Cryptic tRNAs in chaetognath mitochondrial genomes.

The chaetognaths constitute a small and enigmatic phylum of little marine invertebrates. Both nuclear and mitochondrial genomes have numerous originalities, some phylum-specific. Until recently, their mitogenomes seemed containing only one tRNA gene (trnMet), but a recent study found in two chaetognath mitogenomes two and four tRNA genes. Moreover, apparently two conspecific mitogenomes have different tRNA gene numbers (one and two). Reanalyses by tRNAscan-SE and ARWEN softwares of the five available complete chaetognath mitogenomes suggest numerous additional tRNA genes from different types. Their total number never reaches the 22 found in most other invertebrates using that genetic code. Predicted error compensation between codon-anticodon mismatch and tRNA misacylation suggests translational activity by tRNAs predicted solely according to secondary structure for tRNAs predicted by tRNAscan-SE, not ARWEN. Numbers of predicted stop-suppressor (antitermination) tRNAs coevolve with predicted overlapping, frameshifted protein coding genes including stop codons. Sequence alignments in secondary structure prediction with non-chaetognath tRNAs suggest that the most likely functional tRNAs are in intergenic regions, as regular mt-tRNAs. Due to usually short intergenic regions, generally tRNA sequences partially overlap with flanking genes. Some tRNA pairs seem templated by sense-antisense strands. Moreover, 16S rRNA genes, but not 12S rRNAs, appear as tRNA nurseries, as previously suggested for multifunctional ribosomal-like protogenomes.

Genomic evidence for ameiotic evolution in the bdelloid rotifer Adineta vaga.

Loss of sexual reproduction is considered an evolutionary dead end for metazoans, but bdelloid rotifers challenge this view as they appear to have persisted asexually for millions of years. Neither male sex organs nor meiosis have ever been observed in these microscopic animals: oocytes are formed through mitotic divisions, with no reduction of chromosome number and no indication of chromosome pairing. However, current evidence does not exclude that they may engage in sex on rare, cryptic occasions. Here we report the genome of a bdelloid rotifer, Adineta vaga (Davis, 1873), and show that its structure is incompatible with conventional meiosis. At gene scale, the genome of A. vaga is tetraploid and comprises both anciently duplicated segments and less divergent allelic regions. However, in contrast to sexual species, the allelic regions are rearranged and sometimes even found on the same chromosome. Such structure does not allow meiotic pairing; instead, we find abundant evidence of gene conversion, which may limit the accumulation of deleterious mutations in the absence of meiosis. Gene families involved in resistance to oxidation, carbohydrate metabolism and defence against transposons are significantly expanded, which may explain why transposable elements cover only 3% of the assembled sequence. Furthermore, 8% of the genes are likely to be of non-metazoan origin and were probably acquired horizontally. This apparent convergence between bdelloids and prokaryotes sheds new light on the evolutionary significance of sex.

Probable presence of an ubiquitous cryptic mitochondrial gene on the antisense strand of the cytochrome oxidase I gene.

BACKGROUND: Mitochondria mediate most of the energy production that occurs in the majority of eukaryotic organisms. These subcellular organelles contain a genome that differs from the nuclear genome and is referred to as mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Despite a disparity in gene content, all mtDNAs encode at least two components of the mitochondrial electron transport chain, including cytochrome c oxidase I (Cox1). PRESENTATION OF THE HYPOTHESIS: A positionally conserved ORF has been found on the complementary strand of the cox1 genes of both eukaryotic mitochondria (protist, plant, fungal and animal) and alpha-proteobacteria. This putative gene has been named gau for gene antisense ubiquitous in mtDNAs. The length of the deduced protein is approximately 100 amino acids. In vertebrates, several stop codons have been found in the mt gau region, and potentially functional gau regions have been found in nuclear genomes. However, a recent bioinformatics study showed that several hypothetical overlapping mt genes could be predicted, including gau; this involves the possible import of the cytosolic AGR tRNA into the mitochondria and/or the expression of mt antisense tRNAs with anticodons recognizing AGR codons according to an alternative genetic code that is induced by the presence of suppressor tRNAs. Despite an evolutionary distance of at least 1.5 to 2.0 billion years, the deduced Gau proteins share some conserved amino acid signatures and structure, which suggests a possible conserved function. Moreover, BLAST analysis identified rare, sense-oriented ESTs with poly(A) tails that include the entire gau region. Immunohistochemical analyses using an anti-Gau monoclonal antibody revealed strict co-localization of Gau proteins and a mitochondrial marker. TESTING THE HYPOTHESIS: This hypothesis could be tested by purifying the gau gene product and determining its sequence. Cell biological experiments are needed to determine the physiological role of this protein. IMPLICATIONS OF THE HYPOTHESIS: Studies of the gau ORF will shed light on the origin of novel genes and their functions in organelles and could also have medical implications for human diseases that are caused by mitochondrial dysfunction. Moreover, this strengthens evidence for mitochondrial genes coded according to an overlapping genetic code.

The differential expression of ribosomal 18S RNA paralog genes from the chaetognath Spadella cephaloptera.

Chaetognaths constitute a small marine phylum of approximately 120 species. Two classes of both 18S and 28S rRNA gene sequences have been evidenced in this phylum, even though significant intraindividual variation in the sequences of rRNA genes is unusual in animal genomes. These observations led to the hypothesis that this unusual genetic characteristic could play one or more physiological role(s). Using in situ hybridization on the frontal sections of the chaetognath Spadella cephaloptera, we found that the 18S Class I genes are expressed in the whole body, with a strong expression throughout the gut epithelium, whereas the expression of the 18S Class II genes is restricted to the oocytes. Our results could suggest that the paralog products of the 18S Class I genes are probably the "housekeeping" 18S rRNAs, whereas those of class II would only be essential in specific tissues. These results provide support for the idea that each type of 18S paralog is important for specific cellular functions and is under the control of selective factors.