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Functional Evaluation of Olfactory Pathways in Living Xenopus Tadpoles

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Published on: December 11, 2018

Evolutionary pattern in the OXT-OXTR system in primates: coevolution and positive selection footprints.

Pedro Vargas-Pinilla¹, Vanessa Rodrigues Paixão-Côrtes¹, Pamela Paré¹

¹Departamento de Genética, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, 91501-970 Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil;

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

|December 24, 2014

Summary

Researchers discovered novel forms of oxytocin (OXT) and variations in the oxytocin receptor (OXTR) in New World monkeys. These OXT-OXTR system changes may be linked to male parental care behaviors.

Keywords:

OXT OXTR behavior coevolution primates

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Area of Science:

Evolutionary biology
Neuroendocrinology
Primate genetics

Background:

Oxytocin (OXT) is a crucial nonapeptide regulating diverse physiological and behavioral functions.
Previously, a conserved OXT sequence was presumed across placental mammals.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the evolutionary diversity of oxytocin (OXT) and its receptor (OXTR) in primates.
To explore potential correlations between OXT-OXTR variations and primate social behaviors, including parental care.

Main Methods:

Comparative genomic analysis of OXT and OXTR sequences across 29 primate species.
Molecular dynamic simulations to assess structural differences in OXT variants.
Phylogenetic analysis to detect signals of positive selection and coevolutionary processes.

Main Results:

Identification of three novel OXT forms and increased prevalence of the Leu8Pro variant in New World monkeys.
Detection of positive selection in OXT within the Cebidae family, with OXT position 8 correlating with litter size.
Characterization of OXTR variations, including changes in phosphorylation sites, and evidence of positive selection and coevolution with OXT.

Conclusions:

New World monkey OXT-OXTR systems exhibit significant evolutionary divergence.
Observed OXT-OXTR variations may influence receptor function and potentially correlate with the evolution of male parental care via interactions with the vasopressin system.