Fishery College of Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan, Zhejiang, China.
BMC Genomics. 2022 Mar 16;23(1):211. doi: 10.1186/s12864-022-08445-4.
The diversified aquaporin (AQP) family that was derived from gene duplication and subsequent functional differentiation play critical roles in multiple physiological processes and in adaptation to the dynamic environments during the evolutionary process. Oysters are a group of bivalve fauna in Mollusca that were widely distributed around the world and show extraordinary adaptation to harsh environments. However, knowledge is lacking with the diversity and evolution of the AQP family in oysters, even in molluscs.
Here, we performed a comprehensive analysis of the AQP family in three geographical isolated oyster species that are native to different environments. Genome distribution and phylogenetic analysis revealed that the expansion of the AQP family in oysters were attributed to tandem duplication. Synteny analysis indicated that large-scale inversions lead to the independent duplication or deletion of the AQPs after speciation. As a consequence, these independent duplication events contributed to the diversification of the AQP family in different oysters. Pore pattern analysis suggested that the duplicated AQPs in oysters were highly diversified in inner surface profiles, implying the subsequent functional differentiation. The comparison conducted based on the transcriptome data demonstrated that the functional differentiated AQP family members in oysters may play critical roles in maintaining the balance between the stationary homeostasis and dynamic environments.
Our observation provides evidence for the correlation between the duplicated and functional differentiated AQP family and the adaptation to stationary life under dynamic environments in oysters. Additionally, it also broadens our knowledge of the evolution of AQP family in molluscs.
水通道蛋白（AQP）家族是通过基因复制和随后的功能分化而衍生出来的，在多个生理过程中发挥着关键作用，并在进化过程中适应动态环境。牡蛎是软体动物双壳类动物中的一个群体，广泛分布于世界各地，对恶劣环境表现出非凡的适应能力。然而，我们对牡蛎中 AQP 家族的多样性和进化知之甚少，甚至在软体动物中也是如此。
在这里，我们对三种地理上隔离的牡蛎物种进行了全面的 AQP 家族分析，这些物种原产于不同的环境。基因组分布和系统发育分析表明，牡蛎 AQP 家族的扩张归因于串联重复。共线性分析表明，大规模的倒位导致了种间 AQPs 的独立重复或缺失。因此，这些独立的重复事件导致了不同牡蛎中 AQP 家族的多样化。孔模式分析表明，牡蛎中重复的 AQPs 在内部表面轮廓上高度多样化，暗示了随后的功能分化。基于转录组数据的比较表明，牡蛎中功能分化的 AQP 家族成员可能在维持静态内稳定和动态环境之间的平衡方面发挥着关键作用。
我们的观察结果为牡蛎中重复和功能分化的 AQP 家族与适应动态环境下的静态生活之间的相关性提供了证据。此外，它还拓宽了我们对软体动物 AQP 家族进化的认识。
