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1.
Cell ; 165(7): 1734-1748, 2016 Jun 16.
Artículo en Inglés | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-27238024

RESUMEN

Odor perception in mammals is mediated by parallel sensory pathways that convey distinct information about the olfactory world. Multiple olfactory subsystems express characteristic seven-transmembrane G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) in a one-receptor-per-neuron pattern that facilitates odor discrimination. Sensory neurons of the "necklace" subsystem are nestled within the recesses of the olfactory epithelium and detect diverse odorants; however, they do not express known GPCR odor receptors. Here, we report that members of the four-pass transmembrane MS4A protein family are chemosensors expressed within necklace sensory neurons. These receptors localize to sensory endings and confer responses to ethologically relevant ligands, including pheromones and fatty acids, in vitro and in vivo. Individual necklace neurons co-express many MS4A proteins and are activated by multiple MS4A ligands; this pooling of information suggests that the necklace is organized more like subsystems for taste than for smell. The MS4As therefore define a distinct mechanism and functional logic for mammalian olfaction.


Asunto(s)
Proteínas de la Membrana/metabolismo , Proteínas del Tejido Nervioso/metabolismo , Olfato , Animales , Proteínas de la Membrana/química , Proteínas de la Membrana/genética , Ratones , Proteínas del Tejido Nervioso/química , Proteínas del Tejido Nervioso/genética , Odorantes , Neuronas Receptoras Olfatorias/metabolismo , Filogenia
2.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A ; 119(27): e2202862119, 2022 07 05.
Artículo en Inglés | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35776547

RESUMEN

Identifying the genetic basis of repeatedly evolved traits provides a way to reconstruct their evolutionary history and ultimately investigate the predictability of evolution. Here, we focus on the oldfield mouse (Peromyscus polionotus), which occurs in the southeastern United States, where it exhibits considerable color variation. Dorsal coats range from dark brown in mainland mice to near white in mice inhabiting sandy beaches; this light pelage has evolved independently on Florida's Gulf and Atlantic coasts as camouflage from predators. To facilitate genomic analyses, we first generated a chromosome-level genome assembly of Peromyscus polionotus subgriseus. Next, in a uniquely variable mainland population (Peromyscus polionotus albifrons), we scored 23 pigment traits and performed targeted resequencing in 168 mice. We find that pigment variation is strongly associated with an ∼2-kb region ∼5 kb upstream of the Agouti signaling protein coding region. Using a reporter-gene assay, we demonstrate that this regulatory region contains an enhancer that drives expression in the dermis of mouse embryos during the establishment of pigment prepatterns. Moreover, extended tracts of homozygosity in this Agouti region indicate that the light allele experienced recent and strong positive selection. Notably, this same light allele appears fixed in both Gulf and Atlantic coast beach mice, despite these populations being separated by >1,000 km. Together, our results suggest that this identified Agouti enhancer allele has been maintained in mainland populations as standing genetic variation and from there, has spread to and been selected in two independent beach mouse lineages, thereby facilitating their rapid and parallel evolution.


Asunto(s)
Proteína de Señalización Agouti , Evolución Biológica , Elementos de Facilitación Genéticos , Peromyscus , Pigmentación de la Piel , Proteína de Señalización Agouti/metabolismo , Alelos , Animales , Genes Reporteros , Peromyscus/genética , Peromyscus/fisiología , Pigmentación de la Piel/genética
3.
Mol Ecol ; : e17270, 2024 Jan 23.
Artículo en Inglés | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38263608

RESUMEN

The evolution of innate behaviours is ultimately due to genetic variation likely acting in the nervous system. Gene regulation may be particularly important because it can evolve in a modular brain-region specific fashion through the concerted action of cis- and trans-regulatory changes. Here, to investigate transcriptional variation and its regulatory basis across the brain, we perform RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) on ten brain subregions in two sister species of deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus and P. polionotus)-which differ in a range of innate behaviours, including their social system-and their F1 hybrids. We find that most of the variation in gene expression distinguishes subregions, followed by species. Interspecific differential expression (DE) is pervasive (52-59% of expressed genes), whereas the number of DE genes between sexes is modest overall (~3%). Interestingly, the identity of DE genes varies considerably across brain regions. Much of this modularity is due to cis-regulatory divergence, and while 43% of genes were consistently assigned to the same gene regulatory class across subregions (e.g. conserved, cis- or trans-regulatory divergence), a similar number were assigned to two or more different gene regulatory classes. Together, these results highlight the modularity of gene expression differences and divergence in the brain, which may be key to explain how the evolution of brain gene expression can contribute to the astonishing diversity of animal behaviours.

