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Adaptive Evolution in an Avian Reproductive Protein: ZP3

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Abstract

Proteins involved in reproduction appear to be evolving adaptively across taxa. This rapid evolution is thought to be the result of forces involved in sexual selection. One of the most often suggested of these forces is sexual conflict involving sperm competition and polyspermy avoidance. Bird species offer a unique opportunity to test this hypothesis since the avian egg coat tolerates physiological polyspermy, or the penetration of multiple sperm during fertilization, without negative effects on later development. Despite this, and the extensive amount of data gathered on sexual selection in birds, there are limited studies on the patterns of evolution of avian reproductive proteins. Here we present an analysis of the pattern of evolution of Zona Pellucida 3 (ZP3), a protein present on the avian egg coat. We found that, across several galliform and a single anseriform species, ZP3 appears to be diverging by positive adaptive evolution. In an exploratory analysis of portions of the gene in Callipepla californica we also found evidence of a selective sweep at the putative sperm binding region of the protein. In sum, ZP3 in birds, like reproductive proteins in other species, appears to be adaptively evolving. This result suggests that polyspermy avoidance is not sufficient to explain positive Darwinian selection in reproductive proteins across taxonomic groups. Clearly, the inclusion of bird species in the study of reproductive proteins across taxa promises to add greatly to the discussion of the factors driving the widespread phenomenon of adaptive evolution in reproductive proteins.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the Swanson lab and five anonymous reviewers for helpful comments on the manuscript. We also thank the Burke Museum’s genetic resource and Dr. Jennifer Gee for access to samples. Blood samples for Callipepla californica were collected under the California Department of Fish and Game permit No. 6942 and the institutional animal care and use committee of the University of California, Irvine (permit no. 95-1664). JDC and WJS are supported by NIH grant HD42563 and NSF DEB-041022.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Genome Science, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA

    Jennifer D. Calkins, Diana El-Hinn & Willie J. Swanson

  2. Department of Genome Science, University of Washington, Foege Building S-250, Box 355065, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA

    Jennifer D. Calkins

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  1. Jennifer D. Calkins
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  2. Diana El-Hinn
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  3. Willie J. Swanson
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Correspondence to Jennifer D. Calkins.

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Calkins, J.D., El-Hinn, D. & Swanson, W.J. Adaptive Evolution in an Avian Reproductive Protein: ZP3. J Mol Evol 65, 555–563 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00239-007-9034-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00239-007-9034-8

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