Evolutionary history and diversification of duplicated fatty-acyl elongase genes of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)

Background: The Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., is a prominent member of the Salmonidae family, and has been the focus of intense research because of its environmental and economic significance as an iconic sporting species and its global importance as an aquaculture species. Furthermore, salmonids constitute ideal organisms for the study of evolution by gene duplication as they are pseudotetraploid descendants of a common ancestor whose genome was duplicated some 25 to 100 million years ago. Whole-genome duplication is considered a major evolutionary force capable of creating vast amounts of new genetic material for evolution to act upon, promoting speciation by acquisition of new traits. Recently, large-scale comparison of paralogous genes in Atlantic salmon suggested that asymmetrical selection was acting on a significant proportion of them. However, to elucidate the physiological consequences of gene and genome duplications, studies integrating molecular evolution and functional biology are crucial. To this end, sequence and molecular analyses were performed on duplicated Elovl5 fatty-acyl elongases of Atlantic salmon, as they are responsible for a rate-limiting reaction in the elongation process of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA), critical components of all vertebrates. The aim of the research presented here was to investigate the role of gene duplication as an evolutionary process capable of creating genetic novelty, and to identify the potential ecological and physiological implications. Results: Linkage analyses indicated that both fatty-acyl elongases segregated independently and located elovl5 duplicates on different linkage groups. Genetic mapping using microsatellites identified in each elovl5 locus assigned elovl5a and elovl5b to chromosomes ssa28 and ssa13, respectively. In silico sequence analysis and selection tests indicated that both salmon Elovl5 proteins were subject to purifying selection, in agreement with previous results showing indistinguishable substrate specificities. Gene expression and promoter analysis indicated that Elovl5 duplicates differed in response to dietary lipids and tissue expression profile. Lipid biosynthesis and metabolic gene expression profiling performed in Atlantic salmon SHK-1 cells, suggested that the control of lipid homeostasis in fish is similar to that described in higher vertebrates, and revealed the particular importance of Lxr and Srebp transcription factors (TFs) in the regulation of LC-PUFA biosynthetic enzymes. Sequence comparison of upstream promoter regions of elovl5 genes showed intense differences between duplicates. Promoter functional analysis by co-transfection and transcription factor transactivation showed that both elovl5 duplicates were upregulated by Srebp overexpression. However, elovl5b exhibited a higher response and its promoter contained a duplication of a region containing response elements for Srebp and NF-Y cofactors. Furthermore, these studies indicated an Lxr/Rxr dependant response of elovl5a, which was not observed in elovl5b. Analysis of the genomic sequences of elovl5 duplicates by comparison to various sequence databases showed an asymmetrical distribution of transposable elements (TEs) in both introns and promoter regions. Further comparison to introns of the single elovl5 gene in pike indicated much higher TE distribution in salmon genes compared to the pike. Conclusions: Although not conclusive, the most parsimonious origin for the salmon elovl5 duplicates is that they are derived from a WGD event. This conclusion is also supported by the close similarity of two elovl5 paralogs in the recently available rainbow trout genome. Regardless of their origin, Atlantic salmon elovl5 genes have been efficiently retained in the genome under strong functional constraints indicating a physiological requirement for both enzymes to be functionally active. In contrast, upstream promoter regions have strongly diverged from one another, indicating a relaxation of purifying selection following the duplication event. This divergence of cis-regulatory regions has resulted in regulatory diversification of the elovl5 duplicates and regulatory neofunctionalisation of elovl5a, which displayed a novel Lxr/Rxr-dependant response not described in sister or other vertebrate lineages. Promoter analysis indicated that the observed elovl5 differential response to dietary variation could be partly attributed to varying transcriptional regulation driven by lipid-modulated TFs. The distribution of TEs in elvol5 genes of Atlantic salmon shows a clear increase in TE mobilisation after the divergence of esocids and salmonids. This must have occurred after the elongase duplication and thus the salmonid WGD event and contributes to the observed regulatory divergence of elovl5 paralogs