4.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A ; 118(6)2021 02 09.
Artículo en Inglés | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-33547236

RESUMEN

Color vision has evolved multiple times in both vertebrates and invertebrates and is largely determined by the number and variation in spectral sensitivities of distinct opsin subclasses. However, because of the difficulty of expressing long-wavelength (LW) invertebrate opsins in vitro, our understanding of the molecular basis of functional shifts in opsin spectral sensitivities has been biased toward research primarily in vertebrates. This has restricted our ability to address whether invertebrate Gq protein-coupled opsins function in a novel or convergent way compared to vertebrate Gt opsins. Here we develop a robust heterologous expression system to purify invertebrate rhodopsins, identify specific amino acid changes responsible for adaptive spectral tuning, and pinpoint how molecular variation in invertebrate opsins underlie wavelength sensitivity shifts that enhance visual perception. By combining functional and optophysiological approaches, we disentangle the relative contributions of lateral filtering pigments from red-shifted LW and blue short-wavelength opsins expressed in distinct photoreceptor cells of individual ommatidia. We use in situ hybridization to visualize six ommatidial classes in the compound eye of a lycaenid butterfly with a four-opsin visual system. We show experimentally that certain key tuning residues underlying green spectral shifts in blue opsin paralogs have evolved repeatedly among short-wavelength opsin lineages. Taken together, our results demonstrate the interplay between regulatory and adaptive evolution at multiple Gq opsin loci, as well as how coordinated spectral shifts in LW and blue opsins can act together to enhance insect spectral sensitivity at blue and red wavelengths for visual performance adaptation.


Asunto(s)
Mariposas Diurnas/fisiología , Visión de Colores/fisiología , Evolución Molecular , Rodopsina/genética , Animales , Duplicación de Gen , Células HEK293 , Humanos , Células Fotorreceptoras de Invertebrados/metabolismo , Pigmentación/fisiología , Carácter Cuantitativo Heredable , ARN Mensajero/genética , ARN Mensajero/metabolismo , Rodopsina/metabolismo , Opsinas de Bastones/genética , Alas de Animales/fisiología
5.
Nature ; 544(7651): 434-439, 2017 04 27.
Artículo en Inglés | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-28424518

RESUMEN

Parental care is essential for the survival of mammals, yet the mechanisms underlying its evolution remain largely unknown. Here we show that two sister species of mice, Peromyscus polionotus and Peromyscus maniculatus, have large and heritable differences in parental behaviour. Using quantitative genetics, we identify 12 genomic regions that affect parental care, 8 of which have sex-specific effects, suggesting that parental care can evolve independently in males and females. Furthermore, some regions affect parental care broadly, whereas others affect specific behaviours, such as nest building. Of the genes linked to differences in nest-building behaviour, vasopressin is differentially expressed in the hypothalamus of the two species, with increased levels associated with less nest building. Using pharmacology in Peromyscus and chemogenetics in Mus, we show that vasopressin inhibits nest building but not other parental behaviours. Together, our results indicate that variation in an ancient neuropeptide contributes to interspecific differences in parental care.


Asunto(s)
Evolución Biológica , Genoma/genética , Conducta Materna , Apareamiento , Conducta Paterna , Peromyscus/genética , Peromyscus/fisiología , Animales , Femenino , Genómica , Hibridación Genética , Hipotálamo/metabolismo , Masculino , Conducta Materna/efectos de los fármacos , Ratones , Comportamiento de Nidificación/efectos de los fármacos , Conducta Paterna/efectos de los fármacos , Sitios de Carácter Cuantitativo/genética , Caracteres Sexuales , Especificidad de la Especie , Vasopresinas/deficiencia , Vasopresinas/genética , Vasopresinas/metabolismo , Vasopresinas/farmacología
6.
BMC Biol ; 19(1): 83, 2021 04 23.
Artículo en Inglés | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-33892710

RESUMEN

BACKGROUND: Defining the origin of genetic novelty is central to our understanding of the evolution of novel traits. Diversification among fatty acid desaturase (FAD) genes has played a fundamental role in the introduction of structural variation in fatty acyl derivatives. Because of its central role in generating diversity in insect semiochemicals, the FAD gene family has become a model to study how gene family expansions can contribute to the evolution of lineage-specific innovations. Here we used the codling moth (Cydia pomonella) as a study system to decipher the proximate mechanism underlying the production of the ∆8∆10 signature structure of olethreutine moths. Biosynthesis of the codling moth sex pheromone, (E8,E10)-dodecadienol (codlemone), involves two consecutive desaturation steps, the first of which is unusual in that it generates an E9 unsaturation. The second step is also atypical: it generates a conjugated diene system from the E9 monoene C12 intermediate via 1,4-desaturation. RESULTS: Here we describe the characterization of the FAD gene acting in codlemone biosynthesis. We identify 27 FAD genes corresponding to the various functional classes identified in insects and Lepidoptera. These genes are distributed across the C. pomonella genome in tandem arrays or isolated genes, indicating that the FAD repertoire consists of both ancient and recent duplications and expansions. Using transcriptomics, we show large divergence in expression domains: some genes appear ubiquitously expressed across tissue and developmental stages; others appear more restricted in their expression pattern. Functional assays using heterologous expression systems reveal that one gene, Cpo_CPRQ, which is prominently and exclusively expressed in the female pheromone gland, encodes an FAD that possesses both E9 and ∆8∆10 desaturation activities. Phylogenetically, Cpo_CPRQ clusters within the Lepidoptera-specific ∆10/∆11 clade of FADs, a classic reservoir of unusual desaturase activities in moths. CONCLUSIONS: Our integrative approach shows that the evolution of the signature pheromone structure of olethreutine moths relied on a gene belonging to an ancient gene expansion. Members of other expanded FAD subfamilies do not appear to play a role in chemical communication. This advises for caution when postulating the consequences of lineage-specific expansions based on genomics alone.


Asunto(s)
Mariposas Nocturnas , Animales , Femenino , Flavina-Adenina Dinucleótido , Duplicación de Gen , Mariposas Nocturnas/genética , Feromonas/genética , Filogenia
7.
J Chem Ecol ; 45(5-6): 429-439, 2019 Jun.
Artículo en Inglés | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-31152352

RESUMEN

Animal classification is primarily based on morphological characters, even though these may not be the first to diverge during speciation. In many cases, closely related taxa are actually difficult to distinguish based on morphological characters alone, especially when there is no substantial niche separation. As a consequence, the diversity of certain groups is likely to be underestimated. Lepidoptera -moths and butterflies- represent the largest group of herbivorous insects. The extensive diversification in the group is generally assumed to have its origin in the spectacular radiation of flowering plants and the resulting abundance of ecological niches. However, speciation can also occur without strong ecological divergence. For example, reproductive isolation can evolve as the result of divergence in mate preference and the associated pheromone communication system. We combined pheromone trapping and genetic analysis to elucidate the evolutionary relationships within a complex of primitive moth species (Lepidoptera: Eriocraniidae). Mitochondrial and nuclear DNA markers provided evidence that Eriocrania semipurpurella, as currently defined by morphological characters, includes three cryptic species in Northern and Western Europe. Male moths of these cryptic species, as well as of the closely related E. sangii, exhibited relative specificity in terms of their attraction to specific ratios of two major pheromone components, (2S,6Z)-nonen-2-ol and (2R,6Z)-nonen-2-ol. Our data suggest strong assortative mating in these species in the absence of apparent niche separation, indicating that Eriocrania moths may represent an example of non-ecological speciation. Finally, our study argues in favour of combining pheromone investigations and DNA barcoding as powerful tools for identifying and delimitating species boundaries.


Asunto(s)
Mariposas Nocturnas/genética , Atractivos Sexuales/química , Animales , ADN/aislamiento & purificación , ADN/metabolismo , Complejo IV de Transporte de Electrones/clasificación , Complejo IV de Transporte de Electrones/genética , Femenino , Variación Genética , Gliceraldehído 3-Fosfato Deshidrogenasa (NADP+)/clasificación , Gliceraldehído 3-Fosfato Deshidrogenasa (NADP+)/genética , Masculino , Mitocondrias/genética , Filogenia , Atractivos Sexuales/metabolismo
8.
Nature ; 466(7305): 486-9, 2010 Jul 22.
Artículo en Inglés | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-20592730

