Archives

  • 2018-07
  • 2018-10
  • 2018-11
  • 2019-04
  • 2019-05
  • 2019-06
  • 2019-07
  • 2019-08
  • 2019-09
  • 2019-10
  • 2019-11
  • 2019-12
  • 2020-01
  • 2020-02
  • 2020-03
  • 2020-04
  • 2020-05
  • 2020-06
  • 2020-07
  • 2020-08
  • 2020-09
  • 2020-10
  • 2020-11
  • 2020-12
  • 2021-01
  • 2021-02
  • 2021-03
  • 2021-04
  • 2021-05
  • 2021-06
  • 2021-07
  • 2021-08
  • 2021-09
  • 2021-10
  • 2021-11
  • 2021-12
  • 2022-01
  • 2022-02
  • 2022-03
  • 2022-04
  • 2022-05
  • 2022-06
  • 2022-07
  • 2022-08
  • 2022-09
  • 2022-10
  • 2022-11
  • 2022-12
  • 2023-01
  • 2023-02
  • 2023-03
  • 2023-04
  • 2023-05
  • 2023-06
  • 2023-07
  • 2023-08
  • 2023-09
  • 2023-10
  • 2023-11
  • 2023-12
  • 2024-01
  • 2024-02
  • 2024-03
  • 2024-04

    • The gene structures of cGalR and cGalR

    2021-09-17

    The gene structures of cGalR2 and cGalR2-L were determined by in silico comparison with the chicken genomic DNA sequences retrieved from the Ensembl database. Both cGalR2 and cGalR2-L genes are composed of two coding exons, separated by single introns of 0.9kb (cGalR2) or 3kb (cGalR2-L) locating within the DRY triplet motifs in the second intracellular loops (Supplemental Fig. 1 and 2). This two-exon structure and the corresponding intron positions are identical to those of the mammalian GalR2 and GalR3 genes. In contrast, GalR1 and cGalR1-L genes have their coding sequences being composed of three exons, separated by two introns locating at the flanks of their third intracellular loops [10]. This significant difference in the gene structure suggests the presence of at least two divergent phylogenetic groups in the galanin receptor family [13], with one of them including GalR1 and GalR1-L, and another one including GalR2, GalR3 and the newly identified cGalR2-L. Phylogenetic analysis of the galanin receptor family encompassing the main vertebrate representatives (Fig. 5) indicates two major lineages of receptor genes, which are in support of the above-mentioned divergence in gene structure. Consistent with its high amino limonin synthesis sequence identities, the cGalR2 sequence is placed in the same clade with other vertebrate GalR2, and is thus identified as the species homolog of the mammalian GalR2. On the other hand, chicken GalR2-L and its predicted homologous sequences in turkeys (GenBank ID: XP_003210871), zebrafish (XP_001339169) and clawed frogs (NP_001096443) comprise a distinct cluster that is separated from the known galanin receptor subtypes, but showing the closest association with the GalR2 sequences. Therefore, this novel protein is designated the GalR2-like receptor. Similar to the reported situation between GalR1 and GalR1-L [10], the high degrees of homology in sequence identity and gene structure between cGalR2 and cGalR2-L, together with their close phylogenetic relationship, suggest these two receptors may have arisen as a consequence of gene duplication. In addition to the avian species, orthologous genes of both cGalR2 and cGalR2-L were identified in the zebrafish and Xenopus tropicalis, suggesting that the gene duplication event giving rise to GalR2 and GalR2-L might have occurred early in the vertebrate evolution, and probably after the divergence of GalR2 and GalR3 [21]. In contrast, the GalR2-L gene could not be identified in the mammalian species, which is possibly due to a gene loss event that parallels with the loss of GalR1-L in the mammalian lineage [10]. This gene loss hypothesis was further supported by our synteny analyses between the human, chicken, zebrafish and Xenopus genomes (Fig. 6). Synteny around the GalR2 gene is highly conserved between the human and chicken genomes, and is similar to that in the zebrafish genome, where gene order rearrangement and a putative GalR2 gene homolog are located in zebrafish chromosome 12 (Fig. 6A). On the other hand, in the regions of another shared synteny between the human, chicken and Xenopus genomes (Fig. 6B), gene organization around GalR2-L was found to be conserved across the three evolutionarily distant species, whereas the GalR2-L gene could not be identified in human genome (Chr. 16). Therefore, this suggests GalR2-L might have been lost from the mammalian lineage during evolution. From the RT-PCR assays (Fig. 2), cGalR2 and cGalR2-L transcripts were found to be widely distributed in the examined adult chicken tissues, implying that avian galanin and its receptors possess a wide range of physiological functions in birds, which are not limited to the reported modulations in feeding behavior and oviposition [14], [31]. In chicken CNS, cGalR2 and cGalR2-L expression were detected at considerable levels in the whole brain and pituitary gland, which agreed with the findings for GalR2 in mammals [9], [37]. Since galanin has been reported to modulate different activities in the mammalian endocrine and nervous systems, including energy and osmotic homeostasis [5], [7], cognitive functions [30], neuronal development [23] and hormone releases [11], [39], the expression of cGalR2 and cGalR2-L in chicken CNS might imply similar functions for the avian galanin.