近日,，昆明動物研究所遺傳資源與進(jìn)化國家重點實驗室馬普進(jìn)化基因組學(xué)青年科學(xué)家研究組博士研究生占祖兵在最新一期Molecular Biology and Evolution雜志上發(fā)表論文"Rapid functional divergence of a newly evolved polyubiquitin gene in Drosophila and its role in the trade-off between male fecundity and lifespan"稱,，他們發(fā)現(xiàn)一個年輕新基因在雄性繁殖力和壽命長短平衡中有重要作用,。
繁殖成本在物種進(jìn)化的各種生命過程中都是一個重要的權(quán)衡因素，然而其分子機(jī)制仍很大程度上未知,。占祖兵在導(dǎo)師王文研究員指導(dǎo)下,，研究了一個X染色體連鎖的泛素基因家族新近起源的一對重復(fù)基因CG32744和CG11700。該重復(fù)事件大約發(fā)生在Drosophila melanogaster與D. simulans支發(fā)生分歧之后（約5.8百萬年前）,。
研究發(fā)現(xiàn)CG32744的蛋白序列在果蠅屬各個種都保守,，并且呈泛表達(dá)模式，而CG11700則積累了很多氨基酸改變,，并呈現(xiàn)雄性特異表達(dá)模式,。進(jìn)一步的功能試驗表明，CG11700的缺失突變體的雄性繁殖力比野生型強(qiáng),，能比野生型繁殖出更多后代,，但有趣的是其壽命縮短。G32744基因則無這個現(xiàn)象,。該研究結(jié)果提示CG11700可能經(jīng)歷了新功能化歷程,，在雄性生殖力與壽命長短的平衡過程中進(jìn)化出重要功能，而CG32744則可能很大程度上保留祖先功能,。
該研究成果得到了國家自然科學(xué)基金重點項目（No. 30930056）的支持,。（生物谷bioon.com）
doi:10.1093/molbev/msr299
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Rapid functional divergence of a newly evolved polyubiquitin gene in Drosophila and its role in the trade-off between male fecundity and lifespan
Zubing Zhan*, Yun Ding*, Ruopin Zhao*, Yue Zhang*, Haijing Yu*,§, Qi Zhou*,1, Shuang Yang*, Hui Xiang*,2 and Wen Wang*,2
The cost of reproduction is a pivotal trade-off with various biological processes during the evolution of organisms. However, the genes and molecular mechanisms underlying the evolution of balancing reproductive capacity and its cost are still largely unknown. Here, we present a comprehensive study on the evolution, expression and biological functions of a newly evolved pair of X-linked polyubiquitin tandemly duplicated genes, CG32744 and CG11700, of which the duplication event occurred in Drosophila melanogaster lineage after the split from D. simulans clade. We found that CG32744 retains conserved polyubiquitin-coding sequences across Drosophila species and is ubiquitously expressed, while CG11700 has accumulated numerous amino acid changes and shows a male-specific expression pattern. Null mutants of CG11700 have a higher male fecundity but shorter lifespan while its overexpression decreases male fecundity. In contrast, the null mutants of the peptide-conserved CG32744 do not exhibit such phenotypes. These results suggest that CG11700 might have experienced neofunctionalization and evolved important functions in the trade-off between male fecundity and lifespan, and that CG32744 likely has retained the ancestral function.
