Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31535317›Full record

ArticleGenes & genomics2019

Distinct evolution of toll-like receptor signaling pathway genes in cetaceans.

Ran Tian, Inge Seim, Zepeng Zhang, Ying Yang, Wenhua Ren, Shixia Xu, Guang Yang

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In one paragraph

Article in Genes & genomics, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
0.4field-weighted citation impact, top 37% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 8 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  5. Review
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Ran TianJiangsu Key Laboratory for Biodiversity and Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China.ORCID 0000-0002-4564-1886
Inge SeimIntegrative Biology Laboratory, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
Zepeng ZhangJiangsu Key Laboratory for Biodiversity and Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China.
Ying YangJiangsu Key Laboratory for Biodiversity and Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China.
Wenhua RenJiangsu Key Laboratory for Biodiversity and Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China.
Shixia XuJiangsu Key Laboratory for Biodiversity and Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China. xushixia78@163.com.
Guang YangJiangsu Key Laboratory for Biodiversity and Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China. gyang@njnu.edu.cn.
Nanjing Normal University · CNTranslational Research Institute · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe relatively rapid spread and diversity of marine pathogens posed an initial and ongoing challenge for cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises), descendants of terrestrial mammals that transitioned from land to sea approximately 56 million years ago. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) play important roles in regulating immunity against pathogen infections by detecting specific molecular patterns and activating a wide range of downstream signaling pathways. The ever-increasing catalogue of mammalian genomes offers unprecedented opportunities to reveal genetic changes associated with evolutionary and ecological processes.

objectiveThis study aimed to explore the molecular evolution of TLR signaling pathway genes in cetaceans.

methodsGenes involved in the TLR signaling pathway were retrieved by BLAST searches using human coding sequences as queries. We tested each gene for positive selection along the cetacean branches using PAML and Hyphy. Physicochemical property changes of amino acids at all positively selected residues were assessed by TreeSAAP and visualized with WebLogo. Bovine and dolphin TLR4 was assessed using human embryonic kidney cell line HEK293, which lacks TLR4 and its co-receptor MD-2.

resultsWe demonstrate that eight TLR signaling pathway genes are under positive selection in cetaceans. These include key genes in the response to Gram-negative bacteria: TLR4, CD14, and LY96 (MD-2). Moreover, 41 out of 65 positively selected sites were inferred to harbor substitution that dramatically changes the physicochemical properties of amino acids, with most of them situated in or adjacent to functional regions. We also found strong evidence that positive selection occurred in the lineage of the Yangtze finless porpoise, likely reflecting relatively recent adaptions to a freshwater milieu. Species-specific differences in TLR4 response were observed between cetacean and terrestrial species. Cetacean TLR4 was significantly less responsive to lipopolysaccharides from a terrestrial E. coli strain, possibly a reflection of the arms race of host-pathogen co-evolution faced by cetaceans in an aquatic environment.

conclusionThis study provides further impetus for studies on the evolution and function of the cetacean immune system.

Indexed as

Evolution, MolecularAnimalsCattleCetaceaHEK293 CellsHumansImmunity, InnateSignal TransductionToll-Like ReceptorsToll-Like ReceptorsCetaceansLigand responsivenessMolecular evolutionPositive selectionTLR4Toll-like receptor signaling pathway

Identifiers

PMID31535317
OpenAlexW2974115577

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.