Multiplication of the class I alcohol dehydrogenase locus in mammalian evolution

The natural history of class I primate alcohol dehydrogenases includes gene duplication, gene loss, and gene conversion

BACKGROUND

Gene duplication is a source of molecular innovation throughout evolution. However, even with massive amounts of genome sequence data, correlating gene duplication with speciation and other events in natural history can be difficult. This is especially true in its most interesting cases, where rapid and multiple duplications are likely to reflect adaptation to rapidly changing environments and life styles. This may be so for Class I of alcohol dehydrogenases (ADH1s), where multiple duplications occurred in primate lineages in Old and New World monkeys (OWMs and NWMs) and hominoids.

METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS

To build a preferred model for the natural history of ADH1s, we determined the sequences of nine new ADH1 genes, finding for the first time multiple paralogs in various prosimians (lemurs, strepsirhines). Database mining then identified novel ADH1 paralogs in both macaque (an OWM) and marmoset (a NWM). These were used with the previously identified human paralogs to resolve controversies relating to dates of duplication and gene conversion in the ADH1 family. Central to these controversies are differences in the topologies of trees generated from exonic (coding) sequences and intronic sequences.

CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE

We provide evidence that gene conversions are the primary source of difference, using molecular clock dating of duplications and analyses of microinsertions and deletions (micro-indels). The tree topology inferred from intron sequences appear to more correctly represent the natural history of ADH1s, with the ADH1 paralogs in platyrrhines (NWMs) and catarrhines (OWMs and hominoids) having arisen by duplications shortly predating the divergence of OWMs and NWMs. We also conclude that paralogs in lemurs arose independently. Finally, we identify errors in database interpretation as the source of controversies concerning gene conversion. These analyses provide a model for the natural history of ADH1s that posits four ADH1 paralogs in the ancestor of Catarrhine and Platyrrhine primates, followed by the loss of an ADH1 paralog in the human lineage.

Conservative evolution in duplicated genes of the primate Class I ADH cluster

Humans have seven alcohol dehydrogenase genes (ADH) falling into five classes. Three out of the seven genes (ADH1A, ADH1B and ADH1C) belonging to Class I are expressed primarily in liver and code the main enzymes catalyzing ethanol oxidization. The three genes are tandemly arrayed within the ADH cluster on chromosome 4 and have very high nucleotide similarity to each other (exons: >90%; introns: >70%), suggesting the genes have been generated by duplication event(s). One explanation for maintaining similarity of such clustered genes is homogenization via gene conversion(s). Alternatively, recency of the duplications or some other functional constraints might explain the high similarities among the genes. To test for gene conversion, we sequenced introns 2, 3, and 8 of all three Class I genes (total>15.0 kb) for five non-human primates--four great apes and one Old World Monkey (OWM)--and compared them with those of humans. The phylogenetic analysis shows each intron sequence clusters strongly within each gene, giving no evidence for gene conversion(s). Several lines of evidence indicate that the first split was between ADH1C and the gene that gave rise to ADH1A and ADH1B. We also analyzed cDNA sequences of the three genes that have been previously reported in mouse and Catarrhines (OWMs, chimpanzee, and humans) and found that the synonymous and non-synonymous substitution (dN/dS) ratios in all pairs are less than 1 representing purifying selection. This suggests that purifying selection is more important than gene conversion(s) in maintaining the overall sequence similarity among the Class I genes. We speculate that the highly conserved sequences on the three duplicated genes in primates have been achieved essentially by maintaining stability of the hetero-dimer formation that might have been related to dietary adaptation in primate evolution.

