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MBE Advance Access originally published online on June 2, 2006
Molecular Biology and Evolution 2006 23(8):1465-1479; doi:10.1093/molbev/msl025
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© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

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Duplication and Divergence of 2 Distinct Pancreatic Ribonuclease Genes in Leaf-Eating African and Asian Colobine Monkeys

John E. Schienman*,{dagger}, Robert A. Holt*,{ddagger}, Marcy R. Auerbach*,§ and Caro-Beth Stewart*

* Department of Biological Sciences, University at Albany, State University of New York; {dagger} Forensic Science Laboratory, Department of Public Safety, Meriden, Connecticut; {ddagger} Canada's Michael Smith Genome Science Centre, British Columbia Cancer Agency, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; and § Pathology Department, Columbia University

E-mail: john.schienman{at}uconn.edu.

Unique among primates, the colobine monkeys have adapted to a predominantly leaf-eating diet by evolving a foregut that utilizes bacterial fermentation to breakdown and absorb nutrients from such a food source. It has been hypothesized that pancreatic ribonuclease (pRNase) has been recruited to perform a role as a digestive enzyme in foregut fermenters, such as artiodactyl ruminants and the colobines. We present molecular analyses of 23 pRNase gene sequences generated from 8 primate taxa, including 2 African and 2 Asian colobine species. The pRNase gene is single copy in all noncolobine primate species assayed but has duplicated more than once in both the African and Asian colobine monkeys. Phylogenetic reconstructions show that the pRNase-coding and noncoding regions are under different evolutionary constraints, with high levels of concerted evolution among gene duplicates occurring predominantly in the noncoding regions. Our data suggest that 2 functionally distinct pRNases have been selected for in the colobine monkeys, with one group adapting to the role of a digestive enzyme by evolving at an increased rate with loss of positive charge, namely arginine residues. Conclusions relating our data to general hypotheses of evolution following gene duplication are discussed.

Key Words: positive selection • RNASE A • foregut fermentation • concerted evolution


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Duplication and Divergence of Two Distinct Pancreatic Ribonuclease Genes in Leaf-Eating African and Asian Colobine Monkeys

MBE 2006 23: 1817. [Extract] [FREE Full Text]  



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