RESUMEN

Pheromone-based behaviours are crucial in animals from insects to mammals, and reproductive isolation is often based on pheromone differences. However, the genetic mechanisms by which pheromone signals change during the evolution of new species are largely unknown. In the sexual communication system of moths (Insecta: Lepidoptera), females emit a species-specific pheromone blend that attracts males over long distances. The European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis, consists of two sex pheromone races, Z and E, that use different ratios of the cis and trans isomers of acetate pheromone components. This subtle difference leads to strong reproductive isolation in the field between the two races, which could represent a first step in speciation. Female sex pheromone production and male behavioural response are under the control of different major genes, but the identity of these genes is unknown. Here we show that allelic variation in a fatty-acyl reductase gene essential for pheromone biosynthesis accounts for the phenotypic variation in female pheromone production, leading to race-specific signals. Both the cis and trans isomers of the pheromone precursors are produced by both races, but the precursors are differentially reduced to yield opposite ratios in the final pheromone blend as a result of the substrate specificity of the enzymes encoded by the Z and E alleles. This is the first functional characterization of a gene contributing to intraspecific behavioural reproductive isolation in moths, highlighting the importance of evolutionary diversification in a lepidopteran-specific family of reductases. Accumulation of substitutions in the coding region of a single biosynthetic enzyme can produce pheromone differences resulting in reproductive isolation, with speciation as a potential end result.


Asunto(s)
Alelos , Mariposas Nocturnas/fisiología , Oxidorreductasas/genética , Oxidorreductasas/metabolismo , Atractivos Sexuales/metabolismo , Animales , Femenino , Isomerismo , Masculino , Datos de Secuencia Molecular , Mariposas Nocturnas/clasificación , Mariposas Nocturnas/enzimología , Mariposas Nocturnas/genética , Filogenia , ARN/análisis , ARN/genética , ARN/metabolismo , Atractivos Sexuales/biosíntesis , Atractivos Sexuales/química , Especificidad por Sustrato
9.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A ; 110(10): 3967-72, 2013 Mar 05.
Artículo en Inglés | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-23407169

RESUMEN

Pheromones are central to the mating systems of a wide range of organisms, and reproductive isolation between closely related species is often achieved by subtle differences in pheromone composition. In insects and moths in particular, the use of structurally similar components in different blend ratios is usually sufficient to impede gene flow between taxa. To date, the genetic changes associated with variation and divergence in pheromone signals remain largely unknown. Using the emerging model system Ostrinia, we show the functional consequences of mutations in the protein-coding region of the pheromone biosynthetic fatty-acyl reductase gene pgFAR. Heterologous expression confirmed that pgFAR orthologs encode enzymes exhibiting different substrate specificities that are the direct consequences of extensive nonsynonymous substitutions. When taking natural ratios of pheromone precursors into account, our data reveal that pgFAR substrate preference provides a good explanation of how species-specific ratios of pheromone components are obtained among Ostrinia species. Moreover, our data indicate that positive selection may have promoted the observed accumulation of nonsynonymous amino acid substitutions. Site-directed mutagenesis experiments substantiate the idea that amino acid polymorphisms underlie subtle or drastic changes in pgFAR substrate preference. Altogether, this study identifies the reduction step as a potential source of variation in pheromone signals in the moth genus Ostrinia and suggests that selection acting on particular mutations provides a mechanism allowing pheromone reductases to evolve new functional properties that may contribute to variation in the composition of pheromone signals.


Asunto(s)
Genes de Insecto , Mariposas Nocturnas/genética , Mariposas Nocturnas/metabolismo , Atractivos Sexuales/biosíntesis , Secuencia de Aminoácidos , Animales , Femenino , Variación Genética , Proteínas de Insectos/genética , Proteínas de Insectos/metabolismo , Masculino , Redes y Vías Metabólicas , Datos de Secuencia Molecular , Mutagénesis Sitio-Dirigida , Mutación , Oxidorreductasas/genética , Oxidorreductasas/metabolismo , Filogenia , Homología de Secuencia de Aminoácido , Atractivos Sexuales/química
10.
J Chem Ecol ; 40(4): 387-95, 2014 Apr.
Artículo en Inglés | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-24692052

RESUMEN

The greater wax moth, Galleria mellonella (L.), is a serious and widespread pest of the honeybee, Apis mellifera L. In contrast to most moths, for which long-range mate finding is mediated by female-produced sex pheromones, G. mellonella males attract conspecific females over long distances by emitting large amounts of a characteristic scent in combination with bursts of ultrasonic calls. The male scent for this species was previously identified as a blend of nonanal and undecanal. When these compounds were bioassayed, characteristic short-range sexual behavior, including wing fanning, was triggered in conspecific females, but the aldehyde blend failed to elicit attraction over longer distances. We identified, via analysis and synthesis, a third male-specific compound, 5,11-dimethylpentacosane. We show that it acts as a behavioral synergist to the aldehydes. In wind tunnel experiments, very few female moths responded to the aldehyde blend or to 5,11-dimethylpentacosane tested separately, but consistently showed orientation and source contact when a combination of all three compounds was applied. The level of attraction to the three-component mixture was still lower than that to male extract, indicating that the composition of compounds in the synthetic blend is suboptimal, or that additional pheromone components of G. mellonella are yet to be identified. The identification of 5,11-dimethylpentacosane is an important step for the development of an efficient long-range attractant that will be integrated with other environmentally safe strategies to reduce damage to beehives caused by wax moths.


