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Following the Dynamics of Structural Variants in Experimentally Evolved Populations
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Parallel molecular evolution in an herbivore community.

Ying Zhen1, Matthew L Aardema, Edgar M Medina

  • 1Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.

Science (New York, N.Y.)
|September 29, 2012
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Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Insects feeding on toxic plants adapt by altering their sodium pump (Na(+),K(+)-ATPase). Many species show similar genetic changes, suggesting convergent evolution to minimize harmful side effects of adaptation.

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Insect toxicology
  • Molecular evolution

Background:

  • Cardenolides are plant toxins that many insects sequester for defense.
  • The sodium pump, Na(+),K(+)-ATPase (ATPα), is the protein target for cardenolides.
  • Insect adaptation to cardenolides involves modifications to ATPα.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the evolutionary adaptations of ATPα in insects that feed on cardenolide-producing plants.
  • To identify patterns of amino acid substitutions and gene duplications in ATPα related to cardenolide specialization.
  • To test the hypothesis that evolutionary adaptations minimize negative pleiotropy.

Main Methods:

  • Surveyed ATPα in 14 insect species specializing on cardenolides and 15 outgroups.
  • Analyzed amino acid substitutions and gene duplications within ATPα.
  • Examined tissue-specific expression patterns of ATPα.

Main Results:

  • Amino acid substitutions conferring cardenolide resistance are highly clustered, with frequent parallel evolution across species.
  • Four independent duplications of ATPα were identified, exhibiting convergent tissue-specific expression.
  • Unique substitutions were more strongly associated with recent duplications than parallel substitutions.

Conclusions:

  • Insect adaptation to cardenolides involves significant parallel evolution in ATPα.
  • Gene duplication of ATPα provides a mechanism for acquiring novel functions or expression patterns.
  • Adaptation favors evolutionary pathways that minimize negative pleiotropic effects, such as those associated with parallel substitutions.