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Quantitative evolutionary proteomics of seminal fluid from primates with different mating systems
Katrina G Claw1, Renee D George2, Michael J MacCoss3
1Department of Pharmaceutics, University of Washington, Box 357610, Seattle, WA, 98195-7610, USA. kclaw@uw.edu.
BMC Genomics
|June 23, 2018
Summary
Primate seminal fluid proteins evolve rapidly, influenced by sexual selection and mating systems. Differences in protein abundance, particularly in the copulatory plug pathway, are linked to mating behaviors across species.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary biology
- Comparative genomics
- Proteomics
Background:
- Sexual selection drives genetic diversity in reproductive proteins.
- Mating systems influence molecular and phenotypic evolution.
- Proteomic data is crucial for evolutionary genomics.
Purpose of the Study:
- Analyze seminal fluid proteomes across primate mating systems.
- Investigate the role of protein sequence and expression in sexual trait evolution.
- Identify genes correlated with mating system and sexual characters.
Main Methods:
- Comparative analysis of primate seminal fluid components.
- Integration of genomics, proteomics, and phylogenetic data.
- Quantification of protein abundances and evolutionary rates.
Main Results:
- Seminal fluid proteins exhibit rapid evolution, potentially driven by sexual selection.
- Identified 84 genes with evolutionary rates or expression levels linked to mating systems.
- Significant protein abundance differences observed between monogamous and polygynous primates.
- Enrichment of copulatory plug pathway proteins suggests conserved post-zygotic barriers.
Conclusions:
- First comprehensive proteomic comparison of human and non-human primate seminal fluid.
- Demonstrates significant impact of mating system variation on seminal fluid protein evolution and abundance.
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