Light- and clock-control of genes involved in detoxification

Circadian regulation of hepatic detoxification seems to be amongst the key roles of the biological clock. The liver is the major site for biotransformation, and in mammals, it contains several clock-controlled transcription factors such as PAR basic leucine zipper proteins (bZIP) and basic-helix-loop-helix (bHLH)-PAS family that act as circadian regulators of detoxification genes. This investigation explored the existence of daily and circadian expression of transcription factors involved in detoxification, as well as the temporal profile of a set of their target genes in zebrafish liver. In our study, zebrafish were able to synchronize to a light-dark (LD) cycle and displayed a diurnal pattern of activity. In addition, the expression of clock genes presented daily and circadian rhythmicity in liver. Apart from hlfa, the expression of PAR bZIP transcription factors also displayed daily rhythms, which appeared to be both light-dependent and clock-controlled, as circadian rhythms free-ran under constant conditions (continuous darkness, DD). Under LD, tefb, dbpa and dbpb expression peaked at the end of the darkness period whereas tefa showed peak levels of expression at the onset of the photophase. In addition, these four genes exhibited circadian expression under DD, with higher expression levels at the end of the subjective night. The expression of the bHLH-PAS transcription factor arh2 also showed circadian rhythmicity in zebrafish liver, peaking in the middle of the subjective night and approximately 3-4 hours before peak expression of the PAR bZIP genes. Regarding the detoxification genes, the major target gene of AhR, cyp1a, showed daily and circadian expression with an acrophase 2 hours after ahr2. Under LD, abcb4 also showed daily rhythmicity, with an acrophase 1-2 h after that of PAR bZIP factors during the transition between darkness and light phases, when zebrafish become active. However, the expression of six detoxification genes showed circadian rhythmicity under DD, including cyp1a and abcb4 as well as gstr1, mgst3a, abcg2 and sult2_st2. In all cases, the acrophases of these 3 genes were found during the second half of the subjective night, in phase with the PAR bZIP transcription factors. This suggested that their expression is clock-controlled, either directly by core clock genes or through transcription factors. This study presents new data demonstrating that the process of detoxification is under circadian control in fish. Results showed that time of day should be considered when designing toxicological studies or administering drugs to fish

Molecular mechanism of dietary phospholipid requirement of Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, fry

The phospholipid (PL) requirement in fish is revealed by enhanced performance when larvae are provided PL-enriched diets. To elucidate the molecular mechanism underlying PL requirement in Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, were fed a minimal PL diet and tissue samples from major lipid metabolic sites were dissected from fry and parr. In silico analysis and cloning techniques demonstrated that salmon possess a full set of enzymes for the endogenous production of PL. The gene expression data indicated that major PL biosynthetic genes of phosphatidylcholine (PtdCho), phosphatidylethanolamine (PtdEtn) and phosphatidylinositol (PtdIns) display lower expression in intestine during the early developmental stage (fry). This is consistent with the hypothesis that the intestine of salmon is immature at the early developmental stage with limited capacity for endogenous PL biosynthesis. The results also indicate that intact PtdCho, PtdEtn and PtdIns are required in the diet at this stage. PtdCho and sphimgomyelin constitute the predominant PL in chylomicrons, involved in the transport of dietary lipids from the intestine to the rest of the body. As sphingomyelin can be produced from PtdCho in intestine of fry, our findings suggest that supplementation of dietary PtdCho alone during early developmental stages of Atlantic salmon would be sufficient to promote chylomicron formation. This would support efficient transport of dietary lipids, including PL precursors, from the intestine to the liver where biosynthesis of PtdEtn, PtdSer, and PtdIns is not compromised as in intestine facilitating efficient utilisation of dietary energy and the endogenous production of membrane PL for the rapidly growing and developing animal

