Signature of adaptive evolution in olfactory receptor genes in Cory's Shearwater supports molecular basis for smell in procellariiform seabirds.

ABSTRACT: Olfactory receptors (ORs), encoded by the largest vertebrate multigene family, enable the detection of thousands of unique odorants in the environment and consequently play a critical role in species survival. Here, we advance our knowledge of OR gene evolution in procellariiform seabirds, an avian group which relies on the sense of olfaction for critical ecological functions. We built a cosmid library of Cory's Shearwater (Calonectris borealis) genomic DNA, a model species for the study of olfaction-based navigation, and sequence OR gene-positive cosmid clones with a combination of sequencing technologies. We identified 220 OR open reading frames, 20 of which are full length, intact OR genes, and found a large ratio of partial and pseudogenes to intact OR genes (2:1), suggestive of a dyna

SUBMITTER: C Silva M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6969042 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature