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Yang L, Borne F, Betz A, Aardema ML, Zhen Y, Peng J, Visconti R, Wu M, Roland BP, Talsma AD, Palladino MJ, Petschenka G, Andolfatto P. Predatory fireflies and their toxic firefly prey have evolved distinct toxin resistance strategies. Curr Biol 2023; 33:5160-5168.e7. [PMID: 37989309 PMCID: PMC10872512 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.10.063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2023] [Revised: 09/04/2023] [Accepted: 10/27/2023] [Indexed: 11/23/2023]
Abstract
Toxic cardiotonic steroids (CTSs) act as a defense mechanism in many firefly species (Lampyridae) by inhibiting a crucial enzyme called Na+,K+-ATPase (NKA). Although most fireflies produce these toxins internally, species of the genus Photuris acquire them from a surprising source: predation on other fireflies. The contrasting physiology of toxin exposure and sequestration between Photuris and other firefly genera suggests that distinct strategies may be required to prevent self-intoxication. Our study demonstrates that both Photuris and their firefly prey have evolved highly resistant NKAs. Using an evolutionary analysis of the specific target of CTS (ATPα) in fireflies and gene editing in Drosophila, we find that the initial steps toward resistance were shared among Photuris and other firefly lineages. However, the Photuris lineage subsequently underwent multiple rounds of gene duplication and neofunctionalization, resulting in the development of ATPα paralogs that are differentially expressed and exhibit increasing resistance to CTS. By contrast, other firefly species have maintained a single copy. Our results implicate gene duplication as a facilitator in the transition of Photuris to its distinct ecological role as a predator of toxic firefly prey.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lu Yang
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - Flora Borne
- Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | - Anja Betz
- Department of Applied Entomology, University of Hohenheim, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Matthew L Aardema
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA; Department of Biology, Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ 07043, USA
| | - Ying Zhen
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA; School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou 310024, China
| | - Julie Peng
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - Regina Visconti
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - Mariana Wu
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - Bartholomew P Roland
- Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA; Pittsburgh Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
| | - Aaron D Talsma
- Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA; Pittsburgh Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
| | - Michael J Palladino
- Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA; Pittsburgh Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
| | - Georg Petschenka
- Department of Applied Entomology, University of Hohenheim, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Peter Andolfatto
- Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA.
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2
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Herbertz M, Dalla S, Wagschal V, Turjalei R, Heiser M, Dobler S. Coevolutionary escalation led to differentially adapted paralogs of an insect's Na,K-ATPase optimizing resistance to host plant toxins. Mol Ecol 2023. [PMID: 37296537 DOI: 10.1111/mec.17041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2023] [Revised: 04/24/2023] [Accepted: 05/30/2023] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Cardiac glycosides are chemical defence toxins known to fatally inhibit the Na,K-ATPase (NKA) throughout the animal kingdom. Several animals, however, have evolved target-site insensitivity through substitutions in the otherwise highly conserved cardiac glycoside binding pocket of the NKA. The large milkweed bug, Oncopeltus fasciatus, shares a long evolutionary history with cardiac glycoside containing plants that led to intricate adaptations. Most strikingly, several duplications of the bugs' NKA1α gene provided the opportunity for differential resistance-conferring substitutions and subsequent sub-functionalization of the enzymes. Here, we analysed cardiac glycoside resistance and ion pumping activity of nine functional NKA α/β-combinations of O. fasciatus expressed in cell culture. We tested the enzymes with two structurally distinct cardiac glycosides, calotropin, a host plant compound, and ouabain, a standard cardiac glycoside. The identity and number of known resistance-conferring substitutions in the cardiac glycoside binding site significantly impacted activity and toxin resistance in the three α-subunits. The β-subunits also influenced the enzymes' characteristics, yet to a lesser extent. Enzymes containing the more ancient αC-subunit were inhibited by both compounds but much more strongly by the host plant toxin calotropin than by ouabain. The sensitivity to calotropin was diminished in enzymes containing the more derived αB and αA, which were only marginally inhibited by both cardiac glycosides. This trend culminated in αAβ1 having higher resistance against calotropin than against ouabain. These results support the coevolutionary escalation of plant defences and herbivore tolerance mechanisms. The possession of multiple paralogs additionally mitigates pleiotropic effects by compromising between ion pumping activity and resistance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marlena Herbertz
