Ancient Secretory Pathways Contributed to the Evolutionary Origin of an Ecologically Impactful Bioluminescence System.

ABSTRACT: Evolutionary innovations in chemical secretion-such as the production of secondary metabolites, pheromones, and toxins-profoundly impact ecological interactions across a broad diversity of life. These secretory innovations may involve a "legacy-plus-innovation" mode of evolution, whereby new biochemical pathways are integrated with conserved secretory processes to create novel products. Among secretory innovations, bioluminescence is important because it evolved convergently many times to influence predator-prey interactions, while often producing courtship signals linked to increased rates of speciation. However, whether or not deeply conserved secretory genes are used in secretory bioluminescence remains unexplored. Here, we show that in the ostracod Vargula tsujii, the evolutionary nove

SUBMITTER: Mesrop LY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11539039 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature