Diverse Origins of Near-Identical Antifreeze Proteins in Unrelated Fish Lineages Provide Insights Into Evolutionary Mechanisms of New Gene Birth and Protein Sequence Convergence.

ABSTRACT: Determining the origins of novel genes and the mechanisms driving the emergence of new functions is challenging yet crucial for understanding evolutionary innovations. Recently evolved fish antifreeze proteins (AFPs) offer a unique opportunity to explore these processes, particularly the near-identical type I AFP (AFPI) found in four phylogenetically divergent fish taxa. This study tested the hypothesis of protein sequence convergence beyond functional convergence in three unrelated AFPI-bearing fish lineages. Through comprehensive comparative analyses of newly sequenced genomes of winter flounder and grubby sculpin, along with available high-quality genomes of cunner and 14 other related species, the study revealed that near-identical AFPI proteins originated from distinct genetic precurs

SUBMITTER: Rives N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11403476 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature