Study of Estrogen Receptor Evolution in Amphioxus
Author Information
Author(s): Mathilde Paris, Katarina Pettersson, Michael Schubert, Stephanie Bertrand, Ingemar Pongratz, Hector Escriva, Vincent Laudet
Primary Institution: Institut de Génomique Fonctionnelle de Lyon
Hypothesis
The ancestral estrogen receptor was not able to bind estradiol and this ability evolved specifically in the vertebrate lineage.
Conclusion
The study shows that the amphioxus estrogen receptor does not bind estradiol, suggesting that the ancestral receptor was not an estradiol receptor.
Supporting Evidence
- Amphioxus ER binds DNA but does not activate transcription in response to estradiol.
- Lamprey ER behaves as a classical vertebrate ER and binds estradiol.
- Phylogenetic analysis suggests that the ancestral ER did not bind estradiol.
Takeaway
This research found that a type of fish called amphioxus has a receptor that doesn't work with the hormone estradiol, which is important for many animals, including humans.
Methodology
The study involved cloning and characterizing the estrogen receptors from amphioxus and lamprey, along with phylogenetic analysis.
Potential Biases
The analysis may be biased due to the predominance of vertebrate sequences in the dataset used for ancestral reconstruction.
Limitations
The study's conclusions are based on the available sequences and may be influenced by taxonomic sampling bias.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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