Asunto(s)
Feromonas/química , Feromonas/farmacología , Atractivos Sexuales/química , Atractivos Sexuales/farmacología , Conducta Sexual Animal/efectos de los fármacos , Animales , Sinergismo Farmacológico , Femenino , Cromatografía de Gases y Espectrometría de Masas , Control de Insectos , Espectroscopía de Resonancia Magnética , Masculino , Mariposas Nocturnas , Feromonas/metabolismo , Atractivos Sexuales/síntesis química , Atractivos Sexuales/aislamiento & purificación , Espectroscopía Infrarroja por Transformada de Fourier
11.
Pest Manag Sci ; 80(3): 996-1007, 2024 Mar.
Artículo en Inglés | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37830147

RESUMEN

BACKGROUND: The sugarcane borer Diatraea saccharalis (Lepidoptera) is a key pest on sugarcane and other grasses in the Americas. Biological control as well as insecticide treatments are used for pest management, but economic losses are still significant. The use of female sex pheromones for mating disruption or mass trapping in pest management could be established for this species, provided that economical production of pheromone is available. RESULTS: Combining in vivo labelling studies, differential expression analysis of transcriptome data and functional characterisation of insect genes in a yeast expression system, we reveal the biosynthetic pathway and identify the desaturase and reductase enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of the main pheromone component (9Z,11E)-hexadecadienal, and minor components hexadecanal, (9Z)-hexadecenal and (11Z)-hexadecenal. We next demonstrate heterologous production of the corresponding alcohols of the pheromone components, by expressing multiple steps of the biosynthetic pathway in yeast. CONCLUSION: Elucidation of the genetic basis of sex pheromone biosynthesis in D. saccharalis, and heterologous expression in yeast, paves the way for biotechnological production of the pheromone compounds needed for pheromone-based pest management of this species. © 2023 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.


Asunto(s)
Mariposas Nocturnas , Saccharum , Atractivos Sexuales , Femenino , Animales , Atractivos Sexuales/química , Saccharomyces cerevisiae , Mariposas Nocturnas/genética , Feromonas
12.
Nat Ecol Evol ; 8(4): 791-805, 2024 Apr.
Artículo en Inglés | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38378804

RESUMEN

Variation in the size and number of axial segments underlies much of the diversity in animal body plans. Here we investigate the evolutionary, genetic and developmental mechanisms driving tail-length differences between forest and prairie ecotypes of deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus). We first show that long-tailed forest mice perform better in an arboreal locomotion assay, consistent with tails being important for balance during climbing. We then identify six genomic regions that contribute to differences in tail length, three of which associate with caudal vertebra length and the other three with vertebra number. For all six loci, the forest allele increases tail length, indicative of the cumulative effect of natural selection. Two of the genomic regions associated with variation in vertebra number contain Hox gene clusters. Of those, we find an allele-specific decrease in Hoxd13 expression in the embryonic tail bud of long-tailed forest mice, consistent with its role in axial elongation. Additionally, we find that forest embryos have more presomitic mesoderm than prairie embryos and that this correlates with an increase in the number of neuromesodermal progenitors, which are modulated by Hox13 paralogues. Together, these results suggest a role for Hoxd13 in the development of natural variation in adaptive morphology on a microevolutionary timescale.


Asunto(s)
Proteínas de Homeodominio , Peromyscus , Factores de Transcripción , Animales , Bosques , Peromyscus/genética , Selección Genética , Factores de Transcripción/genética , Proteínas de Homeodominio/genética , Cola (estructura animal)
13.
iScience ; 27(4): 109541, 2024 Apr 19.
Artículo en Inglés | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38577108

