SEARCH · PubMed Health

Results for “convergent evolution”

Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

The father(to)child affiliative bond: convergent evolution with the canid analogue.

Primate homologues, especially from the African great apes, can usually be successfully utilized to form comparisons with the human condition. However, the man(to)child pair-bond is not paralleled by any terrestrial primate nor even many mammals. Hence, knowledge of primate behavior would not be predictive of the pan-human social father. It is suggested that female choices of mating partners shifted in the direction of a canid analogue in that men's motivations to share resources with the female and to exhibit paternalistic behaviors were positively selected. Accordingly, it is argued that, for humans, convergent evolution occurred which trended toward the canid template. Consequently, it would be predicted that, compared to other terrestrial primates, the neuro-hormonal basis for the mother-child affiliative bond would be similar, but the basis for man(to)child affiliative bond would be dissimilar.

Adult↗

PubMed1997

Cytochrome B sequences suggest convergent evolution of the Asian takin and Arctic muskox.

Relationships of the takin (Budorcas taxicolor) and muskox (Ovibos moschatus) have been speculated upon for many years. Morphological and behavioral similarities between these species have led to suggestions that they are closely related. To test the hypothesis that characteristics shared by the takin and muskox stem from a recent common ancestor, we compared sequences of their mitochondrial cytochrome b genes with those of three other species of Caprinae. We present data that may support rejection of the hypothesis of recent common ancestry and suggest that similarities in behavior and morphology in these two species might be attributed to convergent evolution rather than shared phylogeny.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

OmpA of a septicemic Escherichia coli O78--secretion and convergent evolution.

OmpA is an important constituent of the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria. OmpA is involved in a variety of host-bacteria interactions, including crossing of the blood-brain barrier by E. coli strains causing newborn meningitis, and elicits a significant response by the immune system of the host. The bactericidal effect of neutrophil elastase (NE) is also attributed to degradation of the bacterial OmpA. Here we examined the OmpA of septicemic E. coli 078 strains and show that two surface-exposed loops are conserved among invasive strains of E. coli and other pathogenic Enterobacteriaceae. In addition, there is evidence for convergent evolution, implying the existence of selective pressure. Our results also indicate that large quantities of OmpA are secreted into the medium during all phases of growth, where it is present both in secreted vesicles and as a soluble secreted protein. We assume that secreted OmpA can play a role in protection of bacteria from NE by competitive inhibition. Support for this assumption was obtained from experiments indicating that addition of exogenous, purified OmpA reduces killing of bacteria by NE.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2004

Convergent evolution of gene networks by single-gene duplications in higher eukaryotes.

By combining phylogenetic, proteomic and structural information, we have elucidated the evolutionary driving forces for the gene-regulatory interaction networks of basic helix-loop-helix transcription factors. We infer that recurrent events of single-gene duplication and domain rearrangement repeatedly gave rise to distinct networks with almost identical hub-based topologies, and multiple activators and repressors. We thus provide the first empirical evidence for scale-free protein networks emerging through single-gene duplications, the dominant importance of molecular modularity in the bottom-up construction of complex biological entities, and the convergent evolution of networks.

Eukaryotic Cells↗

PubMed1999

Horizontal gene transfer involved in the convergent evolution of the plasmid-encoded enantioselective 6-hydroxynicotine oxidases.

The D- and L-specific nicotine oxidases are flavoproteins involved in the oxidative degradation of nicotine by the Gram-positive soil bacterium Arthrobacter nicotinovorans. Their structural genes are located on a 160-kbp plasmid together with those of other nicotine-degrading enzymes. They are structurally unrelated at the DNA as well as at the protein level. Each of these oxidases possesses a high degree of substrate specificity; their catalytic stereoselectivity is absolute, although they are able to bind both enantiomeric substrates with a similar affinity. It appears that the existence of these enzymes is the result of convergent evolution. The amino acid sequence of 6-hydroxy-l-nicotine oxidase (EC 1.5.3.6) as derived from the respective structural gene shows considerable structural similarity with eukaryotic monoamine oxidases (EC 1.4.3.4) but not with monoamine oxidases from prokaryotic bacteria including those of the genus Arthrobacter. These similarities are not confined to the nucleotide-binding sites. A 100-amino acid stretch at the N-terminal regions of 6-hydroxy-l-nicotine oxidase and human monoamine oxidases A possess a 35% homology. Overall, 27.0, 26.9, and 25.8% of the amino acid positions of the monoamine oxidases of Aspergillus niger (N), humans (A), and rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) are identical to those of 6-hydroxy-l-nicotine oxidase (Smith-Waterman algorithm). In addition, the G+C content of the latter enzyme is in the range of that of eukaryotic monoamine oxidases and definitely lower than that of the A. nicotinovorans DNA and even that of the pAO1 DNA. The primary structure of 6-hydroxy-d-nicotine oxidase (EC 1.5.3.5) does not reveal its evolutionary history as easily. Significant similarities are found with a mitomycin radical oxidase from Streptomyces lavendulae (23.3%) and a "hypothetical protein" from Mycobacterium tuberculosis (26.0%). It is proposed that the plasmid-encoded gene of 6-hydroxy-l-nicotine oxidase evolved after horizontal transfer from an eukaryotic source.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1975

South American mammal zoogeography: evidence from convergent evolution in desert rodents.

Current theories regarding colonization of South America by mammals are divided between those supported by fossil evidence, which suggest the original mammal fauna of the isolated continent was augmented by early immigrants (primates, caviomorph rodents, and later, procyonids) with a final large influx of northern mammals occurring with the formation of the Panama land bridge, and an opposing view which states that the purported "recent invaders" are too taxonomically and ecologically differentiated to have colonized since the land bridge arose. The second theory suggests that most extant mammals entered before the Plio-Pleistocene land connection. An analysis of degree of physiological adaptation, natural history, distribution patterns, and a multivariate assessment of convergent evolution of Monte Desert rodents indicate that South American cricetine rodents are not highly specialized for desert life. Their degree of adaptation could be accounted for, in large part, by adaptations for arid or semiarid Andean habitats. No Monte Desert rodent has developed the specialized desert traits that have evolved in most desert rodent faunas of the world, although extinct marsupials similar to living bipedal desert rodents were present in the Monte as recently as late Pliocene. Evidence suggests that Monte caviomorphs have been associated with the desert for a longer period than cricetines, and that the latter represent a fairly recent invasion of the Monte Desert. The data thus support the first hypothesis of South American mammal colonization.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

PubMed2004

Convergent evolution in primates and an insectivore.

The cardiovascular risk factor LPA has a puzzling distribution among mammals, its presence being limited to a subset of primates and a member of the insectivore lineage, the hedgehog. To explore the evolutionary history of LPA, we performed extensive genomic sequence comparisons of multiple species with and without an LPA gene product, such as human, baboon, hedgehog, lemur, and mouse. This analysis indicated that LPA arose independently in a subset of primates, including baboon and human, and an insectivore, the hedgehog, and was not simply lost by species lacking it. The similar structural domains shared by the hedgehog and primate LPA indicate that they were formed by a unique molecular mechanism involving the convergent evolution of paralogous genes in these distant species.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

Convergent evolution of invertebrate defensins and nematode antibacterial factors.

Antibacterial factors (ABFs) are secreted polypeptides that have an important role in the innate immune system of nematodes. Comparison of these polypeptides revealed similarity in bioactivity, protein sequence and 3D structure, suggesting that they originated from a common ancestor. Comparison of gene organization of nematode ABF genes revealed that all except one contain a Phase 0 intron at a conserved location. The intron phase and location are congruent with the postulated intron gain rules, suggesting a gain of intron before duplication and divergence of the ancestral gene. Although nematode ABFs display similarity in activity and structure to invertebrate (arthropod and mollusk) defensins, lack of sequence similarity and the different genomic organization suggest that these two polypeptide families exhibit convergent evolution.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1992

Convergent evolution among immunoglobulin G-binding bacterial proteins.

Protein G, a bacterial cell-wall protein with high affinity for the constant region of IgG (IgGFc) antibodies, contains homologous repeats responsible for the interaction with IgGFc. A synthetic peptide corresponding to an 11-amino acid-long sequence in the COOH-terminal region of the repeats was found to bind to IgGFc and block the interaction with protein G. Moreover, two other IgGFc-binding bacterial proteins (proteins A and H), which do not contain any sequences homologous to the peptide, were also inhibited in their interactions with IgGFc by the peptide. Finally, a decapeptide based on a sequence in IgGFc blocked the binding of all three proteins to IgGFc. This unusually clear example of convergent evolution emphasizes the complexity of protein-protein interactions and suggests that bacterial surface-protein interaction with host protein adds selective advantages to the microorganism.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2003

Convergent evolution of cucurbitacin feeding in spatially isolated rootworm taxa (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae; Galerucinae, Luperini).

Historically, chemical ecologists assumed that cucurbitacin feeding and sequestration in rootworm leaf beetles is a remnant of an ancient association between the Luperini (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae; Galerucinae) and Cucurbitaceae (ancestral host hypothesis). Under this premise, rootworms that do not develop on cucurbits but undergo pharmacophagous forays for cucurbitacins are thought to do so to supplement novel host diets that lack these bitter compounds. The ancestral host hypothesis is supported from studies of pyrrolizidine alkaloid pharmacophagy in Lepidoptera but has not been subjected to phylogenetic analysis within the Luperini. New evidence that this feeding behavior is better correlated with an adult affinity for pollen than with larval host offers the possibility that Old and New World rootworm species with an affinity for cucurbitacins converged on this behavior through apomorphic taste receptor modifications (loose receptor hypothesis). Here we test the monophyly of cucurbitacin feeding within the Luperini by using nuclear and mitochondrial sequence data to infer phylogenetic relationships among 49 taxa representing tribes of the Galerucinae and subtribes of the Luperini. The resulting phylogenetic hypothesis is mostly concordant with existing tribal and subtribal delineations within the Subfamily Galerucinae sensu stricto (Galerucinae not including the flea beetles). The establishment of ancestry among the subtribes of the Luperini refutes the monophyly of cucurbitacin feeding and cucurbit specialization, with the New World Diabroticina being paraphyletic to the Old World Aulacophorina and cosmopolitan Luperina. These data unambiguously support the convergent evolution of cucurbitacin feeding in rootworms and are inconsistent with the ancestral host hypothesis.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Convergent evolution of chromosomal sex-determining regions in the animal and fungal kingdoms.

Sexual identity is governed by sex chromosomes in plants and animals, and by mating type (MAT) loci in fungi. Comparative analysis of the MAT locus from a species cluster of the human fungal pathogen Cryptococcus revealed sequential evolutionary events that fashioned this large, highly unusual region. We hypothesize that MAT evolved via four main steps, beginning with acquisition of genes into two unlinked sex-determining regions, forming independent gene clusters that then fused via chromosomal translocation. A transitional tripolar intermediate state then converted to a bipolar system via gene conversion or recombination between the linked and unlinked sex-determining regions. MAT was subsequently subjected to intra- and interallelic gene conversion and inversions that suppress recombination. These events resemble those that shaped mammalian sex chromosomes, illustrating convergent evolution in sex-determining structures in the animal and fungal kingdoms.

Alleles↗

PubMed2001

A self-fertile species of Steinernema from Indonesia: further evidence of convergent evolution amongst entomopathogenic nematodes?

