Diskuse o evoluci a povaze náboženství se podobá debatám o evoluci a povaze jazyka a hudby. Teorie, podle níž je náboženství vedlejším výtvorem evoluce, má za to, že jádrem náboženství je kontraintuitivní víra v nadpřirozené činitele. Ti jsou z valné části vytvářeni vrozenými „intuicemi“ týkajícími se schopnosti jednat, neboli „agency“. V náboženství lze rozlišit tři kognitivní složky: náboženské a další nadpřirozené reprezentace jsou kontraintuitivní, náboženství pomáhá zvládat úzkost (stejně jako ji dovede vytvářet), kromě toho je součástí náboženství množina chování, které se odchyluje od maximalizace užitku. Podle teorie, která chápe náboženství jako adaptaci, aniž by popírala argumentaci předešlých úvah, je základním přínosem náboženství posílení vnitroskupinové solidarity, a tím posílení zdatnosti člena skupiny. Kontraintuitivní víra nemusí podle této teorie být nutně maladaptivní. Soudobé funkční metody umožňují sledovat neuronální koreláty náboženské víry i mystické zkušenosti.

The discourse on evolution and the nature of religion is similar to discourse on evolution and nature of language and music. The first theory explaining religion as a by-product of evolution supposes that at the core of a religion is a contra-intuitive belief in supernatural agents arising from innate „intuitions“, related to agency. Three cognitive constituents can be recognised in religions: religious and other supernatural representations are contra-intuitive, religion helps with anxiety (but can also provoke anxiety) and a part of religion is behaviour that deviates from maximalization of benefit. The second theory, which perceives religion as an adaptation, does not dispute the aforementioned arguments but alleges that a basic benefit of religion is the reinforcement of intragroup solidarity and thereby fitness of a member of the group. Contra-intuitive belief does not need to be necessarily maladaptive. Contemporary functional methods make it possible to observe neural correlates of religious belief and mystical experiences.

• MeSH
• biologická evoluce MeSH
• kognitivní věda metody   trendy   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• magnetická rezonanční tomografie metody   využití   MeSH
• mozek anatomie a histologie   fyziologie   MeSH
• náboženství MeSH
• neurobiologie metody   trendy   MeSH
• spiritualita MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH

• MeSH
• biologická evoluce MeSH
• viry MeSH
• Publikační typ
• souborné dílo MeSH

• Konspekt
• Virologie
• NLK Obory
• virologie
• biologie

Mitochondrial protein import requires outer membrane receptors that evolved independently in different lineages. Here we used quantitative proteomics and in vitro binding assays to investigate the substrate preferences of ATOM46 and ATOM69, the two mitochondrial import receptors of Trypanosoma brucei The results show that ATOM46 prefers presequence-containing, hydrophilic proteins that lack transmembrane domains (TMDs), whereas ATOM69 prefers presequence-lacking, hydrophobic substrates that have TMDs. Thus, the ATOM46/yeast Tom20 and the ATOM69/yeast Tom70 pairs have similar substrate preferences. However, ATOM46 mainly uses electrostatic, and Tom20 hydrophobic, interactions for substrate binding. In vivo replacement of T. brucei ATOM46 by yeast Tom20 did not restore import. However, replacement of ATOM69 by the recently discovered Tom36 receptor of Trichomonas hydrogenosomes, while not allowing for growth, restored import of a large subset of trypanosomal proteins that lack TMDs. Thus, even though ATOM69 and Tom36 share the same domain structure and topology, they have different substrate preferences. The study establishes complementation experiments, combined with quantitative proteomics, as a highly versatile and sensitive method to compare in vivo preferences of protein import receptors. Moreover, it illustrates the role determinism and contingencies played in the evolution of mitochondrial protein import receptors.

• MeSH
• mitochondriální proteiny genetika   MeSH
• mitochondrie genetika   metabolismus   MeSH
• molekulární evoluce * MeSH
• proteinové prekurzory genetika   MeSH
• Saccharomyces cerevisiae - proteiny genetika   MeSH
• Saccharomyces cerevisiae genetika   MeSH
• transport proteinů genetika   MeSH
• transportní proteiny mitochondriální membrány genetika   MeSH
• transportní proteiny genetika   MeSH
• Trypanosoma brucei brucei genetika   metabolismus   patogenita   MeSH
• vazba proteinů MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH

• MeSH
• biologie MeSH
• molekulární biologie MeSH
• molekulární evoluce MeSH

• Konspekt
• Biochemie. Molekulární biologie. Biofyzika
• NLK Obory
• biologie
• biologie

• MeSH
• buněčné jadérko dietoterapie   MeSH
• databáze proteinů MeSH
• molekulární evoluce MeSH
• proteiny genetika   chemie   MeSH
• sekvence aminokyselin MeSH
• výpočetní biologie metody   MeSH

