Evolution and Diversity of TGF-ß Pathways are Linked with Novel Developmental and Behavioral Traits.
Mol Biol Evol
; 39(12)2022 12 05.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-36469861
ABSTRACT
Transforming growth factor-ß (TGF-ß) signaling is essential for numerous biologic functions. It is a highly conserved pathway found in all metazoans including the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, which has also been pivotal in identifying many components. Utilizing a comparative evolutionary approach, we explored TGF-ß signaling in nine nematode species and revealed striking variability in TGF-ß gene frequency across the lineage. Of the species analyzed, gene duplications in the DAF-7 pathway appear common with the greatest disparity observed in Pristionchus pacificus. Specifically, multiple paralogues of daf-3, daf-4 and daf-7 were detected. To investigate this additional diversity, we induced mutations in 22 TGF-ß components and generated corresponding double, triple, and quadruple mutants revealing both conservation and diversification in function. Although the DBL-1 pathway regulating body morphology appears highly conserved, the DAF-7 pathway exhibits functional divergence, notably in some aspects of dauer formation. Furthermore, the formation of the phenotypically plastic mouth in P. pacificus is partially influenced through TGF-ß with the strongest effect in Ppa-tag-68. This appears important for numerous processes in P. pacificus but has no known function in C. elegans. Finally, we observe behavioral differences in TGF-ß mutants including in chemosensation and the establishment of the P. pacificus kin-recognition signal. Thus, TGF-ß signaling in nematodes represents a stochastic genetic network capable of generating novel functions through the duplication and deletion of associated genes.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Rhabditida
/
Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins
Type of study:
Prognostic_studies
Limits:
Animals
Language:
En
Journal:
Mol Biol Evol
Journal subject:
BIOLOGIA MOLECULAR
Year:
2022
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country: