Skip Navigation



MBE Advance Access published online on August 31, 2006
Molecular Biology and Evolution, doi:10.1093/molbev/msl101
This Article
Right arrow Advance Access manuscript (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
23/12/2326    most recent
msl101v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Yu, L.
Right arrow Articles by Zhang, Y.-p.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Yu, L.
Right arrow Articles by Zhang, Y.-p.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© 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
Accepted August 24, 2006

Research Article

The Unusual Adaptive Expansion of Pancreatic Ribonuclease Gene in Carnivora

Li Yu 1 and Ya-ping Zhang 2 *

1 Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Bio-resource, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China; Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Domestic Animals, and Cellular and Molecular Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Kunming 650223, China
2 Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Domestic Animals, and Cellular and Molecular Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Kunming 650223, China; Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Bio-resource, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Ya-ping Zhang, E-mail: zhangyp1{at}263.net.cn; zhangyp@mail.kiz.ac.cn


  Abstract

Pancreatic ribonuclease (RNASE1) is a digestive enzyme that has been recognized to be one of the most attractive model systems for molecular evolutionary studies. The contribution of RNASE1 gene duplication to the functional adaptation of digestive physiology in foregut fermenting herbivores, mostly in ruminants, has been well documented. However, no one has ever done a comprehensive study on the carnivores, which are sister to the artiodactyls. Here, we sequenced this gene from 15 species of the superfamily Caniformia in order Carnivora, which all have a relatively simple digestive system and lack the microbial digestion in rumen or cecum typical of most herbivores. In contrast to our initial expectation that only a single RNASE1 gene is present in these carnivores, we observed a "birth (gene duplication)-and-death (gene deactivation)" process for the evolution of RNASE1 genes in all three species of Mustelidae family examined here, adding the growing diversity of RNASE1 gene family evolution. In addition, bursts of positive selection have been shown to contribute the enigmatic diversification of these RNASE1 genes in Mustelidae. The finding of the adaptive expansion of RNASE1 in animals without foregut fermentation provides another opportunity for further studies of the structure, function, and evolution of this gene, raising the possibility that new tissue specificity or other functions of RNASE1 genes might have developed in these species.

Keywords: RNASE1; Carnivora; Mustelidae; enzyme activity; positive selection.
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Genome ResHome page
L. Goodstadt, A. Heger, C. Webber, and C. P. Ponting
An analysis of the gene complement of a marsupial, Monodelphis domestica: Evolution of lineage-specific genes and giant chromosomes
Genome Res., July 1, 2007; 17(7): 969 - 981.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Mol Biol EvolHome page
S. Cho and J. Zhang
Zebrafish Ribonucleases Are Bactericidal: Implications for the Origin of the Vertebrate RNase A Superfamily
Mol. Biol. Evol., May 1, 2007; 24(5): 1259 - 1268.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.