Andrei Kolzov
Peter The Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University
Title: Evolution by tumor neofunctionalization and expression of evolutionarily novel genes in tumors
Biography
Biography: Andrei Kolzov
Abstract
Earlier I formulated the hypothesis of the possible evolutionary role of tumors. Th is hypothesis suggests that heritable
tumors supply evolving multicellular organisms with extra cell masses for the expression of newly evolving genes. Aft er
expression of novel genes in tumor cells, tumors diff erentiate in new directions and may give rise to new cell types, tissues and
organs. In the presentation, the data supporting the positive evolutionary role of tumors will be reviewed, obtained both in the
lab of the author and from the literature sources. Th e following issues will be addressed: the widespread occurrence of tumors
in multicellular organisms; features of tumors that could be used in evolution; the relationship of tumors to evo-devo; examples
of recapitulation of some tumor features in recently evolved organs; the types of tumors that might play the role in evolution;
examples of tumors that have played the role in evolution. Th e expression of evolutionarily novel genes in tumors was predicted
by hypothesis of the possible evolutionary role of tumors. In my lab we described several genes evolutionarily novel genes
expressed specifi cally or predominantly in human tumors (OTP, ESRG, PVT1, ELFN1-AS1, HHLA1, DCD, SPRR1A, PBOV1
and others). We also described the evolutionary novelty of the whole classes of genes expressed predominantly in tumors,
i.e. CT-X genes and genes of noncoding tumor specifi cally expressed RNAs. We studied the phylogenetic distribution of the
orthologs of genes expressed in tumors and found that diff erent functional gene classes have diff erent evolutionary novelty.
Some of them are enriched by evolutionarily novel genes. We showed that evolution of oncogenes, tumor suppressor genes and
diff erentiation genes occurs in a parallel way, which supports the participation of tumors in the origin of new cell types. Some
human genes which determine progressive traits originated in fi shes and were fi rst expressed in fi sh tumors. Th e existing data
suggest that genes originated by gene duplication; from endogenous retroviruses; by exon shuffl ing; and de novo are expressed
in tumors, sometimes with high tumor specifi city. Th e conclusion will be made that the expression of evolutionarily novel
genes in tumors may be a novel biological phenomenon with important evolutionary role.