Abstract:
BACKGROUND:Mate choice is of central importance to most animals, influencing population structure, speciation, and ultimately the survival of a species. Mating behavior of male brachionid rotifers is triggered by the product of a chemosensory gene, a glycoprotein on the body surface of females called the mate recognition pheromone. The mate recognition pheromone has been biochemically characterized, but little was known about the gene(s). We describe the isolation and characterization of the mate recognition pheromone gene through protein purification, N-terminal amino acid sequence determination, identification of the mate recognition pheromone gene from a cDNA library, sequencing, and RNAi knockdown to confirm the functional role of the mate recognition pheromone gene in rotifer mating. RESULTS:A 29 kD protein capable of eliciting rotifer male circling was isolated by high-performance liquid chromatography. Two transcript types containing the N-terminal sequence were identified in a cDNA library; further characterization by screening a genomic library and by polymerase chain reaction revealed two genes belonging to each type. Each gene begins with a signal peptide region followed by nearly perfect repeats of an 87 to 92 codon motif with no codons between repeats and the final motif prematurely terminated by the stop codon. The two Type A genes contain four and seven repeats and the two Type B genes contain three and five repeats, respectively. Only the Type B gene with three repeats encodes a peptide with a molecular weight of 29 kD. Each repeat of the Type B gene products contains three asparagines as potential sites for N-glycosylation; there are no asparagines in the Type A genes. RNAi with Type A double-stranded RNA did not result in less circling than in the phosphate-buffered saline control, but transfection with Type B double-stranded RNA significantly reduced male circling by 17%. The very low divergence between repeat units, even at synonymous positions, suggests that the repeats are kept nearly identical through a process of concerted evolution. Information-rich molecules like surface glycoproteins are well adapted for chemical communication and aquatic animals may have evolved signaling systems based on these compounds, whereas insects use cuticular hydrocarbons. CONCLUSION:Owing to its critical role in mating, the mate recognition pheromone gene will be a useful molecular marker for exploring the mechanisms and rates of selection and the evolution of reproductive isolation and speciation using rotifers as a model system. The phylogenetic variation in the mate recognition pheromone gene can now be studied in conjunction with the large amount of ecological and population genetic data being gathered for the Brachionus plicatilis species complex to understand better the evolutionary drivers of cryptic speciation.
journal_name
BMC Bioljournal_title
BMC biologyauthors
Snell TW,Shearer TL,Smith HA,Kubanek J,Gribble KE,Welch DBdoi
10.1186/1741-7007-7-60subject
Has Abstractpub_date
2009-09-09 00:00:00pages
60issn
1741-7007pii
1741-7007-7-60journal_volume
7pub_type
杂志文章相关文献
BMC BIOLOGY文献大全abstract:BACKGROUND:Insects helped pioneer, and persist as model organisms for, the study of specific aspects of immunity. Although they lack an adaptive immune system, insects possess an innate immune system that recognizes and destroys intruding microorganisms. Its operation under natural conditions has not been well studied,...
journal_title:BMC biology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1186/1741-7007-5-56
更新日期:2007-12-21 00:00:00
abstract::Joel Dacks is an Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair in Evolutionary Cell Biology at the University of Alberta, a Scientific Associate at the Natural History Museum (London), and the current President of the International Society for Evolutionary Protistology. His research group studies the evolution and div...
journal_title:BMC biology
pub_type: 传,历史文章,面试
doi:10.1186/s12915-018-0586-4
更新日期:2018-11-01 00:00:00
abstract::The evolution of plastids from cyanobacteria is believed to represent a singularity in the history of life. The enigmatic amoeba Paulinella and its 'recently' acquired photosynthetic inclusions provide a fascinating system through which to gain fresh insight into how endosymbionts become organelles.The plastids, or ch...
journal_title:BMC biology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1186/1741-7007-10-35
更新日期:2012-04-24 00:00:00
abstract::Few would argue that science is better done in silos, with no transparency or sharing of methods and resources. Yet scientists and scientific stakeholders (e.g., academic institutions, funding agencies, journals) alike continue to find themselves at a relative impasse in the implementation of open science practices, s...
journal_title:BMC biology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1186/s12915-019-0647-3
更新日期:2019-03-27 00:00:00
abstract:BACKGROUND:Pneumococcal meningitis is associated with high mortality (approximately 30%) and morbidity. Up to 50% of survivors are affected by neurological sequelae due to a wide spectrum of brain injury mainly affecting the cortex and hippocampus. Despite this significant disease burden, the genetic program that regul...
journal_title:BMC biology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1186/1741-7007-4-15
更新日期:2006-06-02 00:00:00
abstract:BACKGROUND:The hormone adiponectin (ApN) exerts powerful anti-inflammatory effects on skeletal muscle and can reverse devastating myopathies, like Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), where inflammation exacerbates disease progression. The NLRP3 inflammasome plays a key role in the inflammation process, and its aberrant ...
