The Drosophila melanogaster methuselah gene: a novel gene with ancient functions.
The Drosophila melanogaster G protein-coupled receptor gene, methuselah (mth), has been described as a novel gene that is less than 10 million years old. Nevertheless, it shows a highly specific expression pattern in embryos, larvae, and adults, and has been implicated in larval development, stress...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2013-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/23696853/?tool=EBI |
| _version_ | 1818460024825970688 |
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| author | Ana Rita Araújo Micael Reis Helder Rocha Bruno Aguiar Ramiro Morales-Hojas Sandra Macedo-Ribeiro Nuno A Fonseca David Reboiro-Jato Miguel Reboiro-Jato Florentino Fdez-Riverola Cristina P Vieira Jorge Vieira |
| author_facet | Ana Rita Araújo Micael Reis Helder Rocha Bruno Aguiar Ramiro Morales-Hojas Sandra Macedo-Ribeiro Nuno A Fonseca David Reboiro-Jato Miguel Reboiro-Jato Florentino Fdez-Riverola Cristina P Vieira Jorge Vieira |
| author_sort | Ana Rita Araújo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The Drosophila melanogaster G protein-coupled receptor gene, methuselah (mth), has been described as a novel gene that is less than 10 million years old. Nevertheless, it shows a highly specific expression pattern in embryos, larvae, and adults, and has been implicated in larval development, stress resistance, and in the setting of adult lifespan, among others. Although mth belongs to a gene subfamily with 16 members in D. melanogaster, there is no evidence for functional redundancy in this subfamily. Therefore, it is surprising that a novel gene influences so many traits. Here, we explore the alternative hypothesis that mth is an old gene. Under this hypothesis, in species distantly related to D. melanogaster, there should be a gene with features similar to those of mth. By performing detailed phylogenetic, synteny, protein structure, and gene expression analyses we show that the D. virilis GJ12490 gene is the orthologous of mth in species distantly related to D. melanogaster. We also show that, in D. americana (a species of the virilis group of Drosophila), a common amino acid polymorphism at the GJ12490 orthologous gene is significantly associated with developmental time, size, and lifespan differences. Our results imply that GJ12490 orthologous genes are candidates for developmental time and lifespan differences in Drosophila in general. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T23:23:41Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-09c90c6b16b5480c909349ec843626f3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T23:23:41Z |
| publishDate | 2013-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-09c90c6b16b5480c909349ec843626f32022-12-21T22:43:52ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032013-01-0185e6374710.1371/journal.pone.0063747The Drosophila melanogaster methuselah gene: a novel gene with ancient functions.Ana Rita AraújoMicael ReisHelder RochaBruno AguiarRamiro Morales-HojasSandra Macedo-RibeiroNuno A FonsecaDavid Reboiro-JatoMiguel Reboiro-JatoFlorentino Fdez-RiverolaCristina P VieiraJorge VieiraThe Drosophila melanogaster G protein-coupled receptor gene, methuselah (mth), has been described as a novel gene that is less than 10 million years old. Nevertheless, it shows a highly specific expression pattern in embryos, larvae, and adults, and has been implicated in larval development, stress resistance, and in the setting of adult lifespan, among others. Although mth belongs to a gene subfamily with 16 members in D. melanogaster, there is no evidence for functional redundancy in this subfamily. Therefore, it is surprising that a novel gene influences so many traits. Here, we explore the alternative hypothesis that mth is an old gene. Under this hypothesis, in species distantly related to D. melanogaster, there should be a gene with features similar to those of mth. By performing detailed phylogenetic, synteny, protein structure, and gene expression analyses we show that the D. virilis GJ12490 gene is the orthologous of mth in species distantly related to D. melanogaster. We also show that, in D. americana (a species of the virilis group of Drosophila), a common amino acid polymorphism at the GJ12490 orthologous gene is significantly associated with developmental time, size, and lifespan differences. Our results imply that GJ12490 orthologous genes are candidates for developmental time and lifespan differences in Drosophila in general.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/23696853/?tool=EBI |
| spellingShingle | Ana Rita Araújo Micael Reis Helder Rocha Bruno Aguiar Ramiro Morales-Hojas Sandra Macedo-Ribeiro Nuno A Fonseca David Reboiro-Jato Miguel Reboiro-Jato Florentino Fdez-Riverola Cristina P Vieira Jorge Vieira The Drosophila melanogaster methuselah gene: a novel gene with ancient functions. PLoS ONE |
| title | The Drosophila melanogaster methuselah gene: a novel gene with ancient functions. |
| title_full | The Drosophila melanogaster methuselah gene: a novel gene with ancient functions. |
| title_fullStr | The Drosophila melanogaster methuselah gene: a novel gene with ancient functions. |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Drosophila melanogaster methuselah gene: a novel gene with ancient functions. |
| title_short | The Drosophila melanogaster methuselah gene: a novel gene with ancient functions. |
| title_sort | drosophila melanogaster methuselah gene a novel gene with ancient functions |
| url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/23696853/?tool=EBI |
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