1493-1498
DOI:10.1073/pnas.1417803112
语种:English
出版社:The National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
摘要:SignificanceGene and whole-genome duplications are important evolutionary forces promoting organismal diversification. Teleost fishes, for example, possess many gene duplicates responsible for photoreception (opsins), which emerged through gene duplication and allow fishes to adapt to the various light conditions of the aquatic environment. Here, we reevaluate the evolutionary history of the violet-blue-sensitive opsins [short wavelength-sensitive 2 (SWS2)] in modern teleosts using next generation genome sequencing. We uncover a gene duplication event specific to the most diverse lineage of vertebrates (the percomorphs) and show that SWS2 evolution was highly dynamic and involved gene loss, pseudogenization, and gene conversion. We, thus, clarify previous discrepancies regarding opsin annotations. Our study highlights the importance of integrative approaches to help us understand how species adapt and diversify. Single-gene and whole-genome duplications are important evolutionary mechanisms that contribute to biological diversification by launching new genetic raw material. For example, the evolution of animal vision is tightly linked to the expansion of the opsin gene family encoding light-absorbing visual pigments. In teleost fishes, the most species-rich vertebrate group, opsins are particularly diverse and key to the successful colonization of habitats ranging from the bioluminescence-biased but basically dark deep sea to clear mountain streams. In this study, we report a previously unnoticed duplication of the violet-blue short wavelength-sensitive 2 (SWS2) opsin, which coincides with the radiation of highly diverse percomorph fishes, permitting us to reinterpret the evolution of this gene family. The inspection of close to 100 fish genomes revealed that, triggered by frequent gene conversion between duplicates, the evolutionary history of SWS2 is rather complex and difficult to predict. Coincidentally, we also report potential cases of gene resurrection in vertebrate opsins, whereby pseudogenized genes were found to convert with their functional paralogs. We then identify multiple novel amino acid substitutions that are likely to have contributed to the adaptive differentiation between SWS2 copies. Finally, using the dusky dottyback Pseudochromis fuscus, we show that the newly discovered SWS2A duplicates can contribute to visual adaptation in two ways: by gaining sensitivities to different wavelengths of light and by being differentially expressed between ontogenetic stages. Thus, our study highlights the importance of comparative approaches in gaining a comprehensive view of the dynamics underlying gene family evolution and ultimately, animal diversification.