Evolution of the odorant-binding protein gene family in Drosophila

作者：Johnma J. Rondón, Nicolás Nahuel Moreyra, Vadim A. Pisarenco, Julio Rozas, Juan Hurtado, Esteban Hasson · 发表于：Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution · 年份：2022 · DOI：10.3389/fevo.2022.957247 · 被引用次数：23 · 研究领域：Neurobiology and Insect Physiology Research、Insect Utilization and Effects、Insect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior

Odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) are encoded by a gene family involved in the perception of olfactory signals in insects. This chemosensory gene family has been advocated as a candidate to mediate host preference and host shifts in insects, although it also participates in other physiological processes. Remarkable differences in the OBP gene repertoire have been described across insect groups, suggesting an accelerated gene turnover rate. The genus Drosophila , is a valuable resource for ecological genomics studies since it comprises groups of ecologically diverse species and there are genome data for many of them. Here, we investigate the molecular evolution of this chemosensory gene family across 19 Drosophila genomes, including the melanogaster and repleta species groups, which are mostly associated with rotting fruit and cacti, respectively. We also compared the OBP repertoire among the closely related species of the repleta group, associated with different subfamilies of Cactaceae that represent disparate chemical challenges for the flies. We found that the gene family size varies widely between species, ranging from 39 to 54 candidate OBPs. Indeed, more than 54% of these genes are organized in clusters and located on chromosomes X, 2, and 5, with a distribution conserved throughout the genus. The family sizes in the repleta group and D. virilis ( virilis - repleta radiation) were smaller than in the melanogaster group. We tested alternative evolutionary models for OBP fa...