More than 20 species of the entomopathogenic nematode Steinernema have been described; to date, all reproduce exclusively by cross-fertilization of male and female individuals. Steinernema sp. strain T87 from Indonesia was found to consist largely of self-fertile hermaphrodites. Progeny were produced by morphological females both in insects (Galleria mellonella) and in hanging drops of insect haemolymph inoculated with a single infective juvenile. Sperm were present in the oviduct of unmated morphological females. Approximately 1% of infective juveniles developed into males, and males were also present in the second generation where they constituted 1-6% of the population. Under the same conditions the related species Steinernema longicaudum strain CB2B displayed typical steinernematid reproduction: cross-fertilization and a 1:1 sex ratio. It is argued that the development of hermaphroditism in Steinernema sp. T87 represents convergent evolution with Heterorhabditis, the other major genus of entomopathogenic nematode.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Convergent evolution sheds light on the anti-beta -elimination mechanism common to family 1 and 10 polysaccharide lyases.

Enzyme-catalyzed beta-elimination of sugar uronic acids, exemplified by the degradation of plant cell wall pectins, plays an important role in a wide spectrum of biological processes ranging from the recycling of plant biomass through to pathogen virulence. The three-dimensional crystal structure of the catalytic module of a "family PL-10" polysaccharide lyase, Pel10Acm from Cellvibrio japonicus, solved at a resolution of 1.3 A, reveals a new polysaccharide lyase fold and is the first example of a polygalacturonic acid lyase that does not exhibit the "parallel beta-helix" topology. The "Michaelis" complex of an inactive mutant in association with the substrate trigalacturonate/Ca2+ reveals the catalytic machinery harnessed by this polygalacturonate lyase, which displays a stunning resemblance, presumably through convergent evolution, to the tetragalacturonic acid complex observed for a structurally unrelated polygalacturonate lyase from family PL-1. Common coordination of the -1 and +1 subsite saccharide carboxylate groups by a protein-liganded Ca2+ ion, the positioning of an arginine catalytic base in close proximity to the alpha-carbon hydrogen and numerous other conserved enzyme-substrate interactions, considered in light of mutagenesis data for both families, suggest a generic polysaccharide anti-beta-elimination mechanism.

Catalytic Domain↗

PubMed1998

Characterization of the ABO blood group genes in macaques: evidence for convergent evolution.

The ABO blood group system is known to act as a major transplantation barrier in primates. Different primate species share the presence of A and B antigens. The polymorphism of the macaque ABO blood group genes was analyzed by cloning and sequencing the exon 7 region. In the case of the rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) and cynomolgus monkey (Macaca fascicularis) we were able to identify ABO blood group gene segments which cluster into two lineages, namely: *A/*O1 and *B. In addition allelic variation was observed. The 2 amino acid replacements at positions 266 and 268, which are thought to be crucial for A or B transferase activity, could be confirmed for both macaque species. Comparison of primate sequences shows that A and B reactivity was generated independently from each other in the hominoids and Old World monkey lineages. Hence, the primate A and B blood group genes are subject to convergent evolution.

ABO Blood-Group System↗

PubMed1995

Convergent evolution of cysteine residues in sperm protamines of one genus of marsupials, the Planigales.

A characteristic feature of the sperm P1 protamines of eutherian mammals is the constant presence of six to nine cysteine residues per molecule. During spermiogenesis these residues become oxidized to form a three-dimensional network of disulfide bridges between, and within, protamine molecules in the sperm chromatin. This covalent cross linking strongly stabilizes eutherian sperm nuclei. In contrast, protamines sequenced from teleost fish, birds, monotremes, and marsupials all lack cysteine residues and their sperm nuclei, without the stabilizing cross links, are easily decondensed in vitro. We have now found that one genus of tiny, shrewlike dasyurid marsupials, the Planigales, possess P1 protamines containing five to six cysteine residues. These residues appear to have evolved since the divergence of Planigales from other members of the family Dasyuridae, such as the marsupial mouse, Sminthopsis crassicaudata. We believe this constitutes a case of convergent evolution in a subfamily of dasyurid marsupials toward the cysteine-rich eutherian form of sperm protamine P1.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2026

KDM6A loss enhances oxidative phosphorylation uncovering tissue-level convergent evolution.