Ethanol toxicity differs depending on the time of day

Ethanol is one of the most commonly abused drugs and consequently its toxic and psychoactive effect has been widely investigated, although little is known about the time-dependent effects of this drug. In the present research zebrafish was used to assess daily rhythms in ethanol toxicity and behavioural effects, as well as the temporal pattern of expression of key genes involved in ethanol detoxification in the liver (adh8a, adh5, aldh2.1 and aldh2.2). Our results showed marked differences in the mortality rate of zebrafish larvae depending on the time of day of the exposure to 5% ethanol for 1h (82% and 6% mortality in the morning and at night, respectively). A significant daily rhythm was detected with the acrophase located at “zeitgeber” time (ZT) = 04:22 h. Behavioural tests exposing zebrafish to 1% ethanol provoked a major decrease in swimming activity (68–84.2% reduction) at ZT2, ZT6 and ZT10. In contrast, exposure at ZT18 stimulated swimming activity (27% increase). During the day fish moved towards the bottom of the tank during ethanol exposure, whereas at night zebrafish increased their activity levels right after the exposure to ethanol. Genes involved in ethanol detoxification failed to show significant daily rhythms in LD, although all of them exhibited circadian regulation in constant darkness (DD) with acrophases in phase and located at the end of the subjective night. Taken altogether, this research revealed the importance of considering the time of day when designing and carrying out toxicological and behavioural tests to investigate the effects of ethanol, as the adverse effects of this drug were more marked when fish were exposed in the morning than at night

Two alternative pathways for docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n-3) biosynthesis are widespread among teleost fish

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) plays important physiological roles in vertebrates. Studies in rats and rainbow trout confirmed that DHA biosynthesis proceeds through the so-called “Sprecher pathway”, a biosynthetic process requiring a Δ6 desaturation of 24:5n-3 to 24:6n-3. Alternatively, some teleosts possess fatty acyl desaturases 2 (Fads2) that enable them to biosynthesis DHA through a more direct route termed the “Δ4 pathway”. In order to elucidate the prevalence of both pathways among teleosts, we investigated the Δ6 ability towards C24 substrates of Fads2 from fish with different evolutionary and ecological backgrounds. Subsequently, we retrieved public databases to identify Fads2 containing the YXXN domain responsible for the Δ4 desaturase function, and consequently enabling these species to operate the Δ4 pathway. We demonstrated that, with the exception of Δ4 desaturases, fish Fads2 have the ability to operate as Δ6 desaturases towards C24 PUFA enabling them to synthesise DHA through the Sprecher pathway. Nevertheless, the Δ4 pathway represents an alternative route in some teleosts and we identified the presence of putative Δ4 Fads2 in a further 11 species and confirmed the function as Δ4 desaturases of Fads2 from medaka and Nile tilapia. Our results demonstrated that two alternative pathways for DHA biosynthesis exist in teleosts

Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children and SARS-CoV-2 variants: a two-year ambispective multicentric cohort study in Catalonia, Spain

Coronavirus infections; Epidemiology; Severity of illness indexInfecciones por Coronavirus; Epidemiología; Índice de la gravedad de la enfermedadInfeccions per coronavirus; Epidemiologia; Índex de la gravetat de la malaltiaMultisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) is a rare but severe disease temporarily related to SARS-CoV-2. We aimed to describe the epidemiological, clinical, and laboratory findings of all MIS-C cases diagnosed in children 39 °C (81.6%); nearly 40% had an abnormal echocardiography, and 7% had coronary aneurysm. Clinical manifestations and laboratory data were not different throughout the variant periods (p > 0.05). Conclusion: The RR between MIS-C cases and SARS-CoV-2 infections was significantly lower in the Omicron period for all age groups, including those not vaccinated, suggesting that the variant could be the main factor for this shift in the MISC trend. Regardless of variant type, the patients had similar phenotypes and severity throughout the pandemic. What is Known: • Before our study, only two publications investigated the incidence of MIS-C regarding SARS-CoV-2 variants in Europe, one from Southeast England and another from Denmark. What is New: • To our knowledge, this is the first study investigating MIS-C incidence in Southern Europe, with the ability to recruit all MIS-C cases in a determined area and analyze the rate ratio for MIS-C among SARS-CoV-2 infections throughout variant periods. • We found a lower rate ratio of MISC/infections with SARS-CoV-2 in the Omicron period for all age groups, including those not eligible for vaccination, suggesting that the variant could be the main factor for this shift in the MISC trend.This study has received funding for the data analysis from the “Fundació la Marató TV3” with file number 202134–30-31

