The evolution of the histone methyltransferase gene Su(var)3-9 in metazoans includes a fusion with and a re-fission from a functionally unrelated gene

BMC Evolutionary Biology
Veiko KraussHeinz Sass

Abstract

In eukaryotes, histone H3 lysine 9 (H3K9) methylation is a common mechanism involved in gene silencing and the establishment of heterochromatin. The loci of the major heterochromatic H3K9 methyltransferase Su(var)3-9 and the functionally unrelated gamma subunit of the translation initiation factor eIF2 are fused in Drosophila melanogaster. Here we examined the phylogenetic distribution of this unusual gene fusion and the molecular evolution of the H3K9 HMTase Su(var)3-9. We show that the gene fusion had taken place in the ancestral line of winged insects and silverfishs (Dicondylia) about 400 million years ago. We cloned Su(var)3-9 genes from a collembolan and a spider where both genes ancestrally exist as independent transcription units. In contrast, we found a Su(var)3-9-specific exon inside the conserved intron position 81-1 of the eIF2gamma gene structure in species of eight different insect orders. Intriguinly, in the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum, we detected only sequence remains of this Su(var)3-9 exon in the eIF2gamma intron, along with an eIF2gamma-independent Su(var)3-9 gene. This reveals an evolutionary re-fission of both genes in aphids. Su(var)3-9 chromo domains are similar to HP1 chromo domains, which points to a...Continue Reading

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Datasets Mentioned

BETA
AF061854
BC052225

Methods Mentioned

BETA
pull-down
PCR

Software Mentioned

MrBayes
Predict Protein
MEGABLAST
BLASTp
tBLASTn
PHYLIB
Protdist
( PHYLIB
MrBayes3
PAUP4

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