Asymmetric paralog evolution between the “cryptic” gene Bmp16 and its well-studied sister genes Bmp2 and Bmp4
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Implication
Comparative genomic analysis uncovers lineage-specific losses and accelerated evolution of Bmp16 across vertebrates, highlighting the dynamic divergence of duplicated developmental gene families.
Key Points
- To elucidate the evolutionary history, phylogenetic relationships, and developmental expression dynamics of the poorly characterized gene Bmp16 relative to its paralogs Bmp2 and Bmp4.
- Performed vertebrate-wide phylogenetic and synteny analyses to trace the origin of Bmp16, Bmp2, and Bmp4 across diverse lineages.
- Characterized Bmp16 embryonic expression patterns across developmental stages in the cloudy catshark and the green anole lizard.
- Identified Bmp2, Bmp4, and Bmp16 as surviving members of a four-gene quartet originating from early vertebrate two-round whole-genome duplication.
- Demonstrated that Bmp16 underwent accelerated sequence evolution and was independently lost in at least three vertebrate lineages: mammals, archelosaurs, and amphibians.
- Observed divergent developmental deployment of Bmp16, ranging from restricted expression domains in catshark embryos to widespread expression in lizard embryos.
Cite This Study
Feiner et al. (2019) studied this question.