Genome-wide survey of cytochrome P450 genes in the salmon louse Lepeophtheirus salmonis (Krøyer, 1837)

Background The salmon louse (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) infests farmed and wild salmonid fishes, causing considerable economic damage to the salmon farming industry. Infestations of farmed salmon are controlled using a combination of non-medicinal approaches and veterinary drug treatments. While L. salmonis has developed resistance to most available salmon delousing agents, relatively little is known about the molecular mechanisms involved. Members of the cytochrome P450 (CYP) superfamily are typically monooxygenases, some of which are involved in the biosynthesis and metabolism of endogenous compounds, while others have central roles in the detoxification of xenobiotics. In terrestrial arthropods, insecticide resistance can be based on the enhanced expression of CYPs. The reported research aimed to characterise the CYP superfamily in L. salmonis and assess its potential roles in drug resistance. Methods Lepeophtheirus salmonis CYPs were identified by homology searches of the genome and transcriptome of the parasite. CYP transcript abundance in drug susceptible and multi-resistant L. salmonis was assessed by quantitative reverse transcription PCR, taking into account both constitutive expression and expression in parasites exposed to sublethal levels of salmon delousing agents, ecdysteroids and environmental chemicals. Results The above strategy led to the identification of 25 CYP genes/pseudogenes in L. salmonis, making its CYP superfamily the most compact characterised for any arthropod to date. Lepeophtheirus salmonis possesses homologues of a number of arthropod CYP genes with roles in ecdysteroid metabolism, such as the fruit fly genes disembodied, shadow, shade, spook and Cyp18a1. CYP transcript expression did not differ between one drug susceptible and one multi-resistant strain of L. salmonis. Exposure of L. salmonis to emamectin benzoate or deltamethrin caused the transcriptional upregulation of certain CYPs. In contrast, neither ecdysteroid nor benzo[a]pyrene exposure affected CYP transcription significantly. Conclusions The parasite L. salmonis is demonstrated to possess the most compact CYP superfamily characterised for any arthropod to date. The complement of CYP genes in L. salmonis includes conserved CYP genes involved in ecdysteroid biosynthesis and metabolism, as well as drug-inducible CYP genes. The present study does not provide evidence for a role of CYP genes in the decreased susceptibility of the multiresistant parasite strain studied

Time-to-response toxicity analysis as a method for drug susceptibility assessment in salmon lice

