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The Singularity of Cetacea Behavior Parallels the Complete Inactivation of Melatonin Gene Modules.

ABSTRACT: : Melatonin, the hormone of darkness, is a peculiar molecule found in most living organisms. Emerging as a potent broad-spectrum antioxidant, melatonin was repurposed into extra roles such as the modulation of circadian and seasonal rhythmicity, affecting numerous aspects of physiology and behaviour, including sleep entrainment and locomotor activity. Interestingly, the pineal gland-the melatonin synthesising organ in vertebrates-was suggested to be absent or rudimentary in some mammalian lineages, including Cetacea. In Cetacea, pineal regression is paralleled by their unique bio-rhythmicity, as illustrated by the unihemispheric sleeping behaviour and long-term vigilance. Here, we examined the genes responsible for melatonin synthesis (Aanat and Asmt) and signalling (Mtnr1a and Mtnr1b) in 12 toothed and baleen whale genomes. Based on an ample genomic comparison, we deduce that melatonin-related gene modules are eroded in Cetacea.

SUBMITTER: Lopes-Marques M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6410235 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The Singularity of Cetacea Behavior Parallels the Complete Inactivation of Melatonin Gene Modules.

Lopes-Marques Mónica M Ruivo Raquel R Alves Luís Q LQ Sousa Nelson N Machado André M AM Castro L Filipe C LFC

Genes 20190206 2

<b>:</b> Melatonin, the hormone of darkness, is a peculiar molecule found in most living organisms. Emerging as a potent broad-spectrum antioxidant, melatonin was repurposed into extra roles such as the modulation of circadian and seasonal rhythmicity, affecting numerous aspects of physiology and behaviour, including sleep entrainment and locomotor activity. Interestingly, the pineal gland-the melatonin synthesising organ in vertebrates-was suggested to be absent or rudimentary in some mammalian ...[more]

PMID: 30736361

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Project description:The leptin gene has received intensive attention and scientific investigation for its importance in energy homeostasis and reproductive regulation in mammals. Furthermore, study of the leptin gene is of crucial importance for public health, particularly for its role in obesity, as well as for other numerous physiological roles that it plays in mammals. In the present work, we report the identification of novel leptin genes in 4 species of Cetacea, and a comparison with 55 publicly available leptin sequences from mammalian genome assemblies and previous studies. Our study provides evidence for positive selection in the suborder Odontoceti (toothed whales) of the Cetacea and the family Phocidae (earless seals) of the Pinnipedia. We also detected positive selection in several leptin gene residues in these two lineages. To test whether leptin and its receptor evolved in a coordinated manner, we analyzed 24 leptin receptor gene (LPR) sequences from available mammalian genome assemblies and other published data. Unlike the case of leptin, our analyses did not find evidence of positive selection for LPR across the Cetacea and Pinnipedia lineages. In line with this, positively selected sites identified in the leptin genes of these two lineages were located outside of leptin receptor binding sites, which at least partially explains why co-evolution of leptin and its receptor was not observed in the present study. Our study provides interesting insights into current understanding of the evolution of mammalian leptin genes in response to selective pressures from life in an aquatic environment, and leads to a hypothesis that new tissue specificity or novel physiologic functions of leptin genes may have arisen in both odontocetes and phocids. Additional data from other species encompassing varying life histories and functional tests of the adaptive role of the amino acid changes identified in this study will help determine the factors that promote the adaptive evolution of the leptin genes in marine mammals.

Dataset Information

The Singularity of Cetacea Behavior Parallels the Complete Inactivation of Melatonin Gene Modules.

Publications

The Singularity of Cetacea Behavior Parallels the Complete Inactivation of Melatonin Gene Modules.

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