Many sex-determining genes (SDGs) were generated as neofunctionalized genes through duplication and/or mutation of gonadal formation-related genes. We previously identified dm-W as an SDG in the African clawed frog Xenopus laevis and found that a partial duplication of the masculinization gene dmrt1 created the neofunctionalized dm-W after allotetraploidization by interspecific hybridization. The allotetraploid Xenopus species have two dmrt1 genes, dmrt1.L and dmrt1.S. Xenopus laevis dm-W has four exons: two dmrt1.S-derived exons (exons 2 and 3) and two other exons (noncoding exon 1 and exon 4). Our recent work revealed that exon 4 originated from a DNA transposon, hAT-10. Here, to clarify when and how the noncoding exon 1 and its coexisting promoter evolved during the establishment of dm-W after allotetraploidization, we newly determined nucleotide sequences of the dm-W promoter region from two other allotetraploid species, X. largeni and X. petersii, and performed an evolutionary analysis. We found that dm-W acquired a new exon 1 and TATA-type promoter in the common ancestor of the three allotetraploid Xenopus species, resulting in the deletion of the dmrt1.S-derived TATA-less promoter. In addition, we demonstrated that the TATA box contributes to dm-W promoter activity in cultured cells. Collectively, these findings suggest that this novel TATA-type promoter was important for the establishment of dm-W as a sex-determining gene, followed by the degeneration of the preexisting promoter.
Keywords: TATA box; neofunctionalization; noncoding exon; promoter evolution; sex determination.