Rapid evolutionary innovation during an Archaean genetic expansion
The natural history of Precambrian life is still unknown because of the rarity of microbial fossils and biomarkers. However, the composition of modern-day genomes may bear imprints of ancient biogeochemical events. Here we use an explicit model of macroevolution including gene birth, transfer, dupli...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | en_US |
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2011
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/61263 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8294-9364 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3570-4767 |
| _version_ | 1826215490971762688 |
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| author | David, Lawrence A. Alm, Eric J. |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Biological Engineering |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Biological Engineering David, Lawrence A. Alm, Eric J. |
| author_sort | David, Lawrence A. |
| collection | MIT |
| description | The natural history of Precambrian life is still unknown because of the rarity of microbial fossils and biomarkers. However, the composition of modern-day genomes may bear imprints of ancient biogeochemical events. Here we use an explicit model of macroevolution including gene birth, transfer, duplication and loss events to map the evolutionary history of 3,983 gene families across the three domains of life onto a geological timeline. Surprisingly, we find that a brief period of genetic innovation during the Archaean eon, which coincides with a rapid diversification of bacterial lineages, gave rise to 27% of major modern gene families. A functional analysis of genes born during this Archaean expansion reveals that they are likely to be involved in electron-transport and respiratory pathways. Genes arising after this expansion show increasing use of molecular oxygen (P = 3.4 × 10[superscript −8]) and redox-sensitive transition metals and compounds, which is consistent with an increasingly oxygenating biosphere. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T16:31:42Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/61263 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | en_US |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T16:31:42Z |
| publishDate | 2011 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/612632022-10-02T08:12:55Z Rapid evolutionary innovation during an Archaean genetic expansion David, Lawrence A. Alm, Eric J. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Biological Engineering Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Alm, Eric J. Alm, Eric J. David, Lawrence A. The natural history of Precambrian life is still unknown because of the rarity of microbial fossils and biomarkers. However, the composition of modern-day genomes may bear imprints of ancient biogeochemical events. Here we use an explicit model of macroevolution including gene birth, transfer, duplication and loss events to map the evolutionary history of 3,983 gene families across the three domains of life onto a geological timeline. Surprisingly, we find that a brief period of genetic innovation during the Archaean eon, which coincides with a rapid diversification of bacterial lineages, gave rise to 27% of major modern gene families. A functional analysis of genes born during this Archaean expansion reveals that they are likely to be involved in electron-transport and respiratory pathways. Genes arising after this expansion show increasing use of molecular oxygen (P = 3.4 × 10[superscript −8]) and redox-sensitive transition metals and compounds, which is consistent with an increasingly oxygenating biosphere. 2011-02-23T14:38:23Z 2011-02-23T14:38:23Z 2011-01 2010-07 Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalItem 1476-4687 0028-0836 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/61263 David, Lawrence A., and Eric J. Alm. “Rapid evolutionary innovation during an Archaean genetic expansion.” Nature 469.7328 (2011): 93-96. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8294-9364 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3570-4767 en_US http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature09649 Nature Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ application/pdf Prof. Alm |
| spellingShingle | David, Lawrence A. Alm, Eric J. Rapid evolutionary innovation during an Archaean genetic expansion |
| title | Rapid evolutionary innovation during an Archaean genetic expansion |
| title_full | Rapid evolutionary innovation during an Archaean genetic expansion |
| title_fullStr | Rapid evolutionary innovation during an Archaean genetic expansion |
| title_full_unstemmed | Rapid evolutionary innovation during an Archaean genetic expansion |
| title_short | Rapid evolutionary innovation during an Archaean genetic expansion |
| title_sort | rapid evolutionary innovation during an archaean genetic expansion |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/61263 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8294-9364 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3570-4767 |
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