Evolution of JAK-STAT Pathway Components: Mechanisms and Role in Immune System Development

1Cytokines are secreted polypeptides that mediate specific cell-cell communication essential for the development and regulation of a range of cell types, in particular those of the immune and hematopoietic systems. For example, interleukin 2 is essential for the generation of lymphocytes and NK cells, lambda interferons play key anti-viral roles, while granulocyte colony-stimulating factor contributes to neutrophil differentiation and survival, as well as facilitating hematopoietic stem cell mobilization. Cytokines act via specific cytokine receptor complexes expressed on the surface of target cells. Receptor ligation mediates conformational changes in the complex that initiate intracellular signaling via associated tyrosine kinases, principally members of the Janus kinase (JAK) family. These activate latent Signal transducer and activators of transcription (STAT) transcription factors that induce the expression of specific sets of genes to facilitate the appropriate cellular responses,. Differential engagement of specific JAK-STAT pathway components produces the requisite, and often exquisitely specific, response from each cytokine receptor complex within the relevant cellular context. An important part of this system is the presence of multiple regulatory mechanisms for extinguishing JAK-STAT signaling, which can lead to various pathologies if left unchecked. These negative regulators include specific members of the SH2-domain containing tyrosine phosphatase (SHP), Protein inhibitors against Stats (PIAS), and Suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS) families. Understanding how such a complicated signaling system has developed, and how this relates to immune system evolution, remains an important challenge.

2The JAK family shares a common structure, including an N-terminal FERM domain that is involved in protein-protein interactions with specific cytokine receptors with which they are often pre-associated, an SH2-like domain, a regulatory dual –kinase (JH2) domain and a C-terminal tyrosine kinase (JH1) domain,. Conformational changes in the receptor complex lead to the initiation of intracellular signaling via auto- and trans-phosphorylation of the associated JAKs and subsequent phosphorylation of cytokine receptor tyrosine residues,. These phosphotyrosines then act as docking sites for various signaling proteins, including members of the STAT family of transcription factors. These share the variably conserved N-terminal, coiled-coil, DNA binding, SH3 linker, and SH2 domains, followed by the least conserved C-terminal region that is responsible for transactivation,,. Once docked, STAT proteins are subsequently phosphorylated by JAKs on conserved tyrosines to permit formation of activated STAT homo- or hetero-dimers via intermolecular SH2-phosphotyrosine interactions. These dimers translocate to the nucleus where they bind to specific promoter sequences, to facilitate transcription of genes necessary to mediate the relevant cellular responses,.

3STATs also induce the transcription of genes encoding the SOCS family of negative regulators. SOCS proteins consist of a divergent N-terminal domain, a central SH2 domain responsible for binding to specific target proteins, and a C-terminal SOCS box domain that interacts with proteasomal components. SOCS proteins suppress signaling by directly blocking JAK activity, competing for docking sites on the receptor complex or targeting signaling components for degradation. In addition, there are latent cytosolic proteins that negatively control the JAK-STAT pathway, principally the SHP and PIAS proteins. SHP proteins possess tandem N-terminal SH2 domains that bind specifically to key substrates, a central tyrosine phosphatase domain, and a divergent C-terminal region, which contains several tyrosine residues that serve as docking sites for other signaling proteins when phosphorylated,. PIAS proteins, on the other hand, consist of an N-terminal SAP domain, followed by a PINIT motif, a RING finger-like zinc binding domain (RLD), an acidic domain (AD), and a divergent C-terminal serine/threonine (S/T)-rich region in all members except PIASy.

4The most primitive canonical JAK-STAT signaling pathway, consisting of a single JAK-STAT module induced by an upstream cytokine receptor and regulated by SOCS, SHP, and PIAS proteins, is found in extant invertebrates. For example, the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) possesses a clearly discernible cytokine receptor (Domeless), along with single JAK (hopscotch), STAT (marelle/STAT92E), SHP, and PIAS proteins as well as three SOCS proteins. In insects the JAK-STAT pathway contributes to anti-viral and anti-bacterial response,,,, as well as the generation of the leukocyte-like hemocytes,. However, the pleiotropic nature of JAK-STAT signaling is manifested in a diverse range of other roles in development and maintenance, including cell fate determination, brain development, cardiogenesis, and intestinal stem cell proliferation,,,.

5The JAK-STAT signaling pathway of invertebrates has been expanded upon in mammals to four JAK, seven STAT, three SHP, four PIAS, and eight SOCS family members to service over 50 cytokine and other receptors, the majority with roles in immunity and hematopoiesis but others participating in other important roles,,. Perturbation of the mammalian JAK-STAT pathway often leads to immunological and hematopoietic diseases as well as various cancers. Disruption of relevant JAK-STAT signaling components generally leads to a compromised immune system, such as JAK3 mutations contributing to severe combined immune deficiency and STAT1 mutations increasing susceptibility to mycobacterial infections. In contrast, aberrant activation of JAK-STAT components contributes to proliferative disorders and malignancies. For example, specific JAK2 mutations play a major role in a range of myeloproliferative disorders, namely polycythaemia vera, essential thombocytosis, and primary myelofibrosis, which result in excessive expansion of erythrocytes, thrombocytes, and granulocytes respectively. Similarly, TEL-JAK2 fusions contribute to leukemia, whilst aberrant activation of STAT3 increases ovarian cancer motility.

6The intracellular JAK, STAT, SHP, PIAS, and SOCS signaling pathway has expanded from 7 components in fruit fly to 26 components in mammals. Many of the functions appear conserved in other vertebrates, including zebrafish,,,. Over this same time period the immune system has increased greatly in complexity. This study has investigated the differential evolution of JAK-STAT pathway components since the formation of the canonical, cytokine receptor-regulated JAK-STAT signaling pathway, providing new insights into the process, with implications for immune system evolution.

7To gain insight into JAK-STAT pathway evolution, a comprehensive bioinformatic strategy was employed to identify and characterize JAK, STAT, SHP, PIAS, and SOCS genes from a range of relevant organisms (File S1).

8A single JAK homologue has been found in both fruit fly (hopscotch) and sea squirt (Ciona intestinalis) (jak). Mammals possess four family members (JAK1, JAK2, JAK3, TYK2), with previous studies identifying a JAK1 orthologue (jak1) and two JAK2 paralogs (jak2a, jak2b) in zebrafish (Danio rerio). Bioinformatic approaches were used to complete the partial zebrafish jak2b sequence as well as identify two additional JAK family members in this organism, the expression of which were confirmed by RT-PCR (Table S1). Phylogenetic analysis (Figure 1) identified these as orthologs for JAK3 and TYK2, assignments that were supported by conserved synteny data (Figure 2), including multiple genes in the case of jak3 (B3GNT3, SLC5A5, CCDC124, KCNN1), or a single gene in the case of tyk2 (RAVER1). Comparative analysis of the green pufferfish (Tetraodon fluviatilis) genome revealed the presence of an identical set of JAK genes, including both jak2a and jak2b. In contrast, chicken (Gallus gallus) was found to possess the same JAK complement as mammals, including a single jak2, providing evidence that there has been duplication of this gene specifically in teleosts. Phylogenetic analyses also indicated a closer evolutionary relationship between two gene pairs, the JAK1 and TYK2 pair and the JAK2 and JAK3 pair. This was also supported by conserved syntenic relationships with RAVER-related genes for JAK1 and TYK2, as well as INSL- and KCNN-related genes for JAK2 and JAK3, while association with SLC-related genes for JAK1, JAK2, and JAK3 is consistent with a common evolutionary ancestry. All vertebrate JAK proteins possessed equivalent JH1-7 domains that were conserved across all members, with several residues, including a dityrosine within the kinase domain, being wholly conserved (File S2). Intron/exon structures were identical across all JAK genes with the exception of zebrafish jak2a, which possesses an additional exon that encodes its leader sequence.

9Fruit fly possesses a single STAT gene (marelle), whilst sea squirt has two STAT genes (stata, statb). In contrast, there are seven STAT members in mammals (STAT1, STAT2, STAT3, STAT4, STAT5A, STAT5B, STAT6), which exist in three clusters: STAT1 and STAT4 lying adjacent, STAT3, STAT5A and STAT5B lying adjacent, with STAT2 and STAT6 located proximally on the same chromosome. Previous work in zebrafish has identified single stat1 and stat3 genes, as well as duplicate stat5 genes, stat5.1 and stat5.2, that were derived independently of the STAT5A and STAT5B duplication in mammals. In silico analysis revealed the presence of five additional STAT sequences in zebrafish, the expression of which were confirmed by RT-PCR (Table S1). Phylogenetic analysis identified one of these as an additional STAT1 paralog, designated stat1b (with the previously described zebrafish stat1 renamed stat1a), one as a stat1 pseudogene (stat1. Ψ), as well as single teleost stat2, stat4 and stat6 orthologs (Figure 3).

10The STAT gene designations were generally well-supported by conserved synteny (Figure 4). For example, teleost stat1b and stat4 lay adjacent, like mammalian STAT1 and STAT4, with further conserved synteny of several adjacent genes (GLS, NAB1, LOC100131221, FLJ20160). The teleost-specific stat1a genes were also flanked by paralogs to several of these (GLS, NAB1), while the stat1 pseudogene lay immediately downstream of stat1b, suggestive of a local duplication event. Only a single gene (PTGES3) showed conserved synteny with stat6 while no synteny conservation was evident for stat2. However, the identity of the latter was confirmed by the presence of a KYLK motif in the encoded protein that is unique to STAT2, as well as a similar splice structure (File S3).

11Conserved synteny was also evident between various STAT gene clusters, such as the GLS-, MYO1- and NAB-related genes between the STAT1/STAT4 cluster and STAT2/STAT6 cluster as well as HSD17B-related genes between the STAT3/STAT5 cluster and STAT2/STAT6 cluster. Phylogenetic analysis suggested two distinct STAT sub-families, one containing vertebrate STAT1, STAT2, STAT3 and STAT4 along with sea squirt stata, and one containing vertebrate STAT5 and STAT6 along with sea squirt statb. This distinction was also supported by the alternative splice structure in the region encoding the coiled-coil and DNA binding domains between these two sub-families (File S3).

12Single SHP homologues have been identified in fruit fly (corkscrew) and in sea squirt (shp), whilst mammals possess two family members (SHP1, SHP2). Analysis of vertebrate genomes revealed three SHP homologues in zebrafish, with expression confirmed by RT-PCR and the presence of corresponding EST sequences in each case (Table S1), as well as related genes in several tetrapods, including chicken and toad. Phylogenetic analysis identified two of these as orthologs of mammalian SHP1 and SHP2 (Figure 5), confirmed by conserved synteny relationships for shp1 (C1S) and shp2 (TMED2, DDX55) (Figure 6), and conservation of splicing structure, functional domains and motifs, including C-terminal tyrosines (File S4). Phylogenetic analysis identified a distinct third clade related to both SHP1 and SHP2, including a conserved splice site structure that was named SHP3. Analysis of mammalian genomes identified a SHP3 pseudogene (SHPΨ) with flanking genes (HES4, AGRIN) showing conserved synteny to zebrafish shp3 (Figure 6), suggesting selective loss of this SHP family member along the mammalian lineage.

13There is a single PIAS gene in both fruit fly (pias) and sea squirt (pias), whilst there are four PIAS members in mammals (PIAS1, PIAS3, PIASx, PIASy). Bioinformatic analysis revealed the presence of four pias genes in zebrafish, the expression of which were confirmed using RT-PCR (Table S1). Phylogenetic analysis indicated that these represented piasx and piasy orthologs and two pias1 paralogs, pias1.a and pias1.b, with no pias3 ortholog present (Figure 7). The identities of pias1.a, pias1.b and piasy were confirmed by conserved synteny to their mammalian counterparts, including multiple common genes (SMAD6, SMAD3, SKOR1) across both pias1 genes with additional genes (IQCH, FLJ11506) or gene (MAPK related) for pias1.a and pias1.b, respectively. There were also two genes (ZBTB7A, MAP2K2) showing conserved synteny to piasy, although there were none for piasx between zebrafish and humans (Figure 8). Japanese pufferfish (Takifugu rubripes) had the same pias complement as zebrafish, whilst African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis) possessed the same pias complement as mammals, suggesting a teleost-specific absence of pias3. Each of the PIAS functional domains, including the SAP, PINIT, RLD, AD, and S/T-rich were conserved in teleost PIAS1 and PIASx homologues. Like their mammalian counterparts, teleost PIASy proteins lack both the AD and the S/T-rich region (File S5). Despite extensive searches, additional exons containing the leader sequence for zebrafish pias1.b and piasx were not found.

14In contrast to other JAK-STAT pathway components, which exist as single members in invertebrates, three SOCS family members have been identified in fruit fly (socs36e, socs44a, socs16d), as well as in sea squirt (socs1/socs2/socs3/cish, socs6, socs7). The SOCS family has expanded to include 8 members in mammals (CISH, SOCS1-7). Bioinformatic analysis revealed 12 SOCS family members in zebrafish, the expression of which were again confirmed by RT-PCR (Table S1). Phylogenetic analysis identified these as single socs1, socs2, socs6 and socs7 orthologs, and paralogous pairs for the remainder: cisha/cishb, socs3a/socs3b, socs4a/socs4b, and socs5a/socs5b, with all but socs5b also present in pufferfish (Figure 9). The assignments were confirmed by synteny conservation for cisha (C3ORF18, HEMK1, WDR82) and cishb (TWF2, C3ORF64, TMF1), socs1 (NUBP1, CIITA, DEXI, CLEC16A), socs2 (CRADD), socs3a (PSCD1, USP36), socs3b (BIRC5, THA1P), socs4a (GCH, WDHD1), socs5a (RHOQ, PIGF, CRIPT), socs5b (MCFD2, TTC7A, CALM2), socs6 (NETO1), and socs7 (MRPL45, NPEPPS, WIPF2, AHNAK) (Figure 10). Synteny analysis verified the identity of the teleost socs4b by the conserved synteny (SAMD4A) between pufferfish socs4b and human SOCS4, with the identity of zebrafish socs4b was confirmed by conserved synteny with pufferfish socs4b (PAF1). Similar splicing patterns for the zebrafish and mammals SOCS homologues also supported their respective designations (File S6). The SOCS proteins showed conserved domain structure, with the N-terminal regions displaying the lowest degree of sequence conservation, while the SH2 and SOCS box domains were highly conserved between species.

15Cytokine receptor signaling is a cornerstone of the immune and hematopoietic systems, with the JAK-STAT pathway representing its major intracellular component. The canonical cytokine receptor-JAK-STAT system, including its key negative regulators, evolved prior to the appearance of chordates, being observed in extant invertebrates such as fruit fly. This study has sought to understand the subsequent evolution and diversification of this system during chordate and vertebrate evolution through the examination of the JAK, STAT, SHP, PIAS and SOCS families in relevant species. This analysis has identified very limited expansion of these families prior to the divergence of urochordates, but significant expansion from then until the divergence of lobe-finned and ray-finned fishes – coincident with the emergence of adaptive immunity – followed by more moderate expansion from that point. Close examination has provided new insight into the molecular processes involved, the relative pressures for diversification of each signaling component, as well as the overall involvement of cytokine receptor-JAK-STAT pathway in the genesis of the adaptive immune system.

