Parallel Evolution of Two dmrt1-Derived Genes, dmy and dm-W, for Vertebrate Sex Determination

Animal sex-determining genes, which bifurcate for female and male development, are diversified even among closely related species. Most of these genes emerged independently from various sex-related genes during species diversity as neofunctionalization-type genes. However, the common mechanisms of t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	iScience Vol. 23; no. 1; p. 100757
Main Authors:	Ogita, Yusaku, Mawaribuchi, Shuuji, Nakasako, Kei, Tamura, Kei, Matsuda, Masaru, Katsumura, Takafumi, Oota, Hiroki, Watanabe, Go, Yoneda, Shigetaka, Takamatsu, Nobuhiko, Ito, Michihiko
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	United States Elsevier Inc 24-01-2020 Elsevier
Subjects:	Biological Sciences Evolutionary Biology Genetics Evolutionary Biology Biological Sciences Genetics
Online Access:	Get full text
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Summary:	Animal sex-determining genes, which bifurcate for female and male development, are diversified even among closely related species. Most of these genes emerged independently from various sex-related genes during species diversity as neofunctionalization-type genes. However, the common mechanisms of this divergent evolution remain poorly understood. Here, we compared the molecular evolution of two sex-determining genes, the medaka dmy and the clawed frog dm-W, which independently evolved from the duplication of the transcription factor-encoding masculinization gene dmrt1. Interestingly, we detected parallel amino acid substitutions, from serine (S) to threonine (T), on the DNA-binding domains of both ancestral DMY and DM-W, resulting from positive selection. Two types of DNA-protein binding experiments and a luciferase reporter assay demonstrated that these S-T substitutions could strengthen the DNA-binding abilities and enhance the transcriptional regulation function. These findings suggest that the parallel S-T substitutions may have contributed to the establishment of dmy and dm-W as sex-determining genes. [Display omitted] •We detected parallel amino acid substitutions in two sex-determining genes, dmy and dm-W•Both the substitutions from dmrt1 duplication are under positive selection•These substitutions enhanced their DNA-binding activity as transcription factors•These substitutions might have contributed to the establishment of dmy and dm-W Biological Sciences; Genetics; Evolutionary Biology
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 Lead Contact These authors contributed equally
ISSN:	2589-0042 2589-0042
DOI:	10.1016/j.isci.2019.100757