Testes-specific hemoglobins in Drosophila evolved by a combination of sub- and neofunctionalization after gene duplication.

ABSTRACT:

Background

For a long time the presence of respiratory proteins in most insects has been considered unnecessary. However, in recent years it has become evident that globins belong to the standard repertoire of the insect genome. Like most other insect globins, the glob1 gene of Drosophila melanogaster displays a conserved expression pattern in the tracheae, the fat body and the Malpighian tubules.

Results

Here we show that the recently discovered D. melanogaster globin genes glob2 and glob3 both display an unusual male-specific expression in the reproductive tract during spermatogenesis. Both paralogs are transcribed at equivalent mRNA levels and largely overlap in their cellular expression patterns during spermatogenesis. Phylogenetic analyses showed that glob2 and glob3 re

SUBMITTER: Gleixner E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3361466 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature