Synthesis of Experimental Molecular Biology and Evolutionary Biology: An Example from the World of Vision

Yokoyama, Shozo

doi:10.1525/bio.2012.62.11.3

Cited by 11 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 58 publications

(112 reference statements)

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“…This observation is consistent with the results of epistatic adaptive evolutionary studies such as antibiotic resistance [2] , drug resistance [41] , coenzyme evolution [2] , [42] and coevolution of two ecotypes [43] in microbial systems as well as the evolution of hormone receptors [7] , visual pigments [44] and hemoglobins [45] in vertebrates. However, one important implication of epistasis, often neglected, is that forward and reverse mutations can depict dramatically different epistatic interactions, leading us to erroneous conclusions on the mechanisms of phenotypic adaptation [4] , [5] . To obtain the correct molecular mechanism of phenotypic adaptation, therefore, it is critical not only to identify appropriate ancestral molecules, engineer and manipulate them but also to recapitulate the evolution of epistatic interactions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Epistatic Adaptive Evolution of Human Color Vision

et al. 2014

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Establishing genotype-phenotype relationship is the key to understand the molecular mechanism of phenotypic adaptation. This initial step may be untangled by analyzing appropriate ancestral molecules, but it is a daunting task to recapitulate the evolution of non-additive (epistatic) interactions of amino acids and function of a protein separately. To adapt to the ultraviolet (UV)-free retinal environment, the short wavelength-sensitive (SWS1) visual pigment in human (human S1) switched from detecting UV to absorbing blue light during the last 90 million years. Mutagenesis experiments of the UV-sensitive pigment in the Boreoeutherian ancestor show that the blue-sensitivity was achieved by seven mutations. The experimental and quantum chemical analyses show that 4,008 of all 5,040 possible evolutionary trajectories are terminated prematurely by containing a dehydrated nonfunctional pigment. Phylogenetic analysis further suggests that human ancestors achieved the blue-sensitivity gradually and almost exclusively by epistasis. When the final stage of spectral tuning of human S1 was underway 45–30 million years ago, the middle and long wavelength-sensitive (MWS/LWS) pigments appeared and so-called trichromatic color vision was established by interprotein epistasis. The adaptive evolution of human S1 differs dramatically from orthologous pigments with a major mutational effect used in achieving blue-sensitivity in a fish and several mammalian species and in regaining UV vision in birds. These observations imply that the mechanisms of epistatic interactions must be understood by studying various orthologues in different species that have adapted to various ecological and physiological environments.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Epistatic Adaptive Evolution of Human Color Vision

et al. 2014

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“…Studies that integrate evolutionary analyses of sequence divergence with functional analyses of native and/or recombinant proteins can obtain far more detailed and robust evolutionary insights than are possible with analyses of sequence variation alone. Recent examples of this integrative approach include studies of vertebrate hemoglobins (74,135,151,198) and opsins (25,192,(217)(218)(219)(220).…”

Section: Insights Into Evolutionary Pattern and Processmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic approaches in comparative and evolutionary physiology

Storz

Bridgham

Kelly

et al. 2015

American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comp

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Whole animal physiological performance is highly polygenic and highly plastic, and the same is generally true for the many subordinate traits that underlie performance capacities. Quantitative genetics, therefore, provides an appropriate framework for the analysis of physiological phenotypes and can be used to infer the microevolutionary processes that have shaped patterns of trait variation within and among species. In cases where specific genes are known to contribute to variation in physiological traits, analyses of intraspecific polymorphism and interspecific divergence can reveal molecular mechanisms of functional evolution and can provide insights into the possible adaptive significance of observed sequence changes. In this review, we explain how the tools and theory of quantitative genetics, population genetics, and molecular evolution can inform our understanding of mechanism and process in physiological evolution. For example, lab-based studies of polygenic inheritance can be integrated with field-based studies of trait variation and survivorship to measure selection in the wild, thereby providing direct insights into the adaptive significance of physiological variation. Analyses of quantitative genetic variation in selection experiments can be used to probe interrelationships among traits and the genetic basis of physiological trade-offs and constraints. We review approaches for characterizing the genetic architecture of physiological traits, including linkage mapping and association mapping, and systems approaches for dissecting intermediary steps in the chain of causation between genotype and phenotype. We also discuss the promise and limitations of population genomic approaches for inferring adaptation at specific loci. We end by highlighting the role of organismal physiology in the functional synthesis of evolutionary biology.

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“…"Survival of the fittest" is the core idea of the theory of evolution. The evolution of the human species is not in itself be the pink of perfection, but is a continuous "adaptation" and breeding process [3]. In the late 90's, a new subject arises in the west-evolutionary medicine which combine the concepts of evolutionary biology and medical science [4].…”

Section: Editorialmentioning

confidence: 99%