Gene expression in a young multigene family: tissue-specific differences in the expression of the human alcohol dehydrogenase genes ADH1, ADH2, and ADH3

Three human alcohol dehydrogenase genes, ADH1, ADH2, and ADH3, were formed by tandem duplications and have diverged in their tissue-specific and developmental expression. Their proximal promoters remain 80-84% identical in sequence, approximately the same degree of identity as at synonymous sites in the coding regions of these three genes. To understand the evolution of tissue specificity, gene expression must be studied in many different cells and tissues. A systematic comparison of their promoters reveals the effects of subtle sequence differences on the binding of nuclear proteins to their cis-acting elements. There are differences in the affinity with which some proteins are bound to altered sites including C/EBP sites, USF/MLTF sites, and the G3T site (which binds Sp1). There are also differences in the sites that are occupied, e.g. CTF/NFI-related sites. These sequence differences are reflected in differences in gene expression in three cell lines. In H4IIE-C3 hepatoma cells, the ADH1 promoter was more active than the ADH2 promoter, and the ADH3 promoter was nearly nonfunctional. In HeLa cells, both ADH1 and ADH2 promoters directed expression; again the ADH3 promoter was extremely weak. None of the three promoters had much activity in CV-1 cells. Coexpression of C/EBP alpha greatly stimulated expression of the ADH1 promoter in HeLa cells and in CV-1 cells, but only weakly stimulated expression in H4IIE-C3 cells. The stimulation of the ADH1 promoter by C/EBP alpha was comparable to that of ADH2, despite the weaker binding to the C/EBP sites that flank the TATA box in ADH1. The ADH3 promoter was not greatly stimulated by C/EBP alpha, despite good binding of C/EBP alpha. These results demonstrate that small differences in the cis-acting elements affect affinity of binding by transcription factors and the pattern of gene expression.

Towards a molecular resolution of the ordinal phylogeny of the eutherian mammals

Reconstructing the evolutionary relationships among the orders of eutherian mammals entails the identification of a single true phylogenetic tree out of approximately 10(19) possible ones. The morphological and paleontological legacy to the field consists of numerous contradictory trees that are mostly devoid of binary resolution. With the introduction of molecular methodologies, several superordinal relationships have been identified, and in several instances a complete taxonomic revision was indicated. In this review, I present a summary of the phylogenetic affinities of the eutherian orders as revealed by molecular studies, and outline the differences between the molecular phylogenetic schemes and the phylogenetic trees produced through the use of morphological data. Questions of monophyly or paraphyly of the eutherian orders are also discussed. It is estimated that all but 10(9) of the 10(19) possible phylogenetic trees have been ruled out by molecular analysis, and that DNA and protein sequences with their potential to supply millions of phylogenetically useful characters will resolve the phylogeny of the orders of mammals into a consistently bifurcating tree in the not-so-distant future.

Progressive sequence alignment and molecular evolution of the Zn-containing alcohol dehydrogenase family

Sequences of 47 members of the Zn-containing alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) family were aligned progressively, and an evolutionary tree with detailed branch order and branch lengths was produced. The alignment shows that only 9 amino acid residues (of 374 in the horse liver ADH sequence) are conserved in this family; these include eight Gly and one Val with structural roles. Three residues that bind the catalytic Zn and modulate its electrostatic environment are conserved in 45 members. Asp 223, which determines specificity for NAD, is found in all but the two NADP-dependent enzymes, which have Gly or Ala. Ser or Thr 48, which makes a hydrogen bond to the substrate, is present in 46 members. The four Cys ligands for the structural zinc are conserved except in zeta-crystallin, the sorbitol dehydrogenases, and two bacterial enzymes. Analysis of the evolutionary tree gives estimates of the times of divergence for different animal ADHs. The human class II (pi) and class III (chi) ADHs probably diverged about 630 million years ago, and the newly identified human ADH6 appeared about 520 million years ago, implying that these classes of enzymes may exist or have existed in all vertebrates. The human class I ADH isoenzymes (alpha, beta, and gamma) diverged about 80 million years ago, suggesting that these isoenzymes may exist or have existed in all primates. Analysis of branch lengths shows that these plant ADHs are more conserved than the animal ones and that class III ADHs are more conserved than class I ADHs. The rate of acceptance of point mutations (PAM units) shows that selection pressure has existed for ADHs, implying that these enzymes play definite metabolic roles.