- Institute of Cell and Systems Biology of Animals, Molecular Evolutionary Biology, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Safaa Dalla
- Institute of Cell and Systems Biology of Animals, Molecular Evolutionary Biology, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Vera Wagschal
- Institute of Cell and Systems Biology of Animals, Molecular Evolutionary Biology, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Rohin Turjalei
- Institute of Cell and Systems Biology of Animals, Molecular Evolutionary Biology, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Marlies Heiser
- Institute of Cell and Systems Biology of Animals, Molecular Evolutionary Biology, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Susanne Dobler
- Institute of Cell and Systems Biology of Animals, Molecular Evolutionary Biology, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
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3
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Medina-Ortiz K, Navia F, Mosquera-Gil C, Sánchez A, Sterling G, Fierro L, Castaño S. Identification of the NA +/K +-ATPase α-Isoforms in Six Species of Poison Dart Frogs and their Sensitivity to Cardiotonic Steroids. J Chem Ecol 2023; 49:116-132. [PMID: 36877397 PMCID: PMC10102066 DOI: 10.1007/s10886-023-01404-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2022] [Revised: 01/17/2023] [Accepted: 01/18/2023] [Indexed: 03/07/2023]
Abstract
Cardiotonic steroids (CTS) are a group of compounds known to be toxic due to their ability to inhibit the Na+/K+-ATPase (NKA), which is essential to maintain the balance of ions in animal cells. An evolutionary strategy of molecular adaptation to avoid self-intoxication acquired by CTS defended organisms and their predators is the structural modification of their NKA where specific amino acid substitutions confer resistant phenotypes. Several lineages of poison dart frogs (Dendrobatidae) are well known to sequester a wide variety of lipophilic alkaloids from their arthropod diet, however there is no evidence of CTS-sequestration or dietary exposure. Interestingly this study identified the presence of α-NKA isoforms (α1 and α2) with amino acid substitutions indicative of CTS-resistant phenotypes in skeletal muscle transcriptomes obtained from six species of dendrobatids: Phyllobates aurotaenia, Oophaga anchicayensis, Epipedobates boulengeri, Andinobates bombetes, Andinobates minutus, and Leucostethus brachistriatus, collected in the Valle del Cauca (Colombia). P. aurotaenia, A. minutus, and E. boulengeri presented two variants for α1-NKA, with one of them having these substitutions. In contrast, O. anchicayensis and A. bombetes have only one α1-NKA isoform with an amino acid sequence indicative of CTS susceptibility and an α2-NKA with one substitution that could confer a reduced affinity for CTS. The α1 and α2 isoforms of L. brachistriatus do not contain substitutions imparting CTS resistance. Our findings indicate that poison dart frogs express α-NKA isoforms with different affinities for CTS and the pattern of this expression might be influenced by factors related to evolutionary, physiological, ecological, and geographical burdens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine Medina-Ortiz
- Laboratorio de Herpetología Y Toxinología, Department of Physiological Sciences, Faculty of Health, Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia.
| | - Felipe Navia
- Laboratorio de Herpetología Y Toxinología, Department of Physiological Sciences, Faculty of Health, Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia
| | - Claudia Mosquera-Gil
- Laboratorio de Herpetología Y Toxinología, Department of Physiological Sciences, Faculty of Health, Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia
| | - Adalberto Sánchez
- Laboratorio de Herpetología Y Toxinología, Department of Physiological Sciences, Faculty of Health, Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia
| | - Gonzalo Sterling
- Laboratorio de Herpetología Y Toxinología, Department of Physiological Sciences, Faculty of Health, Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia
| | - Leonardo Fierro
- Laboratorio de Herpetología Y Toxinología, Department of Physiological Sciences, Faculty of Health, Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia
| | - Santiago Castaño
- Laboratorio de Herpetología Y Toxinología, Department of Physiological Sciences, Faculty of Health, Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia.
