作为功能性蛋白质单位的域及其沿着系统发育的重排可以揭示与复杂性状如eusociality进化相关的蛋白质组的功能变化。这种复杂的特征与无菌的士兵和工人有关,长寿,高繁殖力的繁殖体。与卫甲虫(蚂蚁,蜜蜂,和黄蜂),Blattodea内部的文明进化,白蚁是从蟑螂内部进化而来的,伴随着蛋白质组大小的减少,提出了一个问题,即功能新颖性是否是用现有的而不是新的蛋白质实现的。为了解决这个问题,我们研究了区域重排在白蚁性进化过程中的作用。分析三只孤立蟑螂和五只雄性白蚁的蛋白质组中的结构域重排,我们推断了Blattodea系统发育的5000多个重排。白蚁起源时出现的90种新颖的域排列丰富了与长寿有关的几种功能,比如蛋白质稳态,DNA修复,线粒体活性,和营养传感。许多领域重排与发育途径的变化有关,对于新种姓的出现很重要。随着社会复杂性的阐述,包括永久性无菌工人和更大的,觅食殖民地,我们发现了110个进一步的结构域排列,其功能与蛋白质糖基化和离子转运有关。我们在重排的基因中发现了种姓偏向表达和剪接的富集,强调它们对种姓进化的重要性。此外,我们发现,与未重排的基因相比,重排的基因中DNA甲基化水平升高,提示其调控存在根本差异.我们的发现表明,域重排在白蚁意识进化所必需的功能新颖性产生中的重要性。
Domains as functional protein units and their rearrangements along the phylogeny can shed light on the functional changes of proteomes associated with the evolution of complex traits like
eusociality. This complex trait is associated with sterile soldiers and workers, and long-lived, highly fecund reproductives. Unlike in Hymenoptera (ants, bees, and wasps), the evolution of
eusociality within Blattodea, where termites evolved from within cockroaches, was accompanied by a reduction in proteome size, raising the question of whether functional novelty was achieved with existing rather than novel proteins. To address this, we investigated the role of domain rearrangements during the evolution of termite
eusociality. Analysing domain rearrangements in the proteomes of three solitary cockroaches and five eusocial termites, we inferred more than 5,000 rearrangements over the phylogeny of Blattodea. The 90 novel domain arrangements that emerged at the origin of termites were enriched for several functions related to longevity, such as protein homeostasis, DNA repair, mitochondrial activity, and nutrient sensing. Many domain rearrangements were related to changes in developmental pathways, important for the emergence of novel castes. Along with the elaboration of social complexity, including permanently sterile workers and larger, foraging colonies, we found 110 further domain arrangements with functions related to protein glycosylation and ion transport. We found an enrichment of caste-biased expression and splicing within rearranged genes, highlighting their importance for the evolution of castes. Furthermore, we found increased levels of DNA methylation among rearranged compared to non-rearranged genes suggesting fundamental differences in their regulation. Our findings indicate the importance of domain rearrangements in the generation of functional novelty necessary for termite
eusociality to evolve.