Abstract
Afrotheria is a clade of African-origin species with striking dissimilarities in appearance and habitat. In this study, we compared whole proteome sequences of six Afrotherian species to obtain a broad viewpoint of their underlying molecular make-up, to recognize potentially unique proteomic signatures. We find that 62% of the proteomes studied here, predominantly involved in metabolism, are orthologous, while the number of homologous proteins between individual species is as high as 99.5%. Further, we find that among Afrotheria, L. africana has several orphan proteins with 112 proteins showing < 30% sequence identity with their homologues. Rigorous sequence searches and complementary approaches were employed to annotate 156 uncharacterized protein sequences and 28 species-specific proteins. For 122 proteins we predicted potential functional roles, 43 of which we associated with protein- and nucleic-acid binding roles. Further, we analysed domain content and variations in their combinations within Afrotheria and identified 141 unique functional domain architectures, highlighting proteins with potential for specialized functions. Finally, we discuss the potential relevance of highly represented protein families such as MAGE-B2, olfactory receptor and ribosomal proteins in L. africana and E. edwardii, respectively. Taken together, our study reports the first comparative study of the Afrotherian proteomes and highlights salient molecular features.
Highlights
Afrotheria is a clade of African-origin species with striking dissimilarities in appearance and habitat
Result shows that 61.9% of the Afrotherian proteins are orthologous and common to all six species. When we analysed their biological functions using gene ontology (GO) terms, we find that these orthologous proteins are predominantly implicated in metabolic processes and cellular regulatory mechanisms (Supplementary Table S1B)
When we exclude this family from our calculations, we find that the number of proteins with complexity index 1 is comparable across Afrotherian species (Figure S2)
Summary
Afrotheria is a clade of African-origin species with striking dissimilarities in appearance and habitat. The Afrotheria superorder represents a diverse group of mammals that differ distinctively from each other[1] It contains the six orders of the elephants (Order Proboscidea), sea cows (Sirenia), hyraxes (Hyracoidea), aardvark (Tubulidentata), elephant shrews (Macroscelidea), golden moles and tenrecs (Afrosoricida). The diverse biology of Afrotheria, coupled with the availability of substantial genomic and cognate protein sequence data enables comparative studies of Afrotherian proteomes Such studies are useful to understand Afrotherian genome evolution and will provide the platform to probe for potential molecular signatures that can underlie their evolutionary adaptations. Considering that Afrotheria is a unique clade of extremely divergent species with distinct phenotypes, such a comparative analysis on protein sequences could shed light on characteristic molecular features of Afrotherian species that could influence their evolutionary adaptations. These findings have broad implications on the evolutionary adaptations of these species that are distinct from each other and from other non-Afrotherian mammals
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
