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Setti PG, Deon GA, Zeni Dos Santos R, Goes CAG, Garnero ADV, Gunski RJ, de Oliveira EHC, Porto-Foresti F, de Freitas TRO, Silva FAO, Liehr T, Utsunomia R, Kretschmer R, de Bello Cioffi M. Evolution of bird sex chromosomes: a cytogenomic approach in Palaeognathae species. BMC Ecol Evol 2024; 24:51. [PMID: 38654159 PMCID: PMC11036779 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-024-02230-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2023] [Accepted: 03/26/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Different patterns of sex chromosome differentiation are seen in Palaeognathae birds, a lineage that includes the ratites (Struthioniformes, Rheiformes, Apterygiformes, Casuariiformes, and the sister group Tinamiformes). While some Tinamiform species have well-differentiated W chromosomes, both Z and W of all the flightless ratites are still morphologically undifferentiated. Here, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of the ZW differentiation in birds using a combination of cytogenetic, genomic, and bioinformatic approaches. The whole set of satDNAs from the emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) was described and characterized. Furthermore, we examined the in situ locations of these satDNAs alongside several microsatellite repeats and carried out Comparative Genomic Hybridizations in two related species: the greater rhea (Rhea americana) and the tataupa tinamou (Crypturellus tataupa). RESULTS From the 24 satDNA families identified (which represent the greatest diversity of satDNAs ever uncovered in any bird species), only three of them were found to accumulate on the emu's sex chromosomes, with no discernible accumulation observed on the W chromosome. The W chromosomes of both the greater rhea and the emu did not exhibit a significant buildup of either C-positive heterochromatin or repetitive DNAs, indicating their large undifferentiation both at morphological and molecular levels. In contrast, the tataupa tinamou has a highly differentiated W chromosome that accumulates several DNA repeats. CONCLUSION The findings provide new information on the architecture of the avian genome and an inside look at the starting points of sex chromosome differentiation in birds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Príncia Grejo Setti
- Departamento de Genética e Evolução, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, 13565-905, São Carlos, SP, Brazil
| | - Geize Aparecida Deon
- Departamento de Genética e Evolução, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, 13565-905, São Carlos, SP, Brazil
| | | | | | - Analía Del Valle Garnero
- Campus São Gabriel, Universidade Federal do Pampa, 97307-020, São Gabriel, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
| | - Ricardo José Gunski
- Campus São Gabriel, Universidade Federal do Pampa, 97307-020, São Gabriel, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
| | - Edivaldo Herculano Corrêa de Oliveira
- Laboratório de Citogenômica e Mutagênese Ambiental, Seção de Meio Ambiente, Instituto Evandro Chagas, 67030-000, Ananindeua, PA, Brazil
- Instituto de Ciências Exatas e Naturais, Universidade Federal do Pará, 66075-110, Belém, PA, Brazil
| | - Fábio Porto-Foresti
- Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade Estadual Paulista, 17033-360, Bauru, São Paulo, Brazil
| | | | - Fábio Augusto Oliveira Silva
- Laboratório de Citogenômica e Mutagênese Ambiental, Seção de Meio Ambiente, Instituto Evandro Chagas, 67030-000, Ananindeua, PA, Brazil
| | - Thomas Liehr
- Institute of Human Genetics, Jena University Hospital, Friedrich Schiller University, 07747, Jena, Germany.
| | - Ricardo Utsunomia
- Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade Estadual Paulista, 17033-360, Bauru, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Rafael Kretschmer
- Departamento de Ecologia, Zoologia e Genética, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal de Pelotas, 96.010-610, Pelotas, RS, Brazil
| | - Marcelo de Bello Cioffi
- Departamento de Genética e Evolução, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, 13565-905, São Carlos, SP, Brazil
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Dynamic Patterns of Sex Chromosome Evolution in Neognath Birds: Many Independent Barriers to Recombination at the ATP5F1A Locus. BIRDS 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/birds3010004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Avian sex chromosomes evolved after the divergence of birds and crocodilians from their common ancestor, so they are younger than the better-studied chromosomes of mammals. It has long been recognized that there may have been several stages to the evolution of avian sex chromosomes. For example, the CHD1 undergoes recombination in paleognaths but not neognaths. Genome assemblies have suggested that there may be variation in the timing of barriers to recombination among Neognathae, but there remains little understanding of the extent of this variability. Here, we look at partial sequences of ATP5F1A, which is on the avian Z and W chromosomes. It is known that recombination of this gene has independently ceased in Galliformes, Anseriformes, and at least five neoavian orders, but whether there are other independent cessations of recombination among Neoaves is not understood. We analyzed a combination of data extracted from published chromosomal-level genomes with data collected using PCR and cloning to identify Z and W copies in 22 orders. Our results suggest that there may be at least 19 independent cessations of recombination within Neognathae, and 3 clades that may still be undergoing recombination (or have only recently ceased recombination). Analyses of ATP5F1A protein sequences revealed an increased amino acid substitution rate for W chromosome gametologs, suggesting relaxed purifying selection on the W chromosome. Supporting this hypothesis, we found that the increased substitution rate was particularly pronounced for buried residues, which are expected to be more strongly constrained by purifying selection. This highlights the dynamic nature of avian sex chromosomes, and that this level of variation among clades means they should be a good system to understand sex chromosome evolution.
