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A candidate multimodal functional genetic network for thermal adaptation

Wollenberg Valero, Katharina C.; Pathak, Rachana; Prajapati, Indira; Bankston, Shannon; Thompson, Aprylle; Usher, Jaytriece; Isokpehi, Raphael D.

Authors

Katharina C. Wollenberg Valero

Rachana Pathak

Indira Prajapati

Shannon Bankston

Aprylle Thompson

Jaytriece Usher

Raphael D. Isokpehi



Contributors

Katharina Wollenberg Valero
Other

Abstract

Vertebrate ectotherms such as reptiles provide ideal organisms for the study of adaptation to environmental thermal change. Comparative genomic and exomic studies can recover markers that diverge between warm and cold adapted lineages, but the genes that are functionally related to thermal adaptation may be difficult to identify. We here used a bioinformatics genome-mining approach to predict and identify functions for suitable candidate markers for thermal adaptation in the chicken. We first established a framework of candidate functions for such markers, and then compiled the literature on genes known to adapt to the thermal environment in different lineages of vertebrates. We then identified them in the genomes of human, chicken, and the lizard Anolis carolinensis, and established a functional genetic interaction network in the chicken. Surprisingly, markers initially identified from diverse lineages of vertebrates such as human and fish were all in close functional relationship with each other and more associated than expected by chance. This indicates that the general genetic functional network for thermoregulation and/or thermal adaptation to the environment might be regulated via similar evolutionarily conserved pathways in different vertebrate lineages. We were able to identify seven functions that were statistically overrepresented in this network, corresponding to four of our originally predicted functions plus three unpredicted functions. We describe this network as multimodal: central regulator genes with the function of relaying thermal signal (1), affect genes with different cellular functions, namely (2) lipoprotein metabolism, (3) membrane channels, (4) stress response, (5) response to oxidative stress, (6) muscle contraction and relaxation, and (7) vasodilation, vasoconstriction and regulation of blood pressure. This network constitutes a novel resource for the study of thermal adaptation in the closely related nonavian reptiles and other vertebrate ectotherms.

Citation

Wollenberg Valero, K. C., Pathak, R., Prajapati, I., Bankston, S., Thompson, A., Usher, J., & Isokpehi, R. D. (2014). A candidate multimodal functional genetic network for thermal adaptation. PeerJ, 2014(1), e578. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.578

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Aug 24, 2014
Online Publication Date Sep 30, 2014
Publication Date Sep 30, 2014
Deposit Date Sep 12, 2018
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal PeerJ
Electronic ISSN 2167-8359
Publisher PeerJ
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 2014
Issue 1
Article Number e578
Pages e578
DOI https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.578
Keywords Adaptation; Thermal adaptation; Reptiles; Thermoregulation; Ectotherms; Anolis; Genome mining; Functional network
Public URL https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/1039684
Publisher URL https://peerj.com/articles/578/

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Copyright Statement
© 2014 Wollenberg Valero et al.
Licence
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, reproduction and adaptation in any medium and for any purpose provided that it is properly attributed. For attribution, the original author(s), title, publication source (PeerJ) and either DOI or URL of the article must be cited.





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