The complexity of alternative splicing of hagoromo mRNAs is increased in an explosively speciated lineage in East African cichlids
| Autor: | Yohey Terai, Naoko Morikawa, Koichi Kawakami, Norihiro Okada |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2003 |
| Předmět: |
Fish Proteins
Lineage (evolution) Restriction Mapping Biology Cichlid Skin Physiological Phenomena Adaptive radiation Genetic algorithm Animals RNA Messenger Zebrafish Gene In Situ Hybridization DNA Primers Genetics Multidisciplinary Base Sequence Alternative splicing Gene Expression Regulation Developmental Cichlids Biological Sciences Africa Eastern biology.organism_classification Biological Evolution Introns Alternative Splicing RNA splicing human activities |
| Zdroj: | Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 100:12798-12803 |
| Popis: | The adaptive radiation of cichlid fishes in the lakes of East Africa is a prime example of speciation. The choice of cichlid mates on the basis of a variety of coloration represents a potential basis for speciation that led to adaptive radiation. Here, we characterize the cichlid homolog of the zebrafish hagoromo ( hag ) gene that was recently cloned and characterized from a pigmentation mutant. Although only one hag mRNA was reported in zebrafish, cichlids express nine different hag mRNAs resulting from alternative splicing. The hag mRNAs are expressed between the myotome and the epidermis where pigment cells are located, suggesting the cichlid hag gene is involved in pigmentation. The hag mRNA splicing pattern does not fluctuate among individuals from each of two species, suggesting that alternative splice site choice is fixed within species. Furthermore, cichlids in lineages that underwent explosive speciation expressed a greater variety of hag mRNAs than those in lineages that did not undergo such a degree of speciation, suggesting that species in the explosively speciated lineage acquired a complex regulatory mechanism of alternative splicing over a very short evolutionary period. Here, we provide an example in which alternative splicing may play a role in mate choice, leading to cichlid speciation through diversification of gene function by production of multiple mRNAs from a single gene. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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