Gene Loss

Publication Details

Identifier: JB_LKCNCT

Curator: Raul Valente

DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.05.062

PMID: 34171300

Title:

A drastic shift in the energetic landscape of toothed whale sperm cells.

Abstract:

Mammalian spermatozoa are a notable example of metabolic compartmentalization.1 Energy in the form of ATP production, vital for motility, capacitation, and fertilization, is subcellularly separated in sperm cells. While glycolysis provides a local, rapid, and low-yielding input of ATP along the flagellum fibrous sheath, oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS), far more efficient over a longer time frame, is concentrated in the midpiece mitochondria.2 The relative weight of glycolysis and OXPHOS pathways in sperm function is variable among species and sensitive to oxygen and substrate availability.3-5 Besides partitioning energy production, sperm cell energetics display an additional singularity: the occurrence of sperm-specific gene duplicates and alternative spliced variants, with conserved function but structurally bound to the flagellar fibrous sheath.6,7 The wider selective forces driving the compartmentalization and adaptability of this energy system in mammalian species remain largely unknown, much like the impact of ecosystem resource availability (e.g., carbohydrates, fatty acids, and proteins) and dietary adaptations in reproductive physiology traits.8 Here, we investigated the Cetacea, an iconic group of fully aquatic and carnivorous marine mammals, evolutionarily related to extant terrestrial herbivores.9 In this lineage, episodes of profound trait remodeling have been accompanied by clear genomic signatures.10-14 We show that toothed whales exhibit impaired sperm glycolysis, due to gene and exon erosion, and demonstrate that dolphin spermatozoa motility depends on endogenous fatty acid β-oxidation, but not carbohydrates. Such unique energetic rewiring substantiates the observation of large mitochondria in toothed whale spermatozoa and emphasizes the radical physiological reorganization imposed by the transition to a carbohydrate-depleted marine environment.

Last update:

13-09-2024

Associated Glosses (150 results)

GlossID	Species	Symbol	Gene Loss Mechanism	Loss Type	Lineage Specific	Citation
GL_FHUWDD	Neophocaena asiaeorientalis asiaeorientalis	PDHA2	LOF (frameshift, premature stop, ss)	Full	Cetacea	10.1016/j.cub.2021.05.062
GL_FJAAJJ	Balaenoptera musculus	OXCT2	LOF (frameshift, premature stop, ss)	Full	Cetacea	10.1016/j.cub.2021.05.062
GL_FSSXLF	Tursiops aduncus	ALDOA	LOF (frameshift, premature stop, ss)	Full	Cetacea	10.1016/j.cub.2021.05.062
GL_FTVJKW	Eschrichtius robustus	PDHA2	LOF (frameshift, premature stop, ss)	Full	Cetacea	10.1016/j.cub.2021.05.062
GL_FURF8Y	Lagenorhynchus obliquidens	GK2	LOF (frameshift, premature stop, ss)	Full	Delphinidae	10.1016/j.cub.2021.05.062
GL_FVCFUU	Globicephala melas	MPC1L	LOF (frameshift, premature stop, ss)	Full	Delphinidae	10.1016/j.cub.2021.05.062
GL_G0IIZF	Tursiops truncatus	GK2	LOF (frameshift, premature stop, ss)	Full	Delphinidae	10.1016/j.cub.2021.05.062
GL_GMHAUJ	Orcinus orca	PDHA2	LOF (frameshift, premature stop, ss)	Full	Cetacea	10.1016/j.cub.2021.05.062
GL_GS6PBZ	Neophocaena asiaeorientalis asiaeorientalis	PGK2	Gene deletion	Full	Phocoenidae	10.1016/j.cub.2021.05.062
GL_GWKZGR	Lagenorhynchus obliquidens	PDHA2	LOF (frameshift, premature stop, ss)	Full	Cetacea	10.1016/j.cub.2021.05.062