Evolution of the Vertebrate Resistin Gene Family

Resistin (encoded by Retn) was previously identified in rodents as a hormone associated with diabetes; however human resistin is instead linked to inflammation. Resistin is a member of a small gene family that includes the resistin-like peptides (encoded by Retnl genes) in mammals. Genomic searches...

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Main Authors: Hu, Qingda, Tan, Huanran, Irwin, David M.
Format: Online
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science 2015
Online Access:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4467842/
id pubmed-4467842
recordtype oai_dc
spelling pubmed-44678422015-06-25 Evolution of the Vertebrate Resistin Gene Family Hu, Qingda Tan, Huanran Irwin, David M. Research Article Resistin (encoded by Retn) was previously identified in rodents as a hormone associated with diabetes; however human resistin is instead linked to inflammation. Resistin is a member of a small gene family that includes the resistin-like peptides (encoded by Retnl genes) in mammals. Genomic searches of available genome sequences of diverse vertebrates and phylogenetic analyses were conducted to determine the size and origin of the resistin-like gene family. Genes encoding peptides similar to resistin were found in Mammalia, Sauria, Amphibia, and Actinistia (coelacanth, a lobe-finned fish), but not in Aves or fish from Actinopterygii, Chondrichthyes, or Agnatha. Retnl originated by duplication and transposition from Retn on the early mammalian lineage after divergence of the platypus, but before the placental and marsupial mammal divergence. The resistin-like gene family illustrates an instance where the locus of origin of duplicated genes can be identified, with Retn continuing to reside at this location. Mammalian species typically have a single copy Retn gene, but are much more variable in their numbers of Retnl genes, ranging from 0 to 9. Since Retn is located at the locus of origin, thus likely retained the ancestral expression pattern, largely maintained its copy number, and did not display accelerated evolution, we suggest that it is more likely to have maintained an ancestral function, while Retnl, which transposed to a new location, displays accelerated evolution, and shows greater variability in gene number, including gene loss, likely evolved new, but potentially lineage-specific, functions. Public Library of Science 2015-06-15 /pmc/articles/PMC4467842/ /pubmed/26076481 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0130188 Text en © 2015 Hu et al http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are properly credited.
repository_type Open Access Journal
institution_category Foreign Institution
institution US National Center for Biotechnology Information
building NCBI PubMed
collection Online Access
language English
format Online
author Hu, Qingda
Tan, Huanran
Irwin, David M.
spellingShingle Hu, Qingda
Tan, Huanran
Irwin, David M.
Evolution of the Vertebrate Resistin Gene Family
author_facet Hu, Qingda
Tan, Huanran
Irwin, David M.
author_sort Hu, Qingda
title Evolution of the Vertebrate Resistin Gene Family
title_short Evolution of the Vertebrate Resistin Gene Family
title_full Evolution of the Vertebrate Resistin Gene Family
title_fullStr Evolution of the Vertebrate Resistin Gene Family
title_full_unstemmed Evolution of the Vertebrate Resistin Gene Family
title_sort evolution of the vertebrate resistin gene family
description Resistin (encoded by Retn) was previously identified in rodents as a hormone associated with diabetes; however human resistin is instead linked to inflammation. Resistin is a member of a small gene family that includes the resistin-like peptides (encoded by Retnl genes) in mammals. Genomic searches of available genome sequences of diverse vertebrates and phylogenetic analyses were conducted to determine the size and origin of the resistin-like gene family. Genes encoding peptides similar to resistin were found in Mammalia, Sauria, Amphibia, and Actinistia (coelacanth, a lobe-finned fish), but not in Aves or fish from Actinopterygii, Chondrichthyes, or Agnatha. Retnl originated by duplication and transposition from Retn on the early mammalian lineage after divergence of the platypus, but before the placental and marsupial mammal divergence. The resistin-like gene family illustrates an instance where the locus of origin of duplicated genes can be identified, with Retn continuing to reside at this location. Mammalian species typically have a single copy Retn gene, but are much more variable in their numbers of Retnl genes, ranging from 0 to 9. Since Retn is located at the locus of origin, thus likely retained the ancestral expression pattern, largely maintained its copy number, and did not display accelerated evolution, we suggest that it is more likely to have maintained an ancestral function, while Retnl, which transposed to a new location, displays accelerated evolution, and shows greater variability in gene number, including gene loss, likely evolved new, but potentially lineage-specific, functions.
publisher Public Library of Science
publishDate 2015
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4467842/
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