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MBE Advance Access published online on March 10, 2004
Molecular Biology and Evolution, doi:10.1093/molbev/msh121
Molecular Biology and Evolution © Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution 2004; all rights reserved
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Accepted February 16, 2004
© 2004 Molecular Biology and Evolution © Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution 2004; all rights reserved.

Original Articles

Positive Selection on Multiple Antique Allelic Lineages of Transferrin in the Polyploid Carassius auratus

Lin Yang 1 and Jian-Fang Gui 2*

1 State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Wuhan Center for Developmental Biology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, China; Modern Virology Research Center, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
2 State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Wuhan Center for Developmental Biology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, China

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: jfgui{at}ihb.ac.cn.


  Abstract

Transferrin polymorphism has been studied in the polyploid Carassius auratus by cloning and sequence analysis of cDNAs from its three subspecies of C. auratus gibelio, C. auratus auratus, and C. auratus cuvieri. DNA polymorphism of extremely high extent was shown for the transferrin gene by the 248 segregation sites among coding region sequences of its alleles. The deduced amino acid sequences of the transferrin alleles showed variable theoretical physicochemical parameters, which might constitute molecular basis for their electrophoretic heterogeneity. Positive selection was inferred by the replacement/synonymous ratios larger than one in partial allelic lineages and subsequently confirmed by likelihood simulation under neutral or selection models. Furthermore, the correspondent sites to these selected condons collectively located at two planes in the crystallographic structure of rabbit transferrin, which suggested that the rapid evolution of C. auratus transferrin might correlate to its adaptation to variable environmental elements such as oxygen pressure. The minimal 26 recombination events were detected among coding sequences of C. auratus transferrin, with partial mosaic sequences and breakpoints identified by identity scanning and information site analyses. Phylogenetic analyses revealed multiple antique allelic lineages of transferrin, which was estimated to diverge fifteen to twenty million years ago. All these features strongly suggested the role of balancing selection in long persistence of high transferrin polymorphism in C. auratus. Furthermore, owing to its particular evolutionary backgrounds, the silver crucian carp might possess a distinctive balancing selection mechanism.

Key Words: transferrin, polymorphism, positive selection, balancing selection, allele, recombination, Carassius auratus


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