Zhao Yanhui, Wang Lei, Liu Sen, Pu Yingting, Sun Keping, Xiao Yanhong, Feng Jiang
Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130117, China.
Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology, Ministry of Education, Changchun 130024, China.
Animals (Basel). 2024 May 10;14(10):1426. doi: 10.3390/ani14101426.
Arylalkylamine N-acetyltransferase (AANAT) is a crucial rate-limiting enzyme in the synthesis of melatonin. has been confirmed to be independently duplicated and inactivated in different animal taxa in order to adapt to the environment. However, the evolutionary forces associated with having a single copy of remain unclear. The greater horseshoe bat has a single copy of but exhibits different hibernation rhythms in various populations. We analyzed the adaptive evolution at the gene and protein levels of from three distinct genetic lineages in China: northeast (NE), central east (CE), and southwest (SW). The results revealed greater genetic diversity in the loci of the NE and CE lineage populations that have longer hibernation times, and there were two positive selection loci. The catalytic capacity of AANAT in the Liaoning population that underwent positive selection was significantly higher than that of the Yunnan population ( < 0.05). This difference may be related to the lower proportion of α helix and the variation in two interface residues. The adaptive evolution of was significantly correlated with climate and environment ( < 0.05). After controlling for geographical factors (latitude and altitude), the evolution of by the negative temperature factor was represented by the monthly mean temperature (r = -0.6, < 0.05). The results identified the gene level variation, functional adaptation, and evolutionary driving factors of , provide an important foundation for further understanding the adaptive evolution of the single copy of in pteropods, and may offer evidence for adaptive hibernation rhythms in bats.
芳基烷基胺N - 乙酰基转移酶（AANAT）是褪黑素合成中的关键限速酶。已证实其在不同动物类群中独立复制并失活以适应环境。然而，与单拷贝相关的进化力量仍不清楚。大马蹄蝠有该基因的单拷贝，但不同种群表现出不同的冬眠节律。我们分析了来自中国三个不同遗传谱系：东北（NE）、中东（CE）和西南（SW）的该基因在基因和蛋白质水平的适应性进化。结果显示，冬眠时间较长的NE和CE谱系种群的该基因位点具有更大的遗传多样性，且有两个正选择位点。经历正选择的辽宁种群中AANAT的催化能力显著高于云南种群（P < 0.05）。这种差异可能与α螺旋比例较低以及两个界面残基的变异有关。该基因的适应性进化与气候和环境显著相关（P < 0.05）。在控制地理因素（纬度和海拔）后，负温度因子对该基因进化的影响以月平均温度表示（r = -0.6，P < 0.05）。这些结果确定了该基因的水平变异、功能适应性和进化驱动因素，为进一步理解翼手目动物中该单拷贝基因的适应性进化提供了重要基础，并可能为蝙蝠的适应性冬眠节律提供证据。
