Finding Aquaporins in Annelids: An Evolutionary Analysis and a Case Study
Serena Mucciolo,
Andrea Desiderato,
Marika Salonna,
Tomasz Mamos,
Viviane Prodocimo,
Maikon Di Domenico,
Francesco Mastrototaro,
Paulo Lana,
Carmela Gissi,
Giuseppe Calamita
Affiliations
Serena Mucciolo
Department of Invertebrate Zoology and Hydrobiology, University of Lodz, Banacha 12/16, 90-237 Lodz, Poland
Andrea Desiderato
Department of Invertebrate Zoology and Hydrobiology, University of Lodz, Banacha 12/16, 90-237 Lodz, Poland
Marika Salonna
Institute of Medical Sciences, Foresterhill Health Campus, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB25 2ZD, UK
Tomasz Mamos
Department of Invertebrate Zoology and Hydrobiology, University of Lodz, Banacha 12/16, 90-237 Lodz, Poland
Viviane Prodocimo
Laboratório de Fisiologia Comparativa da Osmorregulação, Departamento de Fisiologia, Setor de Ciências Biológicas, Campus Politécnico, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Av. Cel. Francisco H. dos Santos 100, Curitiba 81531-980, PR, Brazil
Maikon Di Domenico
Centro de Estudos do Mar, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Av. Beira-Mar, s/n, Pontal do Sul, Pontal do Paraná 83255-976, PR, Brazil
Francesco Mastrototaro
CoNISMa LRU, 70124 Bari, Italy
Paulo Lana
Centro de Estudos do Mar, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Av. Beira-Mar, s/n, Pontal do Sul, Pontal do Paraná 83255-976, PR, Brazil
Carmela Gissi
Dipartimento di Bioscienze, Biotecnologie e Biofarmaceutica, Università degli Studi di Bari “A. Moro”, Via E. Orabona, 4, 70125 Bari, Italy
Giuseppe Calamita
Dipartimento di Bioscienze, Biotecnologie e Biofarmaceutica, Università degli Studi di Bari “A. Moro”, Via E. Orabona, 4, 70125 Bari, Italy
Aquaporins (AQPs) are a family of membrane channels facilitating diffusion of water and small solutes into and out of cells. Despite their biological relevance in osmoregulation and ubiquitous distribution throughout metazoans, the presence of AQPs in annelids has been poorly investigated. Here, we searched and annotated Aqp sequences in public genomes and transcriptomes of annelids, inferred their evolutionary relationships through phylogenetic analyses and discussed their putative physiological relevance. We identified a total of 401 Aqp sequences in 27 annelid species, including 367 sequences previously unrecognized as Aqps. Similar to vertebrates, phylogenetic tree reconstructions clustered these annelid Aqps in four clades: AQP1-like, AQP3-like, AQP8-like and AQP11-like. We found no clear indication of the existence of paralogs exclusive to annelids; however, several gene duplications seem to have occurred in the ancestors of some Sedentaria annelid families, mainly in the AQP1-like clade. Three of the six Aqps annotated in Alitta succinea, an estuarine annelid showing high salinity tolerance, were validated by RT-PCR sequencing, and their similarity to human AQPs was investigated at the level of “key” conserved residues and predicted three-dimensional structure. Our results suggest a diversification of the structures and functions of AQPs in Annelida comparable to that observed in other taxa.