The salmon louse Lepeophtheirus salmonis (Krøyer, 1837) is an ectoparasite causing infections ofwild and farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) in the Northern hemisphere.While L. salmonis control at commercial mariculture sites increasingly employs non-medicinal approaches, such as cage designs reducing infection rates and biological control through cleaner fish, anti-parasitic drugs are still a requirement for effective fish health care. With only a limited range of salmon delousing agents available, all of which have been in use for more than a decade, drug resistance formation has been reported for different products. Successful resistance management requires reliable susceptibility assessment, which is usually achieved through L. salmonis bioassays. These tests involve the exposure of parasites to different drug concentrations and require significant numbers of suitable L. salmonis stages. The present study reports an alternative bioassay that is based on time-to-response toxicity analyses and can be carried outwith limited parasite numbers. The assay determines the median effective time (ET50), i.e., the time required until impaired swimming and/or attachment behaviour becomes apparent in 50% of parasites, by conducting repeated examinations of test animals starting at the timepointwhere exposure to a set drug concentration commences. This experimental approach further allows the estimation of the apparent drug susceptibility of individual L. salmonis by determining their time to response, which may prove useful in experiments designed to elucidate associations between genetic factors and the drug susceptibility phenotype of parasites. Three laboratory strains of L. salmonis differing in susceptibility to emamectin benzoate were characterised using standard 24 h bioassays and time-to-response toxicity assays. While both the median effective concentration (EC50) and the ET50 showed variability between experimental repeats, both types of bioassay consistently discriminated susceptible and drug-resistant L. salmonis laboratory strains. Statement of relevance: Infections by sea lice cause significant costs to the global salmon farming industry, which have been estimated to exceed €300 million per year worldwide. Control of sea lice still relies to a significant extent on chemical delousing; however, chemical control is threatened by resistance formation. Resistance can be combated by rotation between different drugs and strategic implementation of non-medicinal strategies. However, resistance management requires reliable and feasible methods of susceptibility assessment. The present study is a technical note introducing a novel approach to susceptibility assessments in sea lice. The method can be applied in susceptibility assessments on farms,where it offers the advantage of a reduced requirement of parasites for testing. In addition, the novel method allows deriving the times of parasite require to showa response after drug treatment has started, thus providing a variable characterizing the drug susceptibility phenotype of individual parasites. Accordingly, the bioassay approach presented here will be useful for studies aiming at unravelling the genetic determinants of drug resistance

Mutations in voltage-gated sodium channels from pyrethroid resistant salmon lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis)

Background Parasitic salmon lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) cause high economic losses in Atlantic salmon farming. Pyrethroids, which block arthropod voltage‐gated sodium channels (Nav1), are used for salmon delousing. However, pyrethroid resistance is common in L. salmonis. The present study characterised Nav1 homologues in L. salmonis in order to identify channel mutations associated to resistance, called kdr (knockdown) mutations. Results Genome scans identified three L. salmonis Nav1 homologues, LsNav1.1, LsNav1.2 and LsNav1.3. Arthropod kdr mutations map to specific Nav1 regions within domains DI‐III, namely segments S5 and S6 and the linker helix connecting S4 and S5. The above channel regions were amplified by RT‐PCR and sequenced in deltamethrin‐susceptible and deltamethrin‐resistant L. salmonis. While LsNav1.1 and LsNav1.2 lacked nucleotide polymorphisms showing association to resistance, LsNav1.3 showed a non‐synonymous mutation in S5 of DII occurring in deltamethrin‐resistant parasites. The mutation is homologous to a previously described kdr mutation (I936V, numbering according to Musca domestica Vssc1) and was present in two pyrethroid‐resistant L. salmonis strains (allele frequencies of 0.800 and 0.357), but absent in two pyrethroid‐susceptible strains. Conclusions The present study indicates that a kdr‐mutation in LsNaV 1.3 may contribute to deltamethrin resistance in L. salmonis

Biosynthesis of polyunsaturated fatty acids in marine invertebrates: Recent advances in molecular mechanisms

Virtually all polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) originate from primary producers but can be modified by bioconversions as they pass up the food chain in a process termed trophic upgrading. Therefore, although the main primary producers of PUFA in the marine environment are microalgae, higher trophic levels have metabolic pathways that can produce novel and unique PUFA. However, little is known about the pathways of PUFA biosynthesis and metabolism in the levels between primary producers and fish that are largely filled by invertebrates. It has become increasingly apparent that, in addition to trophic upgrading, de novo synthesis of PUFA is possible in some lower animals. The unequivocal identification of PUFA biosynthetic pathways in many invertebrates is complicated by the presence of other organisms within them. These organisms include bacteria and algae with PUFA biosynthesis pathways, and range from intestinal flora to symbiotic relationships that can involve PUFA translocation to host organisms. This emphasizes the importance of studying biosynthetic pathways at a molecular level, and the continual expansion of genomic resources and advances in molecular analysis is facilitating this. The present paper highlights recent research into the molecular and biochemical mechanisms of PUFA biosynthesis in marine invertebrates, particularly focusing on cephalopod molluscs