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Updated: Jun 21, 2025
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A Bioinformatics Pipeline for Investigating Molecular Evolution and Gene Expression using RNA-seq
Published on: May 28, 2021
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Evolution of Sensory Receptors.
Wendy A Valencia-Montoya1,2, Naomi E Pierce2, Nicholas W Bellono1
1Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA; email: wvalenciamontoya@g.harvard.edu, nbellono@harvard.edu.
Annual Review of Cell and Developmental Biology
|July 10, 2024
Summary
Sensory receptors evolved early in animal history, with some predating multicellularity. Their diversification, driven by environmental pressures and natural selection, fuels speciation and animal diversity.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary biology
- Sensory systems
- Molecular evolution
Background:
- Sensory receptors link organisms to their environment, acting as crucial sites for evolutionary innovation.
- Understanding the evolutionary history of sensory receptors provides insights into the development of animal complexity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To survey major sensory receptor families and identify evolutionary patterns.
- To explore the mechanisms driving sensory receptor diversification and adaptation.
- To examine the role of sensory receptors in speciation and the generation of animal diversity.
Main Methods:
- Comparative analysis of major sensory receptor families.
- Examination of evolutionary transitions from neurotransmitter to sensory receptors.
- Identification of natural selection signatures in sensory receptor genes.
Main Results:
- Receptors for touch, temperature, and light are ancient, predating multicellularity and nervous systems.
- Chemoreceptors show dynamic evolutionary histories, with expansions and contractions linked to environmental complexity.
- Independent evolutionary transitions from neurotransmitter receptors to sensory receptors for external stimuli were observed.
Conclusions:
- Sensory receptor evolution is shaped by environmental interactions and lineage-specific adaptations.
- Natural selection plays a key role in identifying novel sensory adaptations.
- Sensory receptors are evolutionary hotspots that contribute significantly to reproductive isolation, speciation, and overall animal diversity.
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