02586nas a2200193   4500008004100000245013300041210006900174520188100243653001502124653002302139653002202162100002202184700001502206700001502221700001402236700001902250700001702269856010602286       2009                        eng d00aSexual selection drives weak positive selection in protamine genes and high promoter divergence, enhancing sperm competitiveness0 aSexual selection drives weak positive selection in protamine gen3 a<p>Phenotypic adaptations may be the result of changes in gene structure or gene regulation, but little is known about the evolution of gene expression. In addition, it is unclear whether the same selective forces may operate at both levels simultaneously. Reproductive proteins evolve rapidly, but the underlying selective forces promoting such rapid changes are still a matter of debate. In particular, the role of sexual selection in driving positive selection among reproductive proteins remains controversial, whereas its potential influence on changes in promoter regions has not been explored. Protamines are responsible for maintaining DNA in a compacted form in chromosomes in sperm and the available evidence suggests that they evolve rapidly. Because protamines condense DNA within the sperm nucleus, they influence sperm head shape. Here, we examine the influence of sperm competition upon protamine 1 and protamine 2 genes and their promoters, by comparing closely related species of Mus that differ in relative testes size, a reliable indicator of levels of sperm competition. We find evidence of positive selection in the protamine 2 gene in the species with the highest inferred levels of sperm competition. In addition, sperm competition levels across all species are strongly associated with high divergence in protamine 2 promoters that, in turn, are associated with sperm swimming speed. We suggest that changes in protamine 2 promoters are likely to enhance sperm swimming speed by making sperm heads more hydrodynamic. Such phenotypic changes are adaptive because sperm swimming speed may be a major determinant of fertilization success under sperm competition. Thus, when species have diverged recently, few changes in gene-coding sequences are found, while high divergence in promoters seems to be associated with the intensity of sexual selection.</p>10aAdaptation10apositive selection10asperm competition1 aMartin-Coello, J.1 aDopazo, H.1 aArbiza, L.1 aAusio, J.1 aRoldan, E., R.1 aGomendio, M.  uhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&dopt=Citation&list_uids=1936473500479nas a2200097   4500008004100000245009300041210006900134260003200203100001500235856013100250       2008                        eng d00aSelective Constraints and Human Disease Genes: Evolutionary and Bioinformatic Approaches0 aSelective Constraints and Human Disease Genes Evolutionary and B  aUKbJohn Wiley & Sons, Ltd.1 aDopazo, H.  uhttps://www.clinbioinfosspa.es/content/selective-constraints-and-human-disease-genes-evolutionary-and-bioinformatic-approaches00459nas a2200097   4500008004100000245007100041210006900112260007600181100001500257856008900272       2008                        eng d00aSelective Constraints on Human Disease Mutations and Polymorphisms0 aSelective Constraints on Human Disease Mutations and Polymorphis  aUKbHildegard Kehrer-Sawatzki & David N. Cooper. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd1 aDopazo, H.  uhttp://eu.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0470517468,descCd-description.html02859nas a2200301   4500008004100000245009400041210006900135300001300204490000800217520172300225653007401948653002202022653001902044653002402063653002802087653002002115653015502135653002502290100001502315700001402330700001702344700001602361700002202377700002202399700001502421700001502436856010602451       2006                        eng d00aSelective pressures at a codon-level predict deleterious mutations in human disease genes0 aSelective pressures at a codonlevel predict deleterious mutation  a1390-4040 v3583 aDeleterious mutations affecting biological function of proteins are constantly being rejected by purifying selection from the gene pool. The non-synonymous/synonymous substitution rate ratio (omega) is a measure of selective pressure on amino acid replacement mutations for protein-coding genes. Different methods have been developed in order to predict non-synonymous changes affecting gene function. However, none has considered the estimation of selective constraints acting on protein residues. Here, we have used codon-based maximum likelihood models in order to estimate the selective pressures on the individual amino acid residues of a well-known model protein: p53. We demonstrate that the number of residues under strong purifying selection in p53 is much higher than those that are strictly conserved during the evolution of the species. In agreement with theoretical expectations, residues that have been noted to be of structural relevance, or in direct association with DNA, were among those showing the highest signals of purifying selection. Conversely, those changing according to a neutral, or nearly neutral mode of evolution, were observed to be irrelevant for protein function. Finally, using more than 40 human disease genes, we demonstrate that residues evolving under strong selective pressures (omega<0.1) are significantly associated (p<0.01) with human disease. We hypothesize that non-synonymous change on amino acids showing omega<0.1 will most likely affect protein function. The application of this evolutionary prediction at a genomic scale will provide an a priori hypothesis of the phenotypic effect of non-synonymous coding single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the human genome.10aAmino Acid Sequence Amino Acid Substitution Codon/*genetics Databases10aGenetic Evolution10aGenetic Models10aHuman Humans Models10aInborn/*genetics Genome10aMolecular Genes10aMolecular Molecular Sequence Data *Mutation Neoplasms/genetics Proteins/genetics *Selection (Genetics) Tumor Suppressor Protein p53/chemistry/genetics10ap53 Genetic Diseases1 aArbiza, L.1 aDuchi, S.1 aMontaner, D.1 aBurguet, J.1 aPantoja-Uceda, D.1 aPineda-Lucena, A.1 aDopazo, J.1 aDopazo, H.  uhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&dopt=Citation&list_uids=16584746