journal_title:BMC biology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1186/s12915-018-0501-z
更新日期:2018-03-20 00:00:00
abstract:BACKGROUND:The most commonly occurring cancer mutations, including oncogenes such as MYC, Ras and PIK3C, are found in signal transductions pathways feeding into the translational machinery. A broad range of translation initiation factors are also commonly found to be either amplified or mis-regulated in tumours, includ...
journal_title:BMC biology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1186/s12915-019-0658-0
更新日期:2019-05-22 00:00:00
abstract:BACKGROUND:Vertebrates are characterized by possession of hypobranchial muscles (HBMs). Cyclostomes, or modern jawless vertebrates, possess a rudimentary and superficial HBM lateral to the pharynx, whereas the HBM in jawed vertebrates is internalized and anteroposteriorly specified. Precursor cells of the HBM, marked b...
journal_title:BMC biology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1186/s12915-020-00851-y
更新日期:2020-09-09 00:00:00
abstract::The close association between hematopoietic and endothelial cells during embryonic development led to the proposal that they may originate from a common ancestor--the hemangioblast. Due to a lack of unique specific markers for in vivo cell fate tracking studies, evidence supporting this theory derives mainly from in v...
journal_title:BMC biology
pub_type: 社论
doi:10.1186/1741-7007-9-88
更新日期:2011-12-28 00:00:00
abstract:BACKGROUND:Dorsal spine reduction in threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) is a classic example of recurrent skeletal evolution in nature. Sticklebacks in marine environments typically have long spines that form part of their skeletal armor. Many derived freshwater populations have evolved shorter spines. Ch...
journal_title:BMC biology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1186/s12915-017-0456-5
更新日期:2017-12-07 00:00:00
abstract::The visual pathway is tasked with processing incoming signals from the retina and converting this information into adaptive behavior. Recent studies of the larval zebrafish tectum have begun to clarify how the 'micro-circuitry' of this highly organized midbrain structure filters visual input, which arrives in the supe...
journal_title:BMC biology
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1186/1741-7007-8-126
更新日期:2010-09-28 00:00:00
abstract::Animal domestication has fascinated biologists since Charles Darwin first drew the parallel between evolution via natural selection and human-mediated breeding of livestock and companion animals. In this review we show how studies of ancient DNA from domestic animals and their wild progenitors and congeners have shed ...
journal_title:BMC biology
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1186/s12915-019-0724-7
更新日期:2019-12-02 00:00:00
abstract:BACKGROUND:Although a variety of animals have been used to produce polyclonal antibodies against antigens, the production of antigen-specific monoclonal antibodies from animals remains challenging. RESULTS:We propose a simple and rapid strategy to produce monoclonal antibodies from a variety of animals. By staining ly...
journal_title:BMC biology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1186/1741-7007-10-80
更新日期:2012-09-28 00:00:00
abstract:BACKGROUND:Many proteins of the mitochondrial intermembrane space (IMS) contain structural disulfide bonds formed by the mitochondrial disulfide relay. In fungi and animals, the sulfhydryl oxidase Erv1 'generates' disulfide bonds that are passed on to the oxidoreductase Mia40, which oxidizes substrate proteins. A diffe...
journal_title:BMC biology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1186/s12915-017-0445-8
更新日期:2017-11-08 00:00:00
abstract:BACKGROUND:Increasing evidence suggests that influenza reassortment not only contributes to the emergence of new human pandemics but also plays an important role in seasonal influenza epidemics, disease severity, evolution, and vaccine efficacy. We studied this process within 2091 H3N2 full genomes utilizing a combinat...
journal_title:BMC biology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1186/s12915-016-0337-3
更新日期:2016-12-29 00:00:00
abstract:BACKGROUND:The ribonuclear protein TDP-43 has been implicated in the pathophysiology of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), with genetic mutations being linked to the neurological symptoms of the disease. Though alterations in the intracellular distribution of TDP-43 have been observed in skeletal muscles of patients ...
journal_title:BMC biology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1186/s12915-020-00767-7
更新日期:2020-03-26 00:00:00
abstract:BACKGROUND:Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by both motor and non-motor symptoms. Gastrointestinal tract dysfunction is one of the non-motor features, where constipation is reported as the most common gastrointestinal symptom. Aromatic bacterial metabolites are attracti...
journal_title:BMC biology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1186/s12915-020-00876-3
更新日期:2020-10-20 00:00:00
abstract:BACKGROUND:Marine molluscs, as is the case with most aquatic animals, rely heavily on olfactory cues for survival. In the mollusc Aplysia californica, mate-attraction is mediated by a blend of water-borne protein pheromones that are detected by sensory structures called rhinophores. The expression of G protein and phos...