The tumor suppressor KDM6A/UTX, a histone demethylase and a 2-oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenase, is frequently lost in many cancer types. We show that KDM6A loss pervasively activates oxidative phosphorylation in several solid tumors, generating a pseudo-hyperoxic environment, opposite from the pseudo-hypoxia observed in VHL-mutated renal carcinomas. Mechanistically, KDM6A sustains the expression of the coil-coil domain gene CCDC3, which inhibits CREB1-driven transcription of the mitochondrial regulator PPARGC1A. In the hematological cancer multiple myeloma where KDM6A is frequently deleted, its loss similarly promotes oxidative phosphorylation, but via an alternative mechanism: the increased transfer of mitochondria from stromal to myeloma cells via tunneling nanotubes, triggered by the loss of the mTORC1 inhibitor TRAF3IP3. Beyond cancer, KDM6A regulates oxidative phosphorylation also during development and in adult tissues, engaging either the CCDC3-CREB1 or the TRAF3IP3-mTORC1 pathways. These mutually exclusive associations suggest a tissue-level convergent evolution, positioning KDM6A as a central modulator of mitochondrial activity through context-specific partners.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2018

Convergent evolution of gene expression in two high-toothed stickleback populations.

Changes in developmental gene regulatory networks enable evolved changes in morphology. These changes can be in cis regulatory elements that act in an allele-specific manner, or changes to the overall trans regulatory environment that interacts with cis regulatory sequences. Here we address several questions about the evolution of gene expression accompanying a convergently evolved constructive morphological trait, increases in tooth number in two independently derived freshwater populations of threespine stickleback fish (Gasterosteus aculeatus). Are convergently evolved cis and/or trans changes in gene expression associated with convergently evolved morphological evolution? Do cis or trans regulatory changes contribute more to gene expression changes accompanying an evolved morphological gain trait? Transcriptome data from dental tissue of ancestral low-toothed and two independently derived high-toothed stickleback populations revealed significantly shared gene expression changes that have convergently evolved in the two high-toothed populations. Comparing cis and trans regulatory changes using phased gene expression data from F1 hybrids, we found that trans regulatory changes were predominant and more likely to be shared among both high-toothed populations. In contrast, while cis regulatory changes have evolved in both high-toothed populations, overall these changes were distinct and not shared among high-toothed populations. Together these data suggest that a convergently evolved trait can occur through genetically distinct regulatory changes that converge on similar trans regulatory environments.

Alleles↗

PubMed2004

Convergent evolution of disease resistance gene specificity in two flowering plant families.

Plant disease resistance (R) genes that mediate recognition of the same pathogen determinant sometimes can be found in distantly related plant families. This observation implies that some R gene alleles may have been conserved throughout the diversification of land plants. To address this question, we have compared R genes from Glycine max (soybean), Rpg1-b, and Arabidopsis thaliana, RPM1, that mediate recognition of the same type III effector protein from Pseudomonas syringae, AvrB. RPM1 has been cloned previously, and here, we describe the isolation of Rpg1-b. Although RPM1 and Rpg1-b both belong to the coiled-coil nucleotide binding site (NBS) Leu-rich repeat (LRR) class of R genes, they share only limited sequence similarity outside the conserved domains characteristic of this class. Phylogenetic analyses of A. thaliana and legume NBS-LRR sequences demonstrate that Rpg1-b and RPM1 are not orthologous. We conclude that convergent evolution, rather than the conservation of an ancient specificity, is responsible for the generation of these AvrB-specific genes.

Amino Acid Sequence↗