The Caenorhabditis globin gene family reveals extensive nematode-specific radiation and diversification - PubMed (original) (raw)

Comparative Study

The Caenorhabditis globin gene family reveals extensive nematode-specific radiation and diversification

David Hoogewijs et al. BMC Evol Biol. 2008.

Abstract

Background: Globin isoforms with variant properties and functions have been found in the pseudocoel, body wall and cuticle of various nematode species and even in the eyespots of the insect-parasite Mermis nigrescens. In fact, much higher levels of complexity exist, as shown by recent whole genome analysis studies. In silico analysis of the genome of Caenorhabditis elegans revealed an unexpectedly high number of globin genes featuring a remarkable diversity in gene structure, amino acid sequence and expression profiles.

Results: In the present study we have analyzed whole genomic data from C. briggsae, C. remanei, Pristionchus pacificus and Brugia malayi and EST data from several other nematode species to study the evolutionary history of the nematode globin gene family. We find a high level of conservation of the C. elegans globin complement, with even distantly related nematodes harboring orthologs to many Caenorhabditis globins. Bayesian phylogenetic analysis resolves all nematode globins into two distinct globin classes. Analysis of the globin intron-exon structures suggests extensive loss of ancestral introns and gain of new positions in deep nematode ancestors, and mainly loss in the Caenorhabditis lineage. We also show that the Caenorhabditis globin genes are expressed in distinct, mostly non-overlapping, sets of cells and that they are all under strong purifying selection.

Conclusion: Our results enable reconstruction of the evolutionary history of the globin gene family in the nematode phylum. A duplication of an ancestral globin gene occurred before the divergence of the Platyhelminthes and the Nematoda and one of the duplicated genes radiated further in the nematode phylum before the split of the Spirurina and Rhabditina and was followed by further radiation in the lineage leading to Caenorhabditis. The resulting globin genes were subject to processes of subfunctionalization and diversification leading to cell-specific expression patterns. Strong purifying selection subsequently dampened further evolution and facilitated fixation of the duplicated genes in the genome.

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Figures

Figure 1

Bayesian phylogenetic tree of globins from C. elegans and from 30 other nematode, predominantly parasitic, species. Orthologs from parasitic species in clade II are marked in red. Clade I globins from parasitic nematodes that have been known for long because of their high abundance are marked in blue. The numbers at the nodes represent Bayesian posterior probabilities. All accession numbers from NEMBASE start with the initials of the species followed by P: Ancylostoma caninum (AC), Ancylostoma ceylanicum (AY), Ascaris lumbricoides (AL), Ascaris suum (AS), Dirofilaria immitis (DI), Globodera rostochiensis (GR), Haemonchus contortus (HC), Heterodera glycines (HG), Meloidogyne chitwoodi (MC), Meloidogyne hapla (MH), Meloidogyne incognita (MI), Meloidogyne javanica (MJ), Necator americanus (NA), Nippostrongylus brasiliensis (NB), Ostertagia ostertagi (OO), Onchocerca volvulus (OV), Parastrongyloides trichosuri (PT), Strongyloides stercoralis (SS), Toxocara canis (TC), Teladorsagia circumcincta (TD), Trichuris muris (TM), Trichinella spiralis (TS), Trichuris vulpis (TV), Xiphinema index (XI), Zeldia punctata (ZP). Plant, trematode (Platyhelminthes) and sea anemone (Cnidaria) globins were included as outgroup globins. The following plant globins (green) were included:_Gossypium hirsutum (_AAX86687), Malus domestica (AAP57676), Glycine max (AAA97887), Alnus firma (BAE75956), Citrus unshiu (AAK07675). The trematode globins (brown) were: Schistosoma japonicum (AAP06216), Paramphistomum epiclitum (AAG48877), Paragonimus westermani (AAX11352 and AAX11353), Clonorchis sinensis (AAM18464), Isoparorchis hypselobagri (P80722). Nematostella vectensis globins (purple): Nemvec141000032, Nemvec3000224, Nemvec50000067, Nemvec7000121 and Nemvec76000030.

Figure 2

Unrooted bayesian phylogenetic tree of all C. elegans, C. briggsae, C. remanei, Brugia malayi (labeled in green) and Pristionchus pacificus (labeled in red) globins. The numbers at the nodes represent Bayesian posterior probabilities. The numbers at the branches are consistent with globin nomenclature in WormBase: ZK637.13 (1), C06E4.7 (2), C06H2.5 (3), C09H10.8 (4), C18C4.1 (5), C18C4.9 (6), C23H5.2 (7), C26C6.7 (8), C28F5.2 (9), C29F5.7 (10), C36E8.2 (11), C52A11.2 (12), F19H6.2 (13), F21A3.6 (14), F35B12.8 (15), F46C8.7 (16), F49E2.4 (17), F52A8.4 (18), F56C4.3 (19), R01E6.6 (20), R102.9 (21), R11H6.3 (22), R13A1.8 (23), R90.5 (24), T06A1.3 (25), T22C1.2 (26), W01C9.5 (27), Y15E3A.2 (28), Y17G7B.6 (29), Y22D7AR.5 (30), Y57G7A.9 (31), Y58A7A.6 (32), Y75B7AL.1 (33).

Figure 3

Detailed view of Figure 2, phylogenetic relationship of all orthologous groups of C. elegans, C. briggsae, C. remanei, Brugia malayi (labeled in green) and Pristionchus pacificus (labeled in red) globins. Due to the complex WashU nomenclature ID, C. remanei globins are referred to as C. elegans homologue preceded by 'CR-'. The numbers at the nodes represent Bayesian posterior probabilities.

Figure 4

Expression patterns from a selected set of globin genes. A, anterior body part; P, posterior body part. (A) C06E4.7, (B) C09H10.8, (C) C18C4.1, (D) C36E8.2, (E) C23H5.2, (F) F46C8.7, (G) C26C6.7, (H) C26C6.7, (I) F19H6.2, (J) F19H6.2, (K) F21A3.6 white arrows denote vulval muscle, (L) F21A3.6, (M) F49E2.4, (N) F49E2.4, (O) R01E6.6, (P) F56C4.3, (Q) F56C4.3, (R) R01E6.6, white arrow denotes stomato-intestinal muscle, red arrow denotes anal depressor muscle, (S) R102.9, (T) R13A1.8, (U) R90.5, (V) R13A1.8, (W) R11H6.3, (X) R90.5, (Y) Y15E3A.2, (Z) W01C9.5, (α) Y17G7B.6, (β) Y75B7AL.1, (γ) Y75B7AL.1, (δ) ZK637.13, (ε) ZK637.13, (ζ) T22C1.2, white arrow denotes head mesodermal cell, (η) T22C1.2, stomato-intestinal muscle.

Figure 5

Estimates of intron losses and gains.

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The Caenorhabditis globin gene family reveals extensive nematode-specific radiation and diversification - PubMed (original) (raw)