From immune to olfactory expression: neofunctionalization of formyl peptide receptors

Variations in gene expression patterns represent a powerful source of evolutionary innovation. In a rodent living about 70 million years ago, a genomic accident led an immune formyl peptide receptor (FPR) gene to hijack a vomeronasal receptor regulatory sequence. This gene shuffling event forced an...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cell and tissue research 2021-01, Vol.383 (1), p.387-393
Main Authors: Boillat, Madlaina, Carleton, Alan, Rodriguez, Ivan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
At-a-glance
At-a-glance Article
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Biomedicine
Formyl peptide receptors
Gene expression
Genes
Genomics
Human Genetics
Molecular Medicine
Neurosciences
Peptides
Proteomics
Regulatory sequences
Vomeronasal organ
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Summary:Variations in gene expression patterns represent a powerful source of evolutionary innovation. In a rodent living about 70 million years ago, a genomic accident led an immune formyl peptide receptor (FPR) gene to hijack a vomeronasal receptor regulatory sequence. This gene shuffling event forced an immune pathogen sensor to transition into an olfactory chemoreceptor, which thus moved from sensing the internal world to probing the outside world. We here discuss the evolution of the FPR gene family, the events that led to their neofunctionalization in the vomeronasal organ and the functions of immune and vomeronasal FPRs.
ISSN:0302-766X
1432-0878
DOI:10.1007/s00441-020-03393-5