We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
Massive parallel expansions of Methuselah/Methuselah‐like receptors in schizophoran Diptera.
- Authors
Friedrich, Markus; Chahine, Hanady; Al‐Jageta, Cristina; Badreddine, Hamzah
- Abstract
The Methuselah/Methuselah‐like (Mth/Mthl) family of G‐protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) is represented by 16 homologs in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. Three of them have thus far been functionally characterized and found to play critical roles in cell adhesion, immunity, lifespan, and oxidative stress regulation. Evolutionary studies have shown that the large number of D. melanogaster Mth/Mthl GPCRs arose by at least two rounds of gene duplications. The first produced the "mth superclade" subfamily and was followed by the expansion of the "melanogaster subgroup" cluster within the "mth superclade" of Mth/Mthl GPCRs. The adaptive significance of the Mth/Mthl receptor repertoire expansion in Drosophila remains elusive. Studying the Mth/Mthl gene family content in newly available dipteran genomes, we find that the first expansion of the mthl superclade predates the diversification of schizophoran Diptera approximately 65 million years ago. Unexpectedly, we further find that the subsequent expansion of the melanogaster subgroup cluster was paralleled by independent mth superclade Mth/Mthl GPCR expansions in other schizophoran clades (Muscidae and Tephritidae). Our study thus reveals an even more dynamic diversification of mth superclade GPCRs than previously appreciated and linked to the emergence of schizophoran flies, the most dramatic radiation in the dipteran tree of life. A considerable fraction of the Drosophila Mth/Mthl G‐protein coupled receptors originated just recently during fruit fly evolution via gene duplication. Comparative analyses in newly available dipteran genomes now reveal similar expansions of the Mth/Mthl receptor gene family in house flies (Calyptrata: Muscidae) and Mediterranean fruit flies (Tephritidae), indicating a broader role of Mth/Mthl receptors in the expansion of schizophoran Diptera into over 50,000 species.
- Subjects
METHUSELAH (Biblical figure); DIPTERA; DROSOPHILA melanogaster; CELL adhesion; LIFE spans
- Publication
Journal of Experimental Zoology Part B: Molecular & Developmental Evolution, 2018, Vol 330, Issue 6/7, p384
- ISSN
1552-5007
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1002/jez.b.22813