Elephant Genomes Reveal Accelerated Evolution in Mechanisms Underlying Disease Defenses
| Autor: | Carlo C. Maley, Amy M. Boddy, Abegglen Lisa M, Marc Tollis, Shawn M. Rupp, Christina Athena Aktipis, Elliott Ferris, Joshua D Schiffman, Michael M Garner, Valerie Harris, Michael S. Campbell, Wendy K. Kiso, Dennis L. Schmitt, Tara M. Harrison, Mark Yandell, Christopher Gregg |
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| Přispěvatelé: | Teeling, Emma |
| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
Life on Land
EEHV Endangered species Disease Biology AcademicSubjects/SCI01180 Genome 03 medical and health sciences 0302 clinical medicine Asian elephant elephants Genetics Animals 2.1 Biological and endogenous factors cancer Aetiology Molecular Biology Gene Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics Discoveries Herpesviridae 030304 developmental biology Regulation of gene expression 0303 health sciences disease Evolutionary Biology Resistance (ecology) Endangered Species AcademicSubjects/SCI01130 conservation EEHV tuberculosis genomes Herpesviridae Infections Good Health and Well Being tuberculosis Evolutionary biology Infectious disease (medical specialty) Biochemistry and Cell Biology genomes 030217 neurology & neurosurgery Biotechnology |
| Zdroj: | Molecular biology and evolution, vol 38, iss 9 Molecular Biology and Evolution |
| Popis: | Disease susceptibility and resistance are important factors for the conservation of endangered species, including elephants. We analyzed pathology data from 26 zoos and report that Asian elephants have increased neoplasia and malignancy prevalence compared with African bush elephants. This is consistent with observed higher susceptibility to tuberculosis and elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV) in Asian elephants. To investigate genetic mechanisms underlying disease resistance, including differential responses between species, among other elephant traits, we sequenced multiple elephant genomes. We report a draft assembly for an Asian elephant, and defined 862 and 1,017 conserved potential regulatory elements in Asian and African bush elephants, respectively. In the genomes of both elephant species, conserved elements were significantly enriched with genes differentially expressed between the species. In Asian elephants, these putative regulatory regions were involved in immunity pathways including tumor-necrosis factor, which plays an important role in EEHV response. Genomic sequences of African bush, forest, and Asian elephant genomes revealed extensive sequence conservation at TP53 retrogene loci across three species, which may be related to TP53 functionality in elephant cancer resistance. Positive selection scans revealed outlier genes related to additional elephant traits. Our study suggests that gene regulation plays an important role in the differential inflammatory response of Asian and African elephants, leading to increased infectious disease and cancer susceptibility in Asian elephants. These genomic discoveries can inform future functional and translational studies aimed at identifying effective treatment approaches for ill elephants, which may improve conservation. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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