journal_title:BMC biology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1186/1741-7007-7-28
更新日期:2009-06-04 00:00:00
abstract:BACKGROUND:Many Caenorhabditis elegans mutations increase longevity and much evidence suggests that they do so at least partly via changes in metabolism. However, up until now there has been no systematic investigation of how the metabolic networks of long-lived mutants differ from those of normal worms. Metabolomic te...
journal_title:BMC biology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1186/1741-7007-8-14
更新日期:2010-02-10 00:00:00
abstract:BACKGROUND:TPA Induced Sequence 7 acts as a transcriptional co-regulator controlling the expression of genes involved in differentiation of various cell types, including skeletal myoblasts. We and others have shown that TIS7 regulates adult myogenesis through MyoD, one of the essential myogenic regulatory factors. RES...
journal_title:BMC biology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1186/s12915-016-0318-6
更新日期:2016-10-25 00:00:00
abstract:BACKGROUND:Animal olfactory systems detect volatile environmental chemicals and integrate this information to direct the discovery of food and mates as well as danger avoidance. Rather than remaining constant, olfactory response thresholds are modulated by internal and external cues to adapt odor-guided behaviors to ch...
journal_title:BMC biology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1186/s12915-017-0374-6
更新日期:2017-05-05 00:00:00
abstract::A recent paper in BMC Structural Biology reports the crystal structure of human prolylcarboxypeptidase (PRCP), one of the two members of the S28 peptidase family. Comparison of the substrate-binding site of PRCP with that of its family partner, dipeptidyl dipeptidase 7 (DPP7), helps to explain the different enzymatic ...
journal_title:BMC biology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1186/1741-7007-8-87
更新日期:2010-06-28 00:00:00
abstract:BACKGROUND:Male sexually selected vocalisations generally contain both individuality and quality cues that are crucial in intra- as well as inter-sexual communication. As individuality is a fixed feature whereas male phenotypic quality changes with age, individuality and quality cues may be subjected to different selec...
journal_title:BMC biology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1186/1741-7007-8-35
更新日期:2010-04-09 00:00:00
abstract:BACKGROUND:Because "laws of nature" do not exist in ecology, much of the foundations of community ecology rely on broad statistical generalisations. One of the strongest generalisations is the positive relationship between density and distribution within a given taxonomic assemblage; that is, locally abundant species a...
journal_title:BMC biology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1186/1741-7007-3-5
更新日期:2005-03-01 00:00:00
abstract:BACKGROUND:Root and tuber crops are a major food source in tropical Africa. Among these crops are several species in the monocotyledonous genus Dioscorea collectively known as yam, a staple tuber crop that contributes enormously to the subsistence and socio-cultural lives of millions of people, principally in West and ...
journal_title:BMC biology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1186/s12915-017-0419-x
更新日期:2017-09-19 00:00:00
abstract:BACKGROUND:Autophagy mediates lysosomal degradation of cytosolic components. Recent work has associated autophagic dysfunction with pathologies, including cancer and cardiovascular disease. To date, the identification of clinically-applicable drugs that modulate autophagy has been hampered by the lack of standardized a...
journal_title:BMC biology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1186/1741-7007-9-38
更新日期:2011-06-02 00:00:00
abstract:BACKGROUND:The next big challenge in human genetics is understanding the 98% of the genome that comprises non-coding DNA. Hidden in this DNA are sequences critical for gene regulation, and new experimental strategies are needed to understand the functional role of gene-regulation sequences in health and disease. In thi...
journal_title:BMC biology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1186/1741-7007-11-106
更新日期:2013-10-14 00:00:00
abstract:BACKGROUND:The red algae (Rhodophyta) diverged from the green algae and plants (Viridiplantae) over one billion years ago within the kingdom Archaeplastida. These photosynthetic lineages provide an ideal model to study plastid genome reduction in deep time. To this end, we assembled a large dataset of the plastid genom...
journal_title:BMC biology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1186/s12915-016-0299-5
更新日期:2016-09-02 00:00:00
abstract:BACKGROUND:Within chromatin, the histone variant H2A.Z plays a role in many diverse nuclear processes including transcription, preventing the spread of heterochromatin and epigenetic transcriptional memory. The molecular mechanisms of how H2A.Z mediates its effects are not entirely understood. However, it is now known ...
journal_title:BMC biology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1186/1741-7007-7-86
更新日期:2009-12-14 00:00:00
abstract:BACKGROUND:Whole genome duplication (WGD) is a special case of gene duplication, observed rarely in animals, whereby all genes duplicate simultaneously through polyploidisation. Two rounds of WGD (2R-WGD) occurred at the base of vertebrates, giving rise to an enormous wave of genetic novelty, but a systematic analysis ...
journal_title:BMC biology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1186/1741-7007-8-146
更新日期:2010-12-13 00:00:00