MBE Advance Access published online on November 13, 2008
Molecular Biology and Evolution, doi:10.1093/molbev/msn262
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Research Article |
Origin of the genetic components of the vomeronasal system in the common ancestor of all extant vertebrates
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
* Correspondence to: Jianzhi Zhang, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, 1075 Natural Science Building, 830 North University Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, Phone: 734-763-0527, Fax: 734-763-0544, Email: jianzhi{at}umich.edu
Received for publication May 31, 2008. Revision received September 17, 2008. Revision received November 4, 2008. Revision received November 8, 2008. Accepted for publication November 9, 2008.
Comparative genomics provides a valuable tool for inferring the evolutionary history of physiological systems, particularly when this information is difficult to ascertain by morphological traits. One such example is the vomeronasal system (VNS), a vertebrate nasal chemosensory system that is responsible for detecting intraspecific pheromonal cues as well as environmental odorants. The morphological components of the VNS are found only in tetrapods, but the genetic components of the system have been found in teleost fish, in addition to tetrapods. To determine when the genetic components of the VNS originated, we searched for the VNS-specific genes in the genomes of two early diverging vertebrate lineages: the sea lamprey from jawless fishes and the elephant shark from cartilaginous fishes. Genes encoding V1Rs and Trpc2, two components of the vomeronasal signaling pathway, are present in the sea lamprey genome and both are expressed in the olfactory organ, revealing that the genetic components of the present-day VNS existed in the common ancestor of all extant vertebrates. Additionally, all three VNS genes, Trpc2, V1Rs, and V2Rs, are found in the elephant shark genome. Because V1Rs and V2Rs are related to two families of taste receptors, we also searched the early diverging vertebrate genomes for taste system genes and found them in the shark genome, but not in the lamprey. Coupled with known distributions of the genetic components of the vertebrate main olfactory system, our results suggest staggered origins of vertebrate sensory systems. These findings are important for understanding the evolution of vertebrate sensory systems and illustrate the utility of the genome sequences of early diverging vertebrates for uncovering the evolution of vertebrate-specific traits.
Key Words: TRPC2 • V1R • V2R • vomeronasal • lamprey • shark
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  Y. Niimura On the Origin and Evolution of Vertebrate Olfactory Receptor Genes: Comparative Genome Analysis Among 23 Chordate Species Gen Biol Evol, June 22, 2009; 2009(0): 34 - 44. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 S. D. Liberles, L. F. Horowitz, D. Kuang, J. J. Contos, K. L. Wilson, J. Siltberg-Liberles, D. A. Liberles, and L. B. Buck Formyl peptide receptors are candidate chemosensory receptors in the vomeronasal organ PNAS, June 16, 2009; 106(24): 9842 - 9847. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 K. A. Johnstone, K. L. Ciborowski, K. P. Lubieniecki, W. Chow, R. B. Phillips, B. F. Koop, W. C. Jordan, and W. S. Davidson Genomic Organization and Evolution of the Vomeronasal Type 2 Receptor-Like (OlfC) Gene Clusters in Atlantic Salmon, Salmo salar Mol. Biol. Evol., May 1, 2009; 26(5): 1117 - 1125. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|