食物的尋找、選擇和消化之間存在一定的關(guān)系,，雖然宏觀上的主觀判斷存在合理性,，但缺乏遺傳學(xué)上的直接證據(jù)。
中國科學(xué)院昆明動物研究所張亞平院士,，吳東東博士,，David Irwin教授等研究人員分析了12種果蠅中六個和食物有關(guān)的基因家族：類胰蛋白絲氨酸蛋白酶(Tryp_SPc)（主要作用于食物消化）；氣味結(jié)合蛋白(odorant-binding protein, OBP),，嗅覺受體(OR),，味覺受體(gustatory receptor，GR) （對于尋找,、選擇鑒定食物,，避免有毒物質(zhì)是必不可少的）；細(xì)胞色素P450 (cytochrome P450, CYP450) 和谷胱甘肽-S-轉(zhuǎn)移酶基因(glutathione S-transferase, GST) （是食物中以及代謝過程中產(chǎn)生的有毒物質(zhì)的解毒酶）,，發(fā)現(xiàn)這些基因家族的大小在12個果蠅基因組中存在顯著相關(guān)性,。考慮到這些基因家族中的很多基因在食物尋找,、選擇和消化過程中都起到重要作用,，推測該六個基因家族由于食物的適應(yīng)性在果蠅進化過程中發(fā)生了相關(guān)性進化。
該研究結(jié)果發(fā)表在著名雜志Genome Biology and Evolution上,。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推薦原文出處：
Genome Biol Evol (2011) doi: 10.1093/gbe/evr034
Correlated evolution among six gene families in Drosophila revealed by parallel change of gene numbers
Dong-Dong Wu1, David M. Irwin1,3,4 and Ya-Ping Zhang1,2,*
Abstract
Proteins involved in a pathway are likely to evolve in a correlated fashion, and coevolving gene families tend to undergo complementary gains and losses. Accordingly, gene copy numbers (i.e. repertoire size) tend to show parallel changes during the evolution of coevolving gene families. To test and verify this hypothesis, here we describe positive correlations among the repertoire sizes of six gene families, i.e., trypsin-like serine protease, odorant-binding protein, odorant receptor, gustatory receptor, cytochrome P450 and glutathione S-transferase after excluding the possibility of phylogenetic constraint and random drift. The observed correlations are indicative of parallel changes in the repertoire sizes of the six gene families that are due to similar demands for the quantity of these different genes in different lineages of Drosophila. In conclusion, we propose that the correlated evolution among these six gene families in Drosophila is a signature of a parallel response to ecological adaptation.
