Fan Yu, Yu Dan-Dan, Yao Yong-Gang
Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of Chinese Academy of Sciences & Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Kunming, Yunnan 650223, China; Kunming College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan 650223, China.
Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of Chinese Academy of Sciences & Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Kunming, Yunnan 650223, China.
Dongwuxue Yanjiu. 2014 May;35(3):240-8. doi: 10.11813/j.issn.0254-5853.2014.3.240.
While the recent release of the Chinese tree shrew (Tupaia belangeri chinensis) genome has made the tree shrew an increasingly viable experimental animal model for biomedical research, further study of the genome may facilitate new insights into the applicability of this model. For example, though the tree shrew has a rapid rate of speed and strong jumping ability, there are limited studies on its locomotion ability. In this study we used the available Chinese tree shrew genome information and compared the evolutionary pattern of 407 locomotion system related orthologs among five mammals (human, rhesus monkey, mouse, rat and dog) and the Chinese tree shrew. Our analyses identified 29 genes with significantly high ω (Ka/Ks ratio) values and 48 amino acid sites in 14 genes showed significant evidence of positive selection in the Chinese tree shrew. Some of these positively selected genes, e.g. HOXA6 (homeobox A6) and AVP (arginine vasopressin), play important roles in muscle contraction or skeletal morphogenesis. These results provide important clues in understanding the genetic bases of locomotor adaptation in the Chinese tree shrew.
虽然中国树鼩（Tupaia belangeri chinensis）基因组的近期发布使树鼩成为生物医学研究中越来越可行的实验动物模型，但对该基因组的进一步研究可能有助于深入了解该模型的适用性。例如，尽管树鼩速度快且跳跃能力强，但其运动能力的研究却很有限。在本研究中，我们利用现有的中国树鼩基因组信息，比较了五种哺乳动物（人类、恒河猴、小鼠、大鼠和狗）与中国树鼩中407个与运动系统相关的直系同源基因的进化模式。我们的分析确定了29个具有显著高ω（Ka/Ks比率）值的基因，并且在14个基因中的48个氨基酸位点显示出中国树鼩中存在正选择的显著证据。这些正选择基因中的一些，例如HOXA6（同源盒A6）和AVP（精氨酸加压素），在肌肉收缩或骨骼形态发生中起重要作用。这些结果为理解中国树鼩运动适应的遗传基础提供了重要线索。
