Complete Inactivation of Sebum-Producing Genes Parallels the Loss of Sebaceous Glands in Cetacea
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- Mónica Lopes-Marques
- CIIMAR—Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research, U. Porto—University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
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- André M Machado
- CIIMAR—Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research, U. Porto—University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
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- Luís Q Alves
- CIIMAR—Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research, U. Porto—University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
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- Miguel M Fonseca
- CIIMAR—Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research, U. Porto—University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
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- Susana Barbosa
- CIIMAR—Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research, U. Porto—University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
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- Mikkel-Holger S Sinding
- Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, Nuuk, Greenland
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- Marianne Helene Rasmussen
- The University of Iceland’s Research Center in Húsavík, Húsavík, Iceland
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- Maria Refsgaard Iversen
- The University of Iceland’s Research Center in Húsavík, Húsavík, Iceland
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- Mads Frost Bertelsen
- Centre for Zoo and Wild Animal Health, Copenhagen Zoo, Frederiksberg, Denmark
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- Paula F Campos
- CIIMAR—Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research, U. Porto—University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
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- Rute da Fonseca
- Department of Biology, The Bioinformatics Centre, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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- Raquel Ruivo
- CIIMAR—Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research, U. Porto—University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
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- L Filipe C Castro
- CIIMAR—Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research, U. Porto—University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
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- Katja Nowick
- editor
抄録
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>Genomes are dynamic biological units, with processes of gene duplication and loss triggering evolutionary novelty. The mammalian skin provides a remarkable case study on the occurrence of adaptive morphological innovations. Skin sebaceous glands (SGs), for instance, emerged in the ancestor of mammals serving pivotal roles, such as lubrication, waterproofing, immunity, and thermoregulation, through the secretion of sebum, a complex mixture of various neutral lipids such as triacylglycerol, free fatty acids, wax esters, cholesterol, and squalene. Remarkably, SGs are absent in a few mammalian lineages, including the iconic Cetacea. We investigated the evolution of the key molecular components responsible for skin sebum production: Dgat2l6, Awat1, Awat2, Elovl3, Mogat3, and Fabp9. We show that all analyzed genes have been rendered nonfunctional in Cetacea species (toothed and baleen whales). Transcriptomic analysis, including a novel skin transcriptome from blue whale, supports gene inactivation. The conserved mutational pattern found in most analyzed genes, indicates that pseudogenization events took place prior to the diversification of modern Cetacea lineages. Genome and skin transcriptome analysis of the common hippopotamus highlighted the convergent loss of a subset of sebum-producing genes, notably Awat1 and Mogat3. Partial loss profiles were also detected in non-Cetacea aquatic mammals, such as the Florida manatee, and in terrestrial mammals displaying specialized skin phenotypes such as the African elephant, white rhinoceros and pig. Our findings reveal a unique landscape of “gene vestiges” in the Cetacea sebum-producing compartment, with limited gene loss observed in other mammalian lineages: suggestive of specific adaptations or specializations of skin lipids.</jats:p>
収録刊行物
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- Molecular Biology and Evolution
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Molecular Biology and Evolution 36 (6), 1270-1280, 2019-03-20
Oxford University Press (OUP)