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Stöck M, Kratochvíl L, Kuhl H, Rovatsos M, Evans BJ, Suh A, Valenzuela N, Veyrunes F, Zhou Q, Gamble T, Capel B, Schartl M, Guiguen Y. A brief review of vertebrate sex evolution with a pledge for integrative research: towards ' sexomics'. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2021; 376:20200426. [PMID: 34247497 PMCID: PMC8293304 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0426] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/08/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Triggers and biological processes controlling male or female gonadal differentiation vary in vertebrates, with sex determination (SD) governed by environmental factors or simple to complex genetic mechanisms that evolved repeatedly and independently in various groups. Here, we review sex evolution across major clades of vertebrates with information on SD, sexual development and reproductive modes. We offer an up-to-date review of divergence times, species diversity, genomic resources, genome size, occurrence and nature of polyploids, SD systems, sex chromosomes, SD genes, dosage compensation and sex-biased gene expression. Advances in sequencing technologies now enable us to study the evolution of SD at broader evolutionary scales, and we now hope to pursue a sexomics integrative research initiative across vertebrates. The vertebrate sexome comprises interdisciplinary and integrated information on sexual differentiation, development and reproduction at all biological levels, from genomes, transcriptomes and proteomes, to the organs involved in sexual and sex-specific processes, including gonads, secondary sex organs and those with transcriptional sex-bias. The sexome also includes ontogenetic and behavioural aspects of sexual differentiation, including malfunction and impairment of SD, sexual differentiation and fertility. Starting from data generated by high-throughput approaches, we encourage others to contribute expertise to building understanding of the sexomes of many key vertebrate species. This article is part of the theme issue 'Challenging the paradigm in sex chromosome evolution: empirical and theoretical insights with a focus on vertebrates (Part I)'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthias Stöck
- Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries—IGB (Forschungsverbund Berlin), Müggelseedamm 301, 12587 Berlin, Germany
- Amphibian Research Center, Hiroshima University, Higashi-Hiroshima 739-8526, Japan
| | - Lukáš Kratochvíl
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 12844 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Heiner Kuhl
- Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries—IGB (Forschungsverbund Berlin), Müggelseedamm 301, 12587 Berlin, Germany
| | - Michail Rovatsos
- Amphibian Research Center, Hiroshima University, Higashi-Hiroshima 739-8526, Japan
| | - Ben J. Evans
- Department of Biology, McMaster University, Life Sciences Building Room 328, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8S 4K1
| | - Alexander Suh
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7TU, UK
- Department of Organismal Biology—Systematic Biology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18D, 75236 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Nicole Valenzuela
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
| | - Frédéric Veyrunes
- Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution de Montpellier, ISEM UMR 5554 (CNRS/Université de Montpellier/IRD/EPHE), Montpellier, France
| | - Qi Zhou
- MOE Laboratory of Biosystems Homeostasis and Protection and Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Cancer Molecular Cell Biology, Life Sciences Institute, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, People's Republic of China
- Department of Neuroscience and Developmental Biology, University of Vienna, A-1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Tony Gamble
- Department of Biological Sciences, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI 53201, USA
| | - Blanche Capel
- Department of Cell Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Manfred Schartl
- Developmental Biochemistry, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
- The Xiphophorus Genetic Stock Center, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX 78666, USA
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Ma WJ, Veltsos P. The Diversity and Evolution of Sex Chromosomes in Frogs. Genes (Basel) 2021; 12:483. [PMID: 33810524 PMCID: PMC8067296 DOI: 10.3390/genes12040483] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2021] [Revised: 03/22/2021] [Accepted: 03/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Frogs are ideal organisms for studying sex chromosome evolution because of their diversity in sex chromosome differentiation and sex-determination systems. We review 222 anuran frogs, spanning ~220 Myr of divergence, with characterized sex chromosomes, and discuss their evolution, phylogenetic distribution and transitions between homomorphic and heteromorphic states, as well as between sex-determination systems. Most (~75%) anurans have homomorphic sex chromosomes, with XY systems being three times more common than ZW systems. Most remaining anurans (~25%) have heteromorphic sex chromosomes, with XY and ZW systems almost equally represented. There are Y-autosome fusions in 11 species, and no W-/Z-/X-autosome fusions are known. The phylogeny represents at least 19 transitions between sex-determination systems and at least 16 cases of independent evolution of heteromorphic sex chromosomes from homomorphy, the likely ancestral state. Five lineages mostly have heteromorphic sex chromosomes, which might have evolved due to demographic and sexual selection attributes of those lineages. Males do not recombine over most of their genome, regardless of which is the heterogametic sex. Nevertheless, telomere-restricted recombination between ZW chromosomes has evolved at least once. More comparative genomic studies are needed to understand the evolutionary trajectories of sex chromosomes among frog lineages, especially in the ZW systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wen-Juan Ma
