Positive selection and gene duplications in tumour suppressor genes reveal clues about how cetaceans resist cancer.

ABSTRACT: Cetaceans are the longest-living species of mammals and the largest in the history of the planet. They have developed mechanisms against diseases such cancer, although the underlying molecular bases of these remain unknown. The goal of this study was to investigate the role of natural selection in the evolution of 1077 tumour suppressor genes (TSGs) in cetaceans. We used a comparative genomic approach to analyse two sources of molecular variation in the form of d_N/d_S rates and gene copy number variation. We found a signal of positive selection in the ancestor of cetaceans within the CXCR2 gene, an important regulator of DNA damage, tumour dissemination and immune system. Further, in the ancestor of baleen whales, we found six genes exhibiting posi

SUBMITTER: Tejada-Martinez D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7935004 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature