Return to the Sea, Get Huge, Beat Cancer: An Analysis of Cetacean Genomes Including an Assembly for the Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae)
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- Marc Tollis
- Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
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- Jooke Robbins
- Center for Coastal Studies, Provincetown, MA
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- Andrew E Webb
- Center for Computational Genetics and Genomics, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
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- Lukas F K Kuderna
- Instituto de Biologia Evolutiva (UPF-CSIC), PRBB, Barcelona, Spain
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- Aleah F Caulin
- Genomics and Computational Biology Program, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
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- Jacinda D Garcia
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
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- Martine Bèrubè
- Center for Coastal Studies, Provincetown, MA
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- Nader Pourmand
- Jack Baskin School of Engineering, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA
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- Tomas Marques-Bonet
- Instituto de Biologia Evolutiva (UPF-CSIC), PRBB, Barcelona, Spain
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- Mary J O’Connell
- Computational and Molecular Evolutionary Biology Research Group, School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom
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- Per J Palsbøll
- Center for Coastal Studies, Provincetown, MA
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- Carlo C Maley
- Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
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- Beth Shapiro
- editor
Description
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>Cetaceans are a clade of highly specialized aquatic mammals that include the largest animals that have ever lived. The largest whales can have ∼1,000× more cells than a human, with long lifespans, leaving them theoretically susceptible to cancer. However, large-bodied and long-lived animals do not suffer higher risks of cancer mortality than humans—an observation known as Peto’s Paradox. To investigate the genomic bases of gigantism and other cetacean adaptations, we generated a de novo genome assembly for the humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) and incorporated the genomes of ten cetacean species in a comparative analysis. We found further evidence that rorquals (family Balaenopteridae) radiated during the Miocene or earlier, and inferred that perturbations in abundance and/or the interocean connectivity of North Atlantic humpback whale populations likely occurred throughout the Pleistocene. Our comparative genomic results suggest that the evolution of cetacean gigantism was accompanied by strong selection on pathways that are directly linked to cancer. Large segmental duplications in whale genomes contained genes controlling the apoptotic pathway, and genes inferred to be under accelerated evolution and positive selection in cetaceans were enriched for biological processes such as cell cycle checkpoint, cell signaling, and proliferation. We also inferred positive selection on genes controlling the mammalian appendicular and cranial skeletal elements in the cetacean lineage, which are relevant to extensive anatomical changes during cetacean evolution. Genomic analyses shed light on the molecular mechanisms underlying cetacean traits, including gigantism, and will contribute to the development of future targets for human cancer therapies.</jats:p>
Journal
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- Molecular Biology and Evolution
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Molecular Biology and Evolution 36 (8), 1746-1763, 2019-05-09
Oxford University Press (OUP)
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Details 詳細情報について
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- CRID
- 1360013170508588544
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- ISSN
- 15371719
- 07374038
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- Data Source
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- Crossref