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA
| | - Paris Veltsos
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA;
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Repeat Sequence Mapping Shows Different W Chromosome Evolutionary Pathways in Two Caprimulgiformes Families. BIRDS 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/birds1010004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Although birds belonging to order Caprimulgiformes show extensive karyotype variation, data concerning their genomic organization is still scarce, as most studies have presented only results obtained from conventional staining analyses. Nevertheless, some interesting findings have been observed, such as the W chromosome of the Common Potoo, Nyctibius griseus (2n = 86), which has the same morphology and size of the Z chromosome, a rare feature in Neognathae birds. Hence, we aimed to investigate the process by which the W chromosome of this species was enlarged. For that, we analyzed comparatively the chromosome organization of the Common Potoo and the Scissor-tailed Nightjar, Hydropsalis torquata (2n = 74), which presents the regular differentiated sex chromosomes, by applying C-banding, G-banding and mapping of repetitive DNAs (microsatellite repeats and 18S rDNA). Our results showed an accumulation of constitutive heterochromatin in the W chromosome of both species. However, 9 out of 11 microsatellite sequences hybridized in the large W chromosome in the Common Potoo, while none of them hybridized in the W chromosome of the Scissor-tailed Nightjar. Therefore, we can conclude that the accumulation of microsatellite sequences, and consequent increase in constitutive heterochromatin, was responsible for the enlargement of the W chromosome in the Common Potoo. Based on these results, we conclude that even though these two species belong to the same order, their W chromosomes have gone through different evolutionary histories, with an extra step of accumulation of repetitive sequences in the Common Potoo.
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Farré M, Ruiz-Herrera A. The Plasticity of Genome Architecture. Genes (Basel) 2020; 11:E1413. [PMID: 33260806 PMCID: PMC7760494 DOI: 10.3390/genes11121413] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2020] [Accepted: 11/25/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding the origin of species and their adaptability to new environments is one of the main questions in biology [...].
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Affiliation(s)
- Marta Farré
- School of Biosciences, University of Kent, Canterbury CT2 7NJ, UK;
| | - Aurora Ruiz-Herrera
- Genome Integrity and Instability Group, Institut de Biotecnologia i Biomedicina, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
- Departament de Biologia Cel.lular, Fisiologia i Immunologia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Campus UAB, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
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Xu L, Irestedt M, Zhou Q. Sequence Transpositions Restore Genes on the Highly Degenerated W Chromosomes of Songbirds. Genes (Basel) 2020; 11:E1267. [PMID: 33126459 PMCID: PMC7692361 DOI: 10.3390/genes11111267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2020] [Revised: 10/15/2020] [Accepted: 10/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The female-specific W chromosomes of most Neognathae birds are highly degenerated and gene-poor. Previous studies have demonstrated that the gene repertoires of the Neognathae bird W chromosomes, despite being in small numbers, are conserved across bird species, likely due to purifying selection maintaining the regulatory and dosage-sensitive genes. Here we report the discovery of DNA-based sequence duplications from the Z to the W chromosome in birds-of-paradise (Paradisaeidae, Passeriformes), through sequence transposition. The original transposition involved nine genes, but only two of them (ANXA1 and ALDH1A1) survived on the W chromosomes. Both ANXA1 and ALDH1A1 are predicted to be dosage-sensitive, and the expression of ANXA1 is restricted to ovaries in all the investigated birds. These analyses suggest the newly transposed gene onto the W chromosomes can be favored for their role in restoring dosage imbalance or through female-specific selection. After examining seven additional songbird genomes, we further identified five other transposed genes on the W chromosomes of Darwin's finches and one in the great tit, expanding the observation of the Z-to-W transpositions to a larger range of bird species, but not all transposed genes exhibit dosage-sensitivity or ovary-biased expression We demonstrate a new mechanism by which the highly degenerated W chromosomes of songbirds can acquire genes from the homologous Z chromosomes, but further functional investigations are needed to validate the evolutionary forces underlying the transpositions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luohao Xu
- Department of Neurosciences and Developmental Biology, University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria;
| | - Martin Irestedt
- Department of Bioinformatics and Genetics, Swedish Museum of Natural History, 104 05 Stockholm, Sweden;
| | - Qi Zhou
- Department of Neurosciences and Developmental Biology, University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria;
- MOE Laboratory of Biosystems Homeostasis & Protection, Life Sciences Institute, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310012, China
- Center for Reproductive Medicine, The 2nd Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310012, China
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