RESUMEN

As ectotherms, insects need heat-sensitive receptors to monitor environmental temperatures and facilitate thermoregulation. We show that TRPA5, a class of ankyrin transient receptor potential (TRP) channels absent in dipteran genomes, may function as insect heat receptors. In the triatomine bug Rhodnius prolixus (order: Hemiptera), a vector of Chagas disease, the channel RpTRPA5B displays a uniquely high thermosensitivity, with biophysical determinants including a large channel activation enthalpy change (72 kcal/mol), a high temperature coefficient (Q10 = 25), and in vitro temperature-induced currents from 53°C to 68°C (T0.5 = 58.6°C), similar to noxious TRPV receptors in mammals. Monomeric and tetrameric ion channel structure predictions show reliable parallels with fruit fly dTRPA1, with structural uniqueness in ankyrin repeat domains, the channel selectivity filter, and potential TRP functional modulator regions. Overall, the finding of a member of TRPA5 as a temperature-activated receptor illustrates the diversity of insect molecular heat detectors.

14.
Microb Cell Fact ; 12: 125, 2013 Dec 13.
Artículo en Inglés | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-24330839

RESUMEN

BACKGROUND: Moths (Lepidoptera) are highly dependent on chemical communication to find a mate. Compared to conventional unselective insecticides, synthetic pheromones have successfully served to lure male moths as a specific and environmentally friendly way to control important pest species. However, the chemical synthesis and purification of the sex pheromone components in large amounts is a difficult and costly task. The repertoire of enzymes involved in moth pheromone biosynthesis in insecta can be seen as a library of specific catalysts that can be used to facilitate the synthesis of a particular chemical component. In this study, we present a novel approach to effectively aid in the preparation of semi-synthetic pheromone components using an engineered vector co-expressing two key biosynthetic enzymes in a simple yeast cell factory. RESULTS: We first identified and functionally characterized a ∆11 Fatty-Acyl Desaturase and a Fatty-Acyl Reductase from the Turnip moth, Agrotis segetum. The ∆11-desaturase produced predominantly Z11-16:acyl, a common pheromone component precursor, from the abundant yeast palmitic acid and the FAR transformed a series of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids into their corresponding alcohols which may serve as pheromone components in many moth species. Secondly, when we co-expressed the genes in the Brewer's yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a set of long-chain fatty acids and alcohols that are not naturally occurring in yeast were produced from inherent yeast fatty acids, and the presence of (Z)-11-hexadecenol (Z11-16:OH), demonstrated that both heterologous enzymes were active in concert. A 100 ml batch yeast culture produced on average 19.5 µg Z11-16:OH. Finally, we demonstrated that oxidized extracts from the yeast cells containing (Z)-11-hexadecenal and other aldehyde pheromone compounds elicited specific electrophysiological activity from male antennae of the Tobacco budworm, Heliothis virescens, supporting the idea that genes from different species can be used as a molecular toolbox to produce pheromone components or pheromone component precursors of potential use for control of a variety of moths. CONCLUSIONS: This study is a first proof-of-principle that it is possible to "brew" biologically active moth pheromone components through in vitro co-expression of pheromone biosynthetic enzymes, without having to provide supplementary precursors. Substrates present in the yeast alone appear to be sufficient.


Asunto(s)
Aldehídos/síntesis química , Mariposas Nocturnas/genética , Feromonas/genética , Levaduras/genética , Aldehídos/química , Secuencia de Aminoácidos , Animales , Biblioteca de Genes , Datos de Secuencia Molecular , Mariposas Nocturnas/enzimología , Feromonas/biosíntesis
15.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A ; 107(24): 10955-60, 2010 Jun 15.
Artículo en Inglés | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-20534481

RESUMEN

Fatty-acyl CoA reductases (FAR) convert fatty acids into fatty alcohols in pro- and eukaryotic organisms. In the Lepidoptera, members of the FAR gene family serve in the biosynthesis of sex pheromones involved in mate communication. We used a group of closely related species, the small ermine moths (Lepidoptera: Yponomeutidae) as a model to investigate the role of FARs in the biosynthesis of complex pheromone blends. Homology-based molecular cloning in three Yponomeuta species led to the identification of multiple putative FAR transcripts homologous to FAR genes from the Bombyx mori genome. The expression of one transcript was restricted to the female pheromone-gland tissue, suggesting a role in pheromone biosynthesis, and the encoded protein belonged to a recently identified Lepidoptera-specific pgFAR gene subfamily. The Yponomeuta evonymellus pgFAR mRNA was up-regulated in sexually mature females and exhibited a 24-h cyclic fluctuation pattern peaking in the pheromone production period. Heterologous expression confirmed that the Yponomeuta pgFAR orthologs in all three species investigated [Y. evonymellus (L.), Yponomeuta padellus (L.), and Yponomeuta rorellus (Hübner)] encode a functional FAR with a broad substrate range that efficiently promoted accumulation of primary alcohols in recombinant yeast supplied with a series of biologically relevant C14- or C16-acyl precursors. Taken together, our data evidence that a single alcohol-producing pgFAR played a critical function in the production of the multicomponent pheromones of yponomeutids and support the hypothesis of moth pheromone-biosynthetic FARs belonging to a FAR gene subfamily unique to Lepidoptera.


