Department of Invertebrate Zoology, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC, USA.
Department of Biological Sciences, Institute of Environment, Florida International University, North Miami, FL, USA.
Mol Ecol. 2021 Apr;30(8):1747-1750. doi: 10.1111/mec.15880. Epub 2021 Mar 29.
Understanding the drivers of diversification and processes that maintain biodiversity remains a central theme of evolutionary biology. However, these efforts are often impeded due to disparities across species and environments and the genetic complexity underlying many traits. The factors driving biodiversity can be more readily understood by focusing on the genetics of diversification, of one or few genes shared across species, with large influence over an organism's phenotype (Templeton, 1981; Wright, 1984). In this pursuit, previous studies often focus on the selective pressures that impact phenotypic diversity (Brawand et al., 2014; Yokoyama et al., 2015), often overlooking the contribution of neutral processes (i.e., genetic drift). In this issue of Molecular Ecology, Hensley et al. (2020) use an integrative approach, including RNA sequencing, in vitro protein expression and spectral measurements, to explore the drivers behind the diversification of bioluminescent signalling in cypridinid ostracods (Figure 1). Typical bioluminescent reactions primarily include an enzyme (luciferase) and substrate (luciferin). By focusing on a single gene, this study traces the molecular evolution of (c)luciferase in sea fireflies, elucidating diverse signatures of selection, drift and constraint to decipher the link between genotype and phenotype of their bioluminescent emissions.
理解多样性的驱动因素和维持生物多样性的过程仍然是进化生物学的一个核心主题。然而，由于物种和环境之间的差异以及许多特征所涉及的遗传复杂性，这些努力常常受到阻碍。通过关注一个或少数几个在物种间共享的基因的多样化遗传学，以及对生物体表型有较大影响的基因（Templeton，1981；Wright，1984），可以更方便地理解驱动生物多样性的因素。在这一追求中，先前的研究通常侧重于影响表型多样性的选择压力（Brawand 等人，2014 年；Yokoyama 等人，2015 年），而常常忽略中性过程（即遗传漂变）的贡献。在本期《分子生态学》中，Hensley 等人（2020 年）采用了一种综合方法，包括 RNA 测序、体外蛋白质表达和光谱测量，来探索 Cypridinid 介形类动物发光信号多样化的驱动因素（图 1）。典型的生物发光反应主要包括一种酶（荧光素酶）和一种底物（荧光素）。通过专注于单个基因，这项研究追踪了海洋萤火虫中（c）荧光素酶的分子进化，阐明了选择、漂变和约束的多样化特征，以破译它们生物发光发射的基因型和表型之间的联系。
