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Optimization of Synthetic Proteins: Identification of Interpositional Dependencies Indicating Structurally and/or Functionally Linked Residues
Published on: July 14, 2015
Adaptive molecular convergence is pervasive across deep time and largely decoupled from phenotypic convergence
Cory A Berger1, Marina I Stoilova2, Rebecca M Varney3
1Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106.
Summary
Evolutionary gene reuse shows molecular convergence is common across Medusozoa, persisting over 600 million years. This adaptive convergence in genes related to environmental interactions occurs idiosyncratically, not solely with shared traits.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary biology
- Molecular evolution
- Genomics
Background:
- Homologous gene reuse is often cited as evidence for repeatable evolution at the molecular level.
- Studying gene reuse typically involves identifying convergent phenotypes and searching for genomic signatures of natural selection.
- The drivers and prevalence of genome-wide molecular convergence, especially over long evolutionary periods, are not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the extent and patterns of adaptive molecular convergence across Medusozoa.
- To determine if molecular convergence is linked to the repeated evolution of specific phenotypes.
- To identify the types of genes and biological functions most frequently involved in molecular convergence.
Main Methods:
- Phylotranscriptomics to analyze gene expression across evolutionary lineages.
- Sequence evolution analyses to detect signatures of positive selection (adaptive molecular convergence).
- Comparison of molecular convergence patterns between lineages with and without shared convergent phenotypes.
Main Results:
- Adaptive molecular convergence is widespread across Medusozoa and persists over deep evolutionary timescales (>600 million years).
- Molecular convergence exceeds random expectations but does not correlate with the independent evolution of specific traits like eyes or medusa loss.
- Convergence is idiosyncratic, occurring between specific species pairs and is concentrated in genes involved in environmental interactions (metabolism, immunity, xenobiotic processing).
Conclusions:
- Natural selection frequently drives similar protein substitutions in distantly related lineages.
- The selective pressures causing molecular convergence are complex and depend on unique organism-environment interactions.
- Molecular convergence is a widespread phenomenon shaped by idiosyncratic selective events rather than solely by the repeated evolution of similar traits.
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