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Unmatched Level of Molecular Convergence Among Deeply Divergent Complex Multicellular Fungi

Summary

This research reveals how different groups of fungi independently evolved complex multicellular structures like mushrooms using remarkably similar genetic tools, despite being separated by over 650 million years of evolution. The study shows that when organisms have similar genetic building blocks available to them, they may evolve similar traits even if they are very distantly related. Impacts on everyday life: – Helps explain why certain biological traits repeatedly evolve in nature – Provides insights into how complex organisms develop from simple ones – Advances our understanding of how mushrooms and other fungal structures evolve – Could inform genetic engineering approaches for controlling fungal growth – May help predict how organisms might evolve in response to environmental changes

Background

Convergent evolution is pervasive in nature, but it remains poorly understood how various constraints and natural selection limit the diversity of evolvable phenotypes. Complex multicellularity has evolved independently multiple times across different fungal lineages, providing an excellent model system to study convergent evolution at the molecular level.

Objective

To analyze the transcriptome across fruiting body development to understand the independent evolution of complex multicellularity in the two largest clades of fungi—the Agarico- and Pezizomycotina, and examine the extent of molecular convergence between these deeply divergent lineages.

Results

Despite >650 million years of divergence between the clades, very similar sets of genes were found to be convergently co-opted for complex multicellularity, followed by expansions of their gene families through duplications. Over 82% of shared multicellularity-related gene families showed convergent expansion in both clades. The researchers identified 314 gene families that were developmentally regulated across both groups, with evidence of parallel co-option and convergent diversification.

Conclusion

The study reveals an unprecedented level of molecular convergence between deeply divergent fungal lineages in the evolution of complex multicellularity. The findings suggest that convergent evolution may occur not only when organisms are closely related or under similar selection pressures, but also when ancestral genomic repertoires make certain evolutionary trajectories more likely than others, even across large phylogenetic distances.
  • Published in:Molecular Biology and Evolution,
  • Study Type:Comparative Genomics,
  • Source: 10.1093/molbev/msaa077
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