Lateral gene transfer (LGT) is an important mechanism of evolution for protists adapting to oxygen-poor environments. Specifically, modifications of energy metabolism in anaerobic forms of mitochondria (e.g., hydrogenosomes) are likely to have been associated with gene transfer from prokaryotes. An interesting question is whether the products of transferred genes were directly targeted into the ancestral organelle or initially operated in the cytosol and subsequently acquired organelle-targeting sequences. Here, we identified key enzymes of hydrogenosomal metabolism in the free-living anaerobic amoebozoan Mastigamoeba balamuthi and analyzed their cellular localizations, enzymatic activities, and evolutionary histories. Additionally, we characterized 1) several canonical mitochondrial components including respiratory complex II and the glycine cleavage system, 2) enzymes associated with anaerobic energy metabolism, including an unusual D-lactate dehydrogenase and acetyl CoA synthase, and 3) a sulfate activation pathway. Intriguingly, components of anaerobic energy metabolism are present in at least two gene copies. For each component, one copy possesses an mitochondrial targeting sequence (MTS), whereas the other lacks an MTS, yielding parallel cytosolic and hydrogenosomal extended glycolysis pathways. Experimentally, we confirmed that the organelle targeting of several proteins is fully dependent on the MTS. Phylogenetic analysis of all extended glycolysis components suggested that these components were acquired by LGT. We propose that the transformation from an ancestral organelle to a hydrogenosome in the M. balamuthi lineage involved the lateral acquisition of genes encoding extended glycolysis enzymes that initially operated in the cytosol and that established a parallel hydrogenosomal pathway after gene duplication and MTS acquisition.

• MeSH
• anaerobióza genetika   MeSH
• Archamoebae enzymologie   genetika   metabolismus   MeSH
• duplikace genu * MeSH
• energetický metabolismus genetika   MeSH
• enzymy genetika   izolace a purifikace   MeSH
• molekulární evoluce * MeSH
• organely enzymologie   genetika   metabolismus   MeSH
• přenos genů horizontální * MeSH
• struktury buněčné membrány genetika   metabolismus   MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH

Cnidaria is the earliest-branching metazoan phylum containing a well-developed, lens-containing visual system located on specialized sensory structures called rhopalia. Each rhopalium in a cubozoan jellyfish Tripedalia cystophora has a large and a small complex, camera-type eye with a cellular lens containing distinct families of crystallins. Here, we have characterized J2-crystallin and its gene in T. cystophora. The J2-crystallin gene is composed of a single exon and encodes a 157-amino acid cytoplasmic protein with no apparent homology to known proteins from other species. The non-lens expression of J2-crystallin suggests nonoptical as well as crystallin functions consistent with the gene-sharing strategy that has been used during evolution of lens crystallins in other invertebrates and vertebrates. Although nonfunctional in transfected mammalian lens cells, the J2-crystallin promoter is activated by the jellyfish paired domain transcription factor PaxB in co-transfection tests via binding to three paired domain sites. PaxB paired domain-binding sites were also identified in the PaxB-regulated promoters of the J1A- and J1B-crystallin genes, which are not homologous to the J2-crystallin gene. Taken together with previous studies on the regulation of the diverse crystallin genes, the present report strongly supports the idea that crystallin recruitment of multifunctional proteins was driven by convergent changes involving Pax (as well as other transcription factors) in the promoters of nonhomologous genes within and between species as well as within gene families.

• MeSH
• buněčné linie MeSH
• Cercopithecus aethiops MeSH
• COS buňky MeSH
• Cubozoa genetika   metabolismus   MeSH
• cytoplazma metabolismus   MeSH
• exony MeSH
• financování organizované MeSH
• klonování DNA MeSH
• krystaliny genetika   chemie   metabolismus   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• molekulární evoluce MeSH
• molekulární sekvence - údaje MeSH
• oční čočka metabolismus   MeSH
• promotorové oblasti (genetika) MeSH
• regulace genové exprese MeSH
• sekvence nukleotidů MeSH
• transkripční faktory paired box genetika   metabolismus   metabolismus   MeSH
• vazebná místa MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• zvířata MeSH

Cellular metabolism, the interconversion of small molecules by chemical reactions, is a tightly coordinated process that requires integration of diverse environmental and intracellular cues. While for many organisms the topology of the network of metabolic reactions is increasingly known, the regulatory principles that shape the network's adaptation to diverse and changing environments remain largely elusive. To investigate the principles of metabolic adaptation and regulation in metabolic pathways, we propose a computational approach based on in-silico evolution. Rather than analyzing existing regulatory schemes, we let a population of minimal, prototypical metabolic cells evolve rate constants and appropriate regulatory schemes that allow for optimal growth in static and fluctuating environments. Applying our approach to a small, but already sufficiently complex, minimal system reveals intricate transitions between metabolic modes. These results have implications for trade-offs in resource allocation. Going from static to varying environments, we show that for fluctuating nutrient availability, active metabolic regulation results in a significantly increased overall rate of metabolism.

