TY  - JOUR
A1  - Laisney, Juliette A. G. C.
A1  - Braasch, Ingo
A1  - Walter, Ronald B.
A1  - Meierjohann, Svenja
A1  - Schartl, Manfred
T1  - Lineage-specific co-evolution of the Egf receptor/ligand signaling system
N2  - Background: The epidermal growth factor receptor (Egfr) with its numerous ligands has fundamental roles in development, cell differentiation and physiology. Dysfunction of the receptor-ligand system contributes to many human malignancies. Consistent with such various tasks, the Egfr gene family has expanded during vertebrate evolution as a consequence of several rounds of whole genome duplication. Of particular interest is the effect of the fish-specific whole genome duplication (FSGD) on the ligand-receptor system, as it has supplied this largest group of vertebrates with additional opportunities for sub- and/or neofunctionalization in this signaling system. Results: We identified the predicted components of the Egf receptor-ligand signaling system in teleost fishes (medaka, platyfish, stickleback, pufferfishes and zebrafish). We found two duplicated egfr genes, egfra and egfrb, in all available teleost genomes. Surprisingly only one copy for each of the seven Egfr ligands could be identified in most fishes, with zebrafish hbegf being the only exception. Special focus was put on medaka, for which we more closely investigated all Egf receptors and Egfr ligands. The different expression patterns of egfra, egfrb and their ligands in medaka tissues and embryo stages suggest differences in role and function. Preferential co-expression of different subsets of Egfr ligands corroborates the possible subfunctionalization and specialization of the two receptors in adult tissues. Bioinformatic analyses of the ligand-receptor interface between Egfr and its ligands show a very weak evolutionary conservation within this region. Using in vitro analyses of medaka Egfra, we could show that this receptor is only activated by medaka ligands, but not by human EGF. Altogether, our data suggest a lineage-specific Egfr/Egfr ligand co-evolution. Conclusions: Our data indicate that medaka Egfr signaling occurs via its two copies, Egfra and Egfrb, each of them being preferentially coexpressed with different subsets of Egfr ligands. This fish-specific occurrence of Egf receptor specialization offers unique opportunities to study the functions of different Egf receptor-ligand combinations and their biological outputs in vertebrates. Furthermore, our results strongly support the use of homologous ligands in future studies, as sufficient cross-specificity is very unlikely for this ligand/receptor system.
KW  - Epidermaler Wachstumsfaktor-Rezeptor
KW  - epidermal growth factor receptor
KW  - Egfr
KW  - teleost fishes
Y1  - 2010
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-67922
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Schartl, Manfred
A1  - Walter, Ronald B.
A1  - Shen, Yingjia
A1  - Garcia, Tzintzuni
A1  - Catchen, Julian
A1  - Amores, Angel
A1  - Braasch, Ingo
A1  - Chalopin, Domitille
A1  - Volff, Jean-Nicolas
A1  - Lesch, Klaus-Peter
A1  - Bisazza, Angelo
A1  - Minx, Pat
A1  - Hillier, LaDeana
A1  - Wilson, Richard K.
A1  - Fürstenberg, Susan
A1  - Boore, Jeffrey
A1  - Searle, Steve
A1  - Postlethwait, John H.
A1  - Warren, Wesley C.
T1  - The genome of the platyfish, Xiphophorus maculatus, provides insights into evolutionary adaptation and several complex traits
JF  - Nature Genetics
N2  - Several attributes intuitively considered to be typical mammalian features, such as complex behavior, live birth and malignant disease such as cancer, also appeared several times independently in lower vertebrates. The genetic mechanisms underlying the evolution of these elaborate traits are poorly understood. The platyfish, X. maculatus, offers a unique model to better understand the molecular biology of such traits. We report here the sequencing of the platyfish genome. Integrating genome assembly with extensive genetic maps identified an unexpected evolutionary stability of chromosomes in fish, in contrast to in mammals. Genes associated with viviparity show signatures of positive selection, identifying new putative functional domains and rare cases of parallel evolution. We also find that genes implicated in cognition show an unexpectedly high rate of duplicate gene retention after the teleost genome duplication event, suggesting a hypothesis for the evolution of the behavioral complexity in fish, which exceeds that found in amphibians and reptiles.
KW  - genomics
KW  - genomic analysis
KW  - evolutionary biology
Y1  - 2013
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-132152
VL  - 45
IS  - 5
ER  -