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MBE Advance Access published online on July 18, 2007
Molecular Biology and Evolution, doi:10.1093/molbev/msm140
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© The Author 2007. 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

Research Article

Evolution of Trace Amine-Associated Receptor (TAAR) Gene Family in Vertebrates: Lineage-specific Expansions and Degradations of a Second Class of Vertebrate Chemosensory Receptors Expressed in the Olfactory Epithelium

Yasuyuki Hashiguchi* and Mutsumi Nishida

Division of Molecular Marine Biology, Ocean Research Institute, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

* Corresponding author: Yasuyuki Hashiguchi, Division of Molecular Marine Biology, Ocean Research Institute, University of Tokyo, Minamidai 1-15-1, Nakano-ku, Tokyo 164-8639 Japan. Tel.: +81-3-5351-6329, Fax: +81-3-5351-6579, E-mail: yhashi{at}ori.u-tokyo.ac.jp

Received for publication February 10, 2007. Revision received June 4, 2007. Accepted for publication July 9, 2007.

The trace amine-associated receptors (TAARs) form a specific family of G protein-coupled receptors in vertebrates. TAARs were initially considered neurotransmitter receptors, but recent study showed that mouse TAARs function as chemosensory receptors in the olfactory epithelium. To clarify the evolutionary dynamics of the TAAR gene family in vertebrates, near-complete repertoires of TAAR genes and pseudogenes were identified from the genomic assmblies of four teleost fishes (zebrafish, fugu, stickleback, and medaka), western clawed frogs, chickens, three mammals (humans, mice, and opossum), and sea lampreys. Database searches revealed that fishes had many putatively functional TAAR genes (13-109 genes), whereas relatively small numbers of TAAR genes (3-22 genes) were identified in tetrapods. Phylogenetic analysis of these genes indicated that the TAAR gene family was subdivided into five subfamilies that diverged before the divergence of ray-finned fishes and tetrapods. In tetrapods, virtually all TAAR genes were located in one specific region of their genomes as a gene cluster; however, in fishes, TAAR genes were scattered throughout more than two genomic locations. This possibly reflects a whole-genome duplication that occurred in the common ancestor of ray-finned fishes. Expression analysis of zebrafish and stickleback TAAR genes revealed that many TAARs in these fishes were expressed in the olfactory organ, suggesting the relatively high importance of TAARs as chemosensory receptors in fishes. A possible evolutionary history of the vertebrate TAAR gene family was inferred from the phylogenetic and comparative genomic analyses.

Key Words: olfaction • pheromone • multigene family • comparative genomics • genome duplication


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