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Mohammadi S, Özdemir Hİ, Ozbek P, Sumbul F, Stiller J, Deng Y, Crawford AJ, Rowland HM, Storz JF, Andolfatto P, Dobler S. Epistatic Effects Between Amino Acid Insertions and Substitutions Mediate Toxin resistance of Vertebrate Na+,K+-ATPases. Mol Biol Evol 2022; 39:6874786. [PMID: 36472530 PMCID: PMC9778839 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msac258] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2022] [Revised: 11/10/2022] [Accepted: 11/14/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The recurrent evolution of resistance to cardiotonic steroids (CTS) across diverse animals most frequently involves convergent amino acid substitutions in the H1-H2 extracellular loop of Na+,K+-ATPase (NKA). Previous work revealed that hystricognath rodents (e.g., chinchilla) and pterocliform birds (sandgrouse) have convergently evolved amino acid insertions in the H1-H2 loop, but their functional significance was not known. Using protein engineering, we show that these insertions have distinct effects on CTS resistance in homologs of each of the two species that strongly depend on intramolecular interactions with other residues. Removing the insertion in the chinchilla NKA unexpectedly increases CTS resistance and decreases NKA activity. In the sandgrouse NKA, the amino acid insertion and substitution Q111R both contribute to an augmented CTS resistance without compromising ATPase activity levels. Molecular docking simulations provide additional insight into the biophysical mechanisms responsible for the context-specific mutational effects on CTS insensitivity of the enzyme. Our results highlight the diversity of genetic substrates that underlie CTS insensitivity in vertebrate NKA and reveal how amino acid insertions can alter the phenotypic effects of point mutations at key sites in the same protein domain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shabnam Mohammadi
- Molecular Evolutionary Biology, Institute of Cell and Systems Biology of Animals, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg 20146, Germany.,Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Research Group Predators and Toxic Prey, Jena 07745, Germany
| | | | - Pemra Ozbek
- Department of Bioengineering, Marmara University, Göztepe, İstanbul 34722, Turkey
| | - Fidan Sumbul
- INSERM, Aix-Marseille Université, Inserm, CNRS, Marseille 13009, France
| | - Josefin Stiller
- Villum Centre for Biodiversity Genomics, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen 2100, Denmark
| | - Yuan Deng
- Villum Centre for Biodiversity Genomics, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen 2100, Denmark.,BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, China
| | - Andrew J Crawford
- Department of Biological Sciences, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Hannah M Rowland
- Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Research Group Predators and Toxic Prey, Jena 07745, Germany
| | - Jay F Storz
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE
| | - Peter Andolfatto
- Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY
| | - Susanne Dobler
- Molecular Evolutionary Biology, Institute of Cell and Systems Biology of Animals, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg 20146, Germany
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Mohammadi S, Herrera-Álvarez S, Yang L, Rodríguez-Ordoñez MDP, Zhang K, Storz JF, Dobler S, Crawford AJ, Andolfatto P. Constraints on the evolution of toxin-resistant Na,K-ATPases have limited dependence on sequence divergence. PLoS Genet 2022; 18:e1010323. [PMID: 35972957 PMCID: PMC9462791 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1010323] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2022] [Revised: 09/09/2022] [Accepted: 07/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
A growing body of theoretical and experimental evidence suggests that intramolecular epistasis is a major determinant of rates and patterns of protein evolution and imposes a substantial constraint on the evolution of novel protein functions. Here, we examine the role of intramolecular epistasis in the recurrent evolution of resistance to cardiotonic steroids (CTS) across tetrapods, which occurs via specific amino acid substitutions to the α-subunit family of Na,K-ATPases (ATP1A). After identifying a series of recurrent substitutions at two key sites of ATP1A that are predicted to confer CTS resistance in diverse tetrapods, we then performed protein engineering experiments to test the functional consequences of introducing these substitutions onto divergent species backgrounds. In line with previous results, we find that substitutions at these sites can have substantial background-dependent effects on CTS resistance. Globally, however, these substitutions also have pleiotropic effects that are consistent with additive rather than background-dependent effects. Moreover, the magnitude of a substitution’s effect on activity does not depend on the overall extent of ATP1A sequence divergence between species. Our results suggest that epistatic constraints on the evolution of CTS-resistant forms of Na,K-ATPase likely depend on a small number of sites, with little dependence on overall levels of protein divergence. We propose that dependence on a limited number sites may account for the observation of convergent CTS resistance substitutions observed among taxa with highly divergent Na,K-ATPases (See S1 Text for Spanish translation). Individual amino acids within a protein work in concert to produce a functionally coherent structure that must be maintained as a protein diverges over time. Given this structure-function relationship, we expect the effects of new mutations to depend on amino acid states at other sites throughout the protein (i.e., background dependence) and that identical mutations will have more similar effects in more closely-related species, for which orthologous proteins will be less diverged. We tested this hypothesis by performing protein-engineering experiments on ATP1A, a protein that mediates resistance to toxins known as cardiotonic steroids (CTS), to reveal the extent of background-dependence across representative tetrapods. We find that, while the effects of mutations at two key sites implicated in CTS-resistance are indeed often background-dependent, the magnitude of these effects does not correlate with overall levels of ATP1A divergence. Our results instead suggest that background-dependent effects are determined by amino acid states at a small number of sites throughout the protein. Evolutionary constraints imposed by relatively few sites may explain the frequent occurrence of identical or similar CTS-resistance substitutions among ATP1A proteins of highly divergent animals (See S1 Text for Spanish translation).
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Affiliation(s)
- Shabnam Mohammadi
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska, United States of America
- Molecular Evolutionary Biology, Institut für Zell- und Systembiologie der Tiere, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Santiago Herrera-Álvarez
- Department of Biological Sciences, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Lu Yang
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, United States of America
| | | | - Karen Zhang
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, United States of America
| | - Jay F. Storz
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska, United States of America
| | - Susanne Dobler
- Molecular Evolutionary Biology, Institut für Zell- und Systembiologie der Tiere, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Andrew J. Crawford
- Department of Biological Sciences, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Peter Andolfatto
- Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York city, New York, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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