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MBE Advance Access originally published online on September 8, 2004
Molecular Biology and Evolution 2005 22(1):74-84; doi:10.1093/molbev/msh255
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Molecular Biology and Evolution vol. 22 no. 1 © Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution 2005; all rights reserved.

Research Article

Phylogenetic Mapping of Intron Positions: A Case Study of Translation Initiation Factor eIF2{gamma}

Veiko Krauss, Marek Pecyna, Katrin Kurz and Heinz Sass

Department of Genetics, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany

E-mail address: krauss{at}rz.uni-leipzig.de.

Eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 (eIF2) is a G protein that delivers the methionyl initiator tRNA to the small ribosomal subunit and releases it upon GTP hydrolysis after the recognition of the initiation codon. eIF2 is composed of three subunits, {alpha}, ß, and {gamma}. Subunit {gamma} shows the strongest conservation, and it confers both tRNA and GTP/GDP binding. Using intron positioning and protein sequence alignment, here we show that eIF2{gamma} is a suitable phylogenetic marker for eukaryotes. We determined or completed the sequences of 13 arthropod eIF2{gamma} genes. Analyzing the phylogenetic distribution of 52 different intron positions in 55 distantly related eIF2{gamma} genes, we identified ancient ones and shared derived introns in our data set. Obviously, intron positioning in eIF2{gamma} is evolutionarily conserved. However, there were episodes of complete and partial intron losses followed by intron gains. We identified 17 clusters of intron positions based on their distribution. The evolution of these clusters appears to be connected with preferred exon length and can be used to estimate the relative timing of intron gain because nearby precursor introns had to be erased from the gene before the new introns could be inserted. Moreover, we identified a putative case of intron sliding that constitutes a synapomorphic character state supporting monophyly of Coleoptera, Lepidoptera, and Diptera excluding Hymenoptera. We also performed tree reconstructions using the eIF2{gamma} protein sequences and intron positioning as phylogenetic information. Our results support the monophyly of Viridoplantae, Ascomycota, Homobasidiomyceta, and Apicomplexa.

Key Words: eIF2{gamma} • intron evolution • molecular phylogenetics • intron clustering • arthropod phylogeny • intron sliding


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