Asunto(s)
Aldehído Oxidorreductasas/genética , Evolución Molecular , Mariposas Nocturnas/enzimología , Mariposas Nocturnas/genética , Atractivos Sexuales/genética , Aldehído Oxidorreductasas/metabolismo , Secuencia de Aminoácidos , Animales , Secuencia de Bases , Ritmo Circadiano , Cartilla de ADN/genética , Femenino , Genes de Insecto , Datos de Secuencia Molecular , Mariposas Nocturnas/fisiología , Filogenia , Homología de Secuencia de Aminoácido , Atractivos Sexuales/biosíntesis , Transducción de Señal/genética , Distribución Tisular
16.
J Chem Ecol ; 36(10): 1155-69, 2010 Oct.
Artículo en Inglés | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-20835755

RESUMEN

The European corn borer Ostrinia nubilalis (ECB; Lepidoptera: Crambidae) is a widely recognized pest of agricultural significance over much of the northern hemisphere. Because of the potential value of pheromone-based control, there has been considerable effort devoted to elucidation of the ECB chemical ecology. The species is polymorphic regarding its female-produced pheromone. Partly because of this feature, over the years the ECB has become a model to study pheromone evolution. This review should assist in identifying new areas of pheromone research by providing an overview of the literature produced on this subject for the ECB since the late 1960's.


Asunto(s)
Ecología/métodos , Lepidópteros/fisiología , Vías Olfatorias/efectos de los fármacos , Feromonas/farmacología , Atractivos Sexuales/farmacología , Conducta Sexual Animal/efectos de los fármacos , Animales , Ecología/tendencias , Lepidópteros/genética , Vías Olfatorias/citología , Vías Olfatorias/fisiología , Feromonas/biosíntesis , Feromonas/química , Feromonas/genética , Atractivos Sexuales/biosíntesis , Atractivos Sexuales/química , Atractivos Sexuales/genética , Conducta Sexual Animal/fisiología
17.
BMC Biol ; 7: 10, 2009 Mar 03.
Artículo en Inglés | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-19257880

RESUMEN

BACKGROUND: Sexual reproduction entails the encounter of the sexes and the multiplicity of rituals is parallel to the diversity of mating systems. Evolutionary mechanisms such as sexual selection and sexual conflict have led to the elaboration of traits to gain attention and favours from potential partners. A paradox exists about how coordinated systems can evolve and diverge when there would seem to be a stabilising selection acting. Moth display traits - pheromones - constitute an advantageous model with which to address questions about the evolution of mating systems in animals. Both males and females can possess pheromones that are involved either in close- or long-range communication. Female and male pheromones appear to have different origins and to be under different evolutionary constraints, thus they might be envisioned as independently evolving traits. We conducted laboratory experiments to explore the role of scents released during courtship by males of the European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis. RESULTS: Information provided by the male pheromone appears critical for female acceptance. The composition of this male pheromone varies in an age-dependent manner and females show mating preference towards older males in choice experiments. Furthermore, male signals may allow species discrimination and reinforce reproductive isolation. Finally, we found evidence for a genetic correlation between male and female signals, the evolution of which is best explained by the constraints and opportunities resulting from the sharing of gene products. CONCLUSION: In this study we used an integrative approach to characterise the male sex pheromone in a moth. Interestingly, the male chemical signal is analogous to the female signal in that structurally similar compounds are being used by both sexes. Hence, in systems where both sexes possess display traits, the pleiotropy of genes generating the traits could influence the evolutionary trajectories of sexual signals and lead to their divergence, with speciation being the ultimate result.


Asunto(s)
Evolución Biológica , Preferencia en el Apareamiento Animal/fisiología , Mariposas Nocturnas/fisiología , Caracteres Sexuales , Factores de Edad , Animales , Clonación Molecular , Ácido Graso Desaturasas/genética , Ácido Graso Desaturasas/metabolismo , Femenino , Masculino , Datos de Secuencia Molecular , Mariposas Nocturnas/enzimología , Reacción en Cadena de la Polimerasa de Transcriptasa Inversa , Atractivos Sexuales/biosíntesis , Atractivos Sexuales/química
18.
J Insect Physiol ; 52(6): 551-7, 2006 Jun.
Artículo en Inglés | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-16545394

RESUMEN

Social insects such as termites live in colonies in which cooperation is assumed by all individuals developing into castes to which specific tasks are allocated. Little has been reported about molecular aspects underlying termite caste-specific gene expression. Genetic regulation has recently been hypothesized to govern caste-specific traits and physiology in social insects. Cytochrome c oxidase (COX) has been shown to be an interesting candidate for expression study in insects. We used the cytochrome c oxidase subunit III gene (COXIII) that was cloned from mRNA in a lower termite, Reticulitermes santonensis De Feytaud (Isoptera; Rhinotermitidae). The full-length cDNA encodes a protein of 262 amino acids that shows high degree of homology with other insects COXIIIs. Reverse transcriptase-PCR and real-time PCR were performed to compare gene expression between larvae, workers, nymphs and soldiers. Analyses performed on head cDNAs revealed that COXIII is differentially expressed between castes. The level of COXIII is caste-regulated with an increase in workers (approximately 1.9-fold) and nymphs (approximately 2.8-fold) and a decrease in soldiers (0.8-fold) compared to the expression level in larvae (1.0-fold). These results may emphasize the physiological importance of COX in the termite brain at different developmental stages.


Asunto(s)
Complejo IV de Transporte de Electrones/genética , Regulación del Desarrollo de la Expresión Génica , Regulación Enzimológica de la Expresión Génica , Isópteros/genética , Secuencia de Aminoácidos , Animales , Secuencia de Bases , Genes de Insecto , Estadios del Ciclo de Vida/genética , Datos de Secuencia Molecular , Reacción en Cadena de la Polimerasa , Reacción en Cadena de la Polimerasa de Transcriptasa Inversa , Análisis de Secuencia de ADN , Homología de Secuencia de Aminoácido , Conducta Social
19.
Curr Biol ; 26(20): R1039-R1049, 2016 10 24.
Artículo en Inglés | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-27780046

RESUMEN

Evolution sculpts the olfactory nervous system in response to the unique sensory challenges facing each species. In vertebrates, dramatic and diverse adaptations to the chemical environment are possible because of the hierarchical structure of the olfactory receptor (OR) gene superfamily: expansion or contraction of OR subfamilies accompanies major changes in habitat and lifestyle; independent selection on OR subfamilies can permit local adaptation or conserved chemical communication; and genetic variation in single OR genes can alter odor percepts and behaviors driven by precise chemical cues. However, this genetic flexibility contrasts with the relatively fixed neural architecture of the vertebrate olfactory system, which requires that new olfactory receptors integrate into segregated and functionally distinct neural pathways. This organization allows evolution to couple critical chemical signals with selectively advantageous responses, but also constrains relationships between olfactory receptors and behavior. The coevolution of the OR repertoire and the olfactory system therefore reveals general principles of how the brain solves specific sensory problems and how it adapts to new ones.


Asunto(s)
Evolución Biológica , Neuronas Receptoras Olfatorias/fisiología , Receptores Odorantes/fisiología , Olfato , Vertebrados/fisiología , Animales
20.
Nat Commun ; 7: 13652, 2016 12 02.
Artículo en Inglés | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-27910854

RESUMEN

An extensive array of reproductive traits varies among species, yet the genetic mechanisms that enable divergence, often over short evolutionary timescales, remain elusive. Here we examine two sister-species of Peromyscus mice with divergent mating systems. We find that the promiscuous species produces sperm with longer midpiece than the monogamous species, and midpiece size correlates positively with competitive ability and swimming performance. Using forward genetics, we identify a gene associated with midpiece length: Prkar1a, which encodes the R1α regulatory subunit of PKA. R1α localizes to midpiece in Peromyscus and is differentially expressed in mature sperm of the two species yet is similarly abundant in the testis. We also show that genetic variation at this locus accurately predicts male reproductive success. Our findings suggest that rapid evolution of reproductive traits can occur through cell type-specific changes to ubiquitously expressed genes and have an important effect on fitness.


Asunto(s)
Aptitud Genética , Peromyscus/genética , Espermatozoides/fisiología , Animales , Regulación de la Expresión Génica/fisiología , Genotipo , Masculino , Peromyscus/fisiología , Sitios de Carácter Cuantitativo , Especificidad de la Especie
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