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Main Authors: Yin, Daiqing, Zhong, Zhaomin, Zeng, Fan, Xu, Zhikang, Li, Jing, Ren, Wenhua, Yang, Guang, Wang, Han, Xu, Shixia
Format: Artículo científico
Language:en
Published: PLoS genetics 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40101169/
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author Yin, Daiqing
Zhong, Zhaomin
Zeng, Fan
Xu, Zhikang
Li, Jing
Ren, Wenhua
Yang, Guang
Wang, Han
Xu, Shixia
author_facet Yin, Daiqing
Zhong, Zhaomin
Zeng, Fan
Xu, Zhikang
Li, Jing
Ren, Wenhua
Yang, Guang
Wang, Han
Xu, Shixia
Yin, Daiqing
Zhong, Zhaomin
Zeng, Fan
Xu, Zhikang
Li, Jing
Ren, Wenhua
Yang, Guang
Wang, Han
Xu, Shixia
collection PubMed - marine biology
contents Evolution of canonical circadian clock genes underlies unique sleep strategies of marine mammals for secondary aquatic adaptation. Yin, Daiqing Zhong, Zhaomin Zeng, Fan Xu, Zhikang Li, Jing Ren, Wenhua Yang, Guang Wang, Han Xu, Shixia Animals Circadian Clocks Cetacea Zebrafish Evolution, Molecular CLOCK Proteins Sleep Sleep, Slow-Wave Adaptation, Physiological Circadian Rhythm Aquatic Organisms Mammals Phylogeny To satisfy the needs of sleeping underwater, marine mammals, including cetaceans, sirenians, and pinnipeds, have evolved an unusual form of sleep, known as unihemispheric slow-wave sleep (USWS), in which one brain hemisphere is asleep while the other is awake. All aquatic cetaceans have only evolved USWS without rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, whereas aquatic sirenians and amphibious pinnipeds display both bihemispheric slow-wave sleep (BSWS) and USWS, as well as REM sleep. However, the molecular genetic changes underlying USWS remain unknown. The present study investigated the evolution of eight canonical circadian genes and found that positive selection occurred mainly within cetacean lineages. Furthermore, convergent evolution was observed in lineages with USWS at three circadian clock genes. Remarkably, in vitro assays showed that cetacean-specific mutations increased the nuclear localization of zebrafish clocka, and enhanced the transcriptional activation activity of Clocka and Bmal1a. In vivo, transcriptome analysis showed that the overexpression of the cetacean-specific mutant clocka (clocka-mut) caused the upregulation of the wakefulness-promoting glutamatergic genes and the differential expression of multiple genes associated with sleep regulation. In contrast, the GABAergic and cholinergic pathways, which play important roles in promoting sleep, were downregulated in the bmal1a-mut-overexpressing zebrafish. Concordantly, sleep time of zebrafish overexpressing clocka-mut and bmal1a-mut were significantly less than the zebrafish overexpressing the wild-type genes, respectively. These findings support our hypothesis that canonical circadian clock genes may have evolved adaptively to enhance circadian regulation ability relating to sleep in cetaceans and, in turn, contribute to the formation of USWS.
format Artículo científico
id pubmed_40101169
institution PubMed
language en
publishDate 2025
publisher PLoS genetics
record_format pubmed
spellingShingle Evolution of canonical circadian clock genes underlies unique sleep strategies of marine mammals for secondary aquatic adaptation.
Yin, Daiqing
Zhong, Zhaomin
Zeng, Fan
Xu, Zhikang
Li, Jing
Ren, Wenhua
Yang, Guang
Wang, Han
Xu, Shixia
Animals
Circadian Clocks
Cetacea
Zebrafish
Evolution, Molecular
CLOCK Proteins
Sleep
Sleep, Slow-Wave
Adaptation, Physiological
Circadian Rhythm
Aquatic Organisms
Mammals
Phylogeny
Evolution of canonical circadian clock genes underlies unique sleep strategies of marine mammals for secondary aquatic adaptation. Yin, Daiqing Zhong, Zhaomin Zeng, Fan Xu, Zhikang Li, Jing Ren, Wenhua Yang, Guang Wang, Han Xu, Shixia Animals Circadian Clocks Cetacea Zebrafish Evolution, Molecular CLOCK Proteins Sleep Sleep, Slow-Wave Adaptation, Physiological Circadian Rhythm Aquatic Organisms Mammals Phylogeny To satisfy the needs of sleeping underwater, marine mammals, including cetaceans, sirenians, and pinnipeds, have evolved an unusual form of sleep, known as unihemispheric slow-wave sleep (USWS), in which one brain hemisphere is asleep while the other is awake. All aquatic cetaceans have only evolved USWS without rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, whereas aquatic sirenians and amphibious pinnipeds display both bihemispheric slow-wave sleep (BSWS) and USWS, as well as REM sleep. However, the molecular genetic changes underlying USWS remain unknown. The present study investigated the evolution of eight canonical circadian genes and found that positive selection occurred mainly within cetacean lineages. Furthermore, convergent evolution was observed in lineages with USWS at three circadian clock genes. Remarkably, in vitro assays showed that cetacean-specific mutations increased the nuclear localization of zebrafish clocka, and enhanced the transcriptional activation activity of Clocka and Bmal1a. In vivo, transcriptome analysis showed that the overexpression of the cetacean-specific mutant clocka (clocka-mut) caused the upregulation of the wakefulness-promoting glutamatergic genes and the differential expression of multiple genes associated with sleep regulation. In contrast, the GABAergic and cholinergic pathways, which play important roles in promoting sleep, were downregulated in the bmal1a-mut-overexpressing zebrafish. Concordantly, sleep time of zebrafish overexpressing clocka-mut and bmal1a-mut were significantly less than the zebrafish overexpressing the wild-type genes, respectively. These findings support our hypothesis that canonical circadian clock genes may have evolved adaptively to enhance circadian regulation ability relating to sleep in cetaceans and, in turn, contribute to the formation of USWS.
title Evolution of canonical circadian clock genes underlies unique sleep strategies of marine mammals for secondary aquatic adaptation.
topic Animals
Circadian Clocks
Cetacea
Zebrafish
Evolution, Molecular
CLOCK Proteins
Sleep
Sleep, Slow-Wave
Adaptation, Physiological
Circadian Rhythm
Aquatic Organisms
Mammals
Phylogeny
url https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40101169/