• MeSH
• algoritmy MeSH
• analýza metabolického toku metody   MeSH
• biologické hodiny genetika   MeSH
• fyziologická adaptace genetika   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• metabolom genetika   MeSH
• modely genetické * MeSH
• molekulární evoluce * MeSH
• počítačová simulace MeSH
• signální transdukce genetika   MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH

The karyotype of bone-marrow cells at the time of diagnosis is one of the most important prognostic factors in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). In some cases, the acquisition of additional genetic aberrations (clonal evolution [CE]) associated with clinical progression may occur during the disease. We analyzed a cohort of 469 MDS patients using a combination of molecular cytogenomic methods to identify cryptic aberrations and to assess their potential role in CE. We confirmed CE in 36 (8%) patients. The analysis of bone-marrow samples with a combination of cytogenomic methods at diagnosis and after CE identified 214 chromosomal aberrations. The early genetic changes in the diagnostic samples were frequently MDS specific (17 MDS-specific/57 early changes). Most progression-related aberrations identified after CE were not MDS specific (131 non-MDS-specific/155 progression-related changes). Copy number neutral loss of heterozygosity (CN-LOH) was detected in 19% of patients. MDS-specific CN-LOH (4q, 17p) was identified in three patients, and probably pathogenic homozygous mutations were found in TET2 (4q24) and TP53 (17p13.1) genes. We observed a statistically significant difference in overall survival (OS) between the groups of patients divided according to their diagnostic cytogenomic findings, with worse OS in the group with complex karyotypes (P = .021). A combination of cytogenomic methods allowed us to detect many cryptic genomic changes and identify genes and genomic regions that may represent therapeutic targets in patients with progressive MDS.

• MeSH
• analýza přežití MeSH
• chromozomální aberace MeSH
• DNA vazebné proteiny genetika   MeSH
• dospělí MeSH
• klonální evoluce * MeSH
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mutace MeSH
• myelodysplastické syndromy klasifikace   genetika   patologie   MeSH
• nádorový supresorový protein p53 genetika   MeSH
• prognóza MeSH
• protoonkogenní proteiny genetika   MeSH
• senioři nad 80 let MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• ztráta heterozygozity MeSH
• Check Tag
• dospělí MeSH
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• senioři nad 80 let MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH

The universal nine-amino-acid transactivation domains (9aaTADs) have been identified in numerous transcription activators. Here, we identified the conserved 9aaTAD motif in all nine members of the specificity protein (SP) family. Previously, the Sp1 transcription factor has been defined as a glutamine-rich activator. We showed by amino acid substitutions that the glutamine residues are completely dispensable for 9aaTAD function and are not conserved in the SP family. We described the origin and evolutionary history of 9aaTADs. The 9aaTADs of the ancestral Sp2 gene became inactivated in early chordates. We next discovered that an accumulation of valines in 9aaTADs inactivated their transactivation function and enabled their strict conservation during evolution. Subsequently, in chordates, Sp2 has duplicated and created new paralogs, Sp1, Sp3, and Sp4 (the SP1-4 clade). During chordate evolution, the dormancy of the Sp2 activation domain lasted over 100 million years. The dormant but still intact ancestral Sp2 activation domains allowed diversification of the SP1-4 clade into activators and repressors. By valine substitution in the 9aaTADs, Sp1 and Sp3 regained their original activator function found in ancestral lower metazoan sea sponges. Therefore, the vertebrate SP1-4 clade could include both repressors and activators. Furthermore, we identified secondary 9aaTADs in Sp2 introns present from fish to primates, including humans. In the gibbon genome, introns containing 9aaTADs were used as exons, which turned the Sp2 gene into an activator. Similarly, we identified introns containing 9aaTADs used conditionally as exons in the (SP family-unrelated) transcription factor SREBP1, suggesting that the intron-9aaTAD reservoir is a general phenomenon.

• MeSH
• aktivace transkripce MeSH
• duplikace genu MeSH
• fylogeneze MeSH
• introny * genetika   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• molekulární evoluce * MeSH
• regulace genové exprese * MeSH
• sekvence aminokyselin MeSH
• sekvenční homologie MeSH
• transkripční faktor Sp2 * antagonisté a inhibitory   genetika   metabolismus   MeSH
• valin genetika   metabolismus   MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• zvířata MeSH