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"Rodent-like" and "primate-like" types of astroglial architecture in the adult cerebral cortex of mammals: a comparative study.

Previous observations disclosed that astroglia with interlaminar processes were present in the cerebral cortex of adult New and Old World monkeys, but not in the rat, and scarcely in the prosimian Microcebus murinus. The present report is a more systematic and comprehensive comparative analysis of the occurrence of such processes in the cerebral cortex of several mammalian species. Brain samples were obtained from adult individuals from the following orders: Carnivora (canine), Rodentia (rat and mouse), Marsupialia (Macropus eugenii), Artiodactyl (bovine and ovine), Scandentia (Tupaia glis), Chiroptera (Cynopteris horsfieldii and C. brachyotis), and Primate: Prosimian (Eulemur fulvus), non-human primate species (Cebus apella, Saimiri boliviensis, Callithrix, Macaca mulatta, Papio hamadryas, Macaca fascicularis, Cercopithecus campbelli and C. ascanius) and from a human autopsy. Tissues were processed for immunocytochemistry using several antibodies directed against glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), with or without additional procedures aimed at the retrieval of antigens and enhancement of their immunocytochemical expression. The cerebral cortex of non-primate species had an almost exclusive layout of stellate astrocytes, with only the occasional presence of long GFAP-IR processes in the dog that barely crossed the extent of lamina I, which in this species had comparatively increased thickness. Species of Insectivora and Chiroptera showed presence of astrocytes with long processes limited to the ventral basal cortex. Interlaminar GFAP-IR processes were absent in Eulemur fulvus, at variance with their limited presence and large within- and inter-individual variability as reported previously in Microcebus murinus. In New World monkeys such processes were absent in Callithrix samples, at variance with Cebus apella and Saimirí boliviensis. Overall, the expression of GFAP-IR interlaminar processes followed a progressive pattern: bulk of non-primate species (lack of interlaminar processes)--Chiroptera and Insectivora (processes restricted to allocortex) < strepsirhini < haplorhini (platirrhini < catarrhini). This trend is suggestive of the emergence of new evolutionary traits in the organization of the cerebral cortex, namely, the emergence of GFAP-IR long, interlaminar processes in the primate brain. Interlaminar processes may participate in a spatially restricted astroglial role, as compared to the one provided by the astroglial syncytium. It is proposed that the widely accepted concept of an exclusively astroglial syncytium is probably linked with a specific laboratory animal species ("rodent-type" or, rather, "general mammalian-type" model) that misrepresents the astroglial architecture present in the cerebral cortex of most anthropoid adult primates ("primate-type" model), including man.

Aged↗

Rates of conservative and radical nonsynonymous nucleotide substitutions in mammalian nuclear genes.

To understand the process and mechanism of protein evolution, it is important to know what types of amino acid substitutions are more likely to be under selection and what types are mostly neutral. An amino acid substitution can be classified as either conservative or radical, depending on whether it involves a change in a certain physicochemical property of the amino acid. Assuming Kimura's two-parameter model of nucleotide substitution, I present a method for computing the numbers of conservative and radical nonsynonymous (amino acid altering) nucleotide substitutions per site and estimate these rates for 47 nuclear genes from mammals. The results are as follows. (1) The average radical/conservative rate ratio is 0.81 for charge changes, 0.85 for polarity changes, and 0.49 when both polarity and volume changes are considered. (2) The radical/conservative rate ratio is positively correlated with the nonsynonymous/synonymous rate ratio for charge changes or when both polarity and volume changes are considered. (3) Both the conservative/synonymous rate ratio and the radical/synonymous rate ratio are lower in the rodent lineage than in the primate or artiodactyl lineage, suggesting more intense purifying selection in the rodent lineage, for both conservative and radical nonsynonymous substitutions. (4) Neglecting transition/transversion bias would cause an underestimation of both radical and conservative rates and the ratio thereof. (5) Transversions induce more dramatic genetic alternations than transitions in that transversions produce more amino acid altering changes and among which, more radical changes.

Amino Acid Substitution↗

Evolution of major histocompatibility complex class I genes in Cetartiodactyls.

Previous studies of cattle MHC have suggested the presence of at least four classical class I loci. Analysis of haplotypes showed that any combination of one, two or three genes may be expressed, although no gene is expressed consistently. The aim of this study was to examine the evolutionary relationships among these genes and to study their phylogenetic history in Cetartiodactyl species, including cattle and their close relatives. A secondary aim was to determine whether recombination had occurred between any of the genes. MHC class I data sets were generated from published sequences or by polymerase chain reaction from cDNA. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that MHC class I sequences from Cetartiodactyl species closely related to cattle were distributed among the main cattle gene "groups", while those from more distantly related species were either scattered (sheep, deer) or clustered in a species-specific manner (sitatunga, giraffe). A comparison between gene and species trees showed a poor match, indicating that divergence of the MHC sequences had occurred independently from that of the hosts from which they were obtained. We also found two clear instances of interlocus recombination among the cattle MHC sequences. Finally, positive natural selection was documented at positions throughout the alpha 1 and 2 domains, primarily on those amino acids directly involved in peptide binding, although two positions in the alpha 3 domain, a region generally conserved in other species, were also shown to be undergoing adaptive evolution.

Animals↗

Coevolution of the mammalian chemokines and their receptors.

A phylogeny of mammalian chemokines revealed two major clusters, corresponding to the CC and CXC chemokines; the C chemokines appeared to be more closely related to the former. In a phylogeny of chemokine receptors, there were also two major clusters: one containing CC chemokine receptors plus other receptors of unknown function and another containing CXC receptors and other receptors of unknown function. However, within the CC receptors, there was not a close correspondence between the phylogenies of chemokines and their receptors. The CC chemokines contained two major subfamilies: (1) the MIP subfamily (including MIP-1alpha, MIP-1beta, and RANTES); and (2) the MCP subfamily (including MCP-1,-2,-3, and -4 and eotaxin). Receptors having preferred ligands in the MCP subfamily did not constitute a monophyletic group but rather evolved twice independently. Reconstruction of ancestral amino acid sequences suggested that these two groups of MCP receptors did not convergently evolve any amino acid residues; rather, they convergently lost sequence features found in the third and fourth extracellular domains of known receptors for MIP-subfamily chemokines.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Isolation and characterization of marsupial IL5 genes.

The genomic nucleotide sequence and chromosomal position of the interleukin 5 (IL5) gene has been described for the model marsupial Macropus eugenii (tammar wallaby). A 272 base pair genomic IL5 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) product spanning exon 3, intron 3, and exon 4 was generated using stripe-faced dunnart (Sminthopsis macroura) DNA. This PCR product was used to isolate a genomic lambda clone containing the complete IL5 gene from a tammar wallaby EMBL3 lambda library. Sequencing revealed that the tammar wallaby IL5 gene consists of four exons separated by three introns. Comparison of the marsupial coding sequence with coding sequences from eutherian species revealed 61 to 69% identity at the nucleotide level and 48 to 63% identity at the amino acid (aa) level. A polymorphic complex compound microsatellite was identified within intron 2 of the tammar wallaby IL5 gene. This microsatellite was also found in other marsupials including the swamp wallaby, tree kangaroo, stripe-faced dunnart, South American opossum, brushtail possum, and koala. Fluorescence in situ hybridization using DNA from the IL5 clone on tammar wallaby chromosomes indicated that the IL5 gene is located on Chromosome 1.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

CetSINEs and AREs are not SINEs but are parts of cetartiodactyl L1.

Short interspersed repetitive elements (SINEs) are widely distributed among the genomes of eukaryotes. We proposed previously that a SINE should be defined by the presence of a region homologous to a tRNA or to 7SL RNA, together with A-box and B-box promoter sequences, in order to distinguish SINEs from other short repetitive sequences, such as short segments of LINEs (long interspersed repetitive elements; Okada et al. Gene 205, 229-243, 1997). Numerous SINE sequences have been deposited to date in DNA databases. In some cases, however, designation of a particular sequence is problematic when the short repetitive sequence has been defined as a SINE without reference to the presence or absence of promoter elements specific for RNA polymerase III. We demonstrate here that four different sequences, namely, ARE1p, ARE2p, CetSINE1, and CetSINE2, each of which has been reported as a SINE, are, in fact, only partial sequences of members of a new subfamily of L1. We also demonstrate that members of this subfamily are distributed specifically among the genomes of cetartiodactyls.

3' Untranslated Regions↗

Characterization of a SINE species from vicuna and its distribution in animal species including the family Camelidae.

Twenty-six sequences of a short interspersed repetitive element (SINE) with a size of approximately 150 base pairs (bp) were isolated from the genomic DNA of Vicugna vicugna (vicuna). RNA polymerase III split promoter sequence was observed in most of them, and many had direct repeats flanking to SINEs as well as a poly(A)-like structure. The SINE sequences were designated as "vic-1" sequences. Comparison of the vic-1 consensus sequence with sequences registered in the DNA database (DDBJ/ EMBL/GENBANK) revealed that the vic-1 sequence had a 79% homology with mouse ala-tRNA gene. In addition, the tRNA-related region of the consensus sequence was folded into a cloverleaf structure as with mouse ala-tRNA. These findings strongly indicated that vic-1 was a retroposon derived from ala-tRNA gene. The vic-1 sequences were used as a probe for dot-blot hybridization to examine the distribution of their homologous sequences in the genomes of various animal species spanning 14 orders, of which, homologous sequences were found only in the Camelidae family. In order to examine the phylogenetical relationship among vicuna, llama, and camel, vic-1 insertion analysis and homology analysis of vic-1 sequences were performed at each locus. The analyses indicated that vic-1 sequences were generated in a common ancestor of the animal species, and that camels first branched off from the clade Camelidae, followed by vicunas and llamas.

Animals↗

Evolution of CHR-2 SINEs in cetartiodactyl genomes: possible evidence for the monophyletic origin of toothed whales.

Short interspersed repetitive elements (SINEs) are a kind of retroposons dispersed among the eukaryotic genomes. Previously, we isolated and characterized a new SINE family, named CHR-2, members of which are distributed in the genomes of cetaceans, hippopotamuses, and ruminants. We analyzed systematically more than a hundred members of the CHR-2 SINEs, which were isolated from the genomes of cetaceans and cow, together with the additional data available in the DNA databases, and showed that these SINEs are divided into at least five distinct subfamilies that share diagnostic nucleotides and/or deletions. A hybridization analysis clearly demonstrated that, among these five subfamilies, two subfamilies, named CD and CDO, are specific to cetaceans and toothed whales, respectively. We reconstruct the evolutionary history of the CHR-2 SINEs during evolution of cetartiodactyl genomes.

Animals↗

Gregariousness increases brain size in ungulates.

The brain's main function is to organise the physiological and behavioural responses to environmental and social challenges in order to keep the organism alive. Here, we studied the effects that gregariousness (as a measurement of sociality), dietary habits, gestation length and sex have on brain size of extant ungulates. The analysis controlled for the effects of phylogeny and for random variability implicit in the data set. We tested the following groups of hypotheses: (1) Social brain hypothesis-gregarious species are more likely to have larger brains than non-gregarious species because the former are subjected to demanding and complex social interactions; (2) Ecological hypothesis-dietary habits impose challenging cognitive tasks associated with finding and manipulating food (foraging strategy); (3) Developmental hypotheses (a) energy strategy: selection for larger brains operates, primarily, on maternal metabolic turnover (i.e. gestation length) in relation to food quality because the majority of the brain's growth takes place in utero, and finally (b) sex hypothesis: females are expected to have larger brains than males, relative to body size, because of the differential growth rates of the soma and brain between the sexes. We found that, after adjusting for body mass, gregariousness and gestation length explained most of the variation in brain mass across the ungulate species studied. Larger species had larger brains; gregarious species and those with longer gestation lengths, relative to body mass, had larger brains than non-gregarious species and those with shorter gestation lengths. The effect of diet was negligible and subrogated by gestation length, and sex had no significant effect on brain size. The ultimate cause that could have triggered the co-evolution between gestation length and brain size remains unclear.

Animals↗

High-resolution comparative chromosome painting in the Arizona collared peccary (Pecari tajacu, Tayassuidae): a comparison with the karyotype of pig and sheep.

We used chromosome painting with chromosome-specific probes derived from domestic sheep and pig for a high-resolution cytogenetic comparison with the karyotype of collared peccary (Pecari tajacu sonoriensis). A reorganization of the karyotype involving at least 62-66 conserved segments were observed between the sheep and collared peccary. This is an extremely high number compared with other members of the same mammalian order (Cetartiodactyla). The comparison between pig and collared peccary, both belonging to the Suiformes, however, revealed various changes in the gross organization of both karyotypes that may have already occurred in a common ancestor of both species suggesting a monophyletic origin of Suidae/Tayassuidae. The sheep probes, however, also revealed several rearrangements between the two Suidae/Tayassuidae, indicating that these probes represent a useful tool for a more detailed analysis of the evolutionary history of Suiformes. Our sample of the collared peccary from North America (Arizona, USA) showed distinct differences to those already described from South America. The chromosome painting results defined a complex translocation that involves chromosomes including about one-quarter of the entire collared peccary karyotype. This considerable rearrangement indicates subspecies or even species status of both peccary populations, as it should present a significant barrier for their hybridization.

Animals↗