16Rather than de novo generation of entirely novel genes, gene duplications, domain shuffling, and associated mechanisms play the major role in generating gene diversity within eukaryotes. Gene duplication events can be either local, typically tandem duplications, or global, in the form of whole genome duplication (WGD) events,. There have been three WGDs during vertebrate evolution, with the first two (1R and 2R) occurring after the divergence of urochordates but before the divergence of lobe-finned fishes and ray-finned fishes, with the third WGD (3R) limited to teleost fish within the ray-finned fish lineage (Figure 11A). These WGDs have led to the so-called ‘1∶2∶4(:8 in fish)’ rule with regards to gene expansion. However, due to a propensity for gene loss as a consequence of insufficient selective pressures following duplication events, this rule generally overestimates the observed level of gene expansion,. Gene diversity is also generated by other processes, including the rearrangement of functional domains within a protein through processes such as ‘exon-shuffling’,, or specific addition or deletion of specific domains through ‘exonization’ or ‘intronization’, respectively. Our data suggest that WGDs – particularly 1R and 2R – have been the key driver for evolution of JAK-STAT pathway components throughout chordate/vertebrate evolution, with more limited local duplication, and a general paucity of changes in overall domain architecture. Furthermore, positive selection was only detected in a small subset of duplicated members of the signaling pathway following the divergence of lobe-finned and ray-finned fishes (Table S2), suggesting that division of gene function was a largely responsible for gene retention in teleosts and mammals.

17The evolution of the JAK family follows the classical WGD-driven expansion pattern during 1R and 2R, with one member in invertebrates and urochordates, and four members in tetrapods, including mammals (Figure 11B). This would appear to be via JAK1/TYK2 and JAK2/JAK3 intermediates following 1R, as indicated by phylogenetic analysis and conserved synteny across each gene pair. In contrast, only the JAK2 paralogs, jak2a and jak2b, were retained in teleost fish following 3R. The evolution of the SHP family also appears to have been similarly driven by WGD, although gene retention has been even more limited (Figure 11C). Thus, there is a single homologue in invertebrates and chordates with three members in several higher vertebrates, although only two in mammals. This is most easily explained by 1R generating a SHP1/SHP3 intermediate and a SHP2 precursor, with 2R producing separate SHP1 and SHP3 genes, but no duplicate retention along the SHP2 lineage, and with SHP3 subsequently lost specifically along the mammalian lineage. The additional 3R WGD in teleosts failed to generate any further expansion of SHP family members. There has also been no significant change in the domain structure of the proteins encoded by either JAK or SHP gene families over this evolutionary period. Expansion of the PIAS family has also been largely influenced by WGDs (Figure 11D). The 1R event likely generated PIASx/PIASy and PIAS1/PIAS3 intermediates from the single PIAS precursor, with 2R generating the individual PIAS1, PIAS3, PIASx and PIASy genes. Following 3R the pias1.a and pias1.b paralogs were retained in the teleost lineage, with the related pias3 gene being specifically lost. However, unlike the JAK and SHP families, some limited domain rearrangement was evident in the PIAS family, as the sequences encoding the AD and S/T-rich regions were absent specifically within both the mammalian and teleost PIASy gene.

18The evolution of STAT genes has also been influenced by WGD, but significantly supplemented by local duplications, which is emphasized by the proximity of many existing vertebrate STAT genes to one another. Indeed, the original STAT gene, represented by that in extant invertebrates, was duplicated in a WGD-independent manner by the time of the last common ancestor of urochordates and vertebrates, generating precursors of stata and statb seen in extant urochordates. A simplistic model that ignored the proximity of STAT genes might suggest that the vertebrate STAT1, STAT2, STAT3 and STAT4 genes were generated from the stata lineage via classical 1R and 2R WGDs, with STAT5 and STAT6 being generated from the statb lineage as a result of one of these WGDs. However, an alternative model can be proposed that takes into account the observed proximity within this gene family (Figure 12). This proposes that the stata and statb precursors originally lay adjacent as a consequence of local duplication, with the stata-statb precursor subsequently duplicated en bloc, such that 1R and 2R collectively generated four copies of this cluster, only three of which were retained: a STAT3-STAT5 cluster, a STAT2-STAT6 cluster, and a STAT1-STAT4 cluster. In support of this model, the first two of these clusters maintain the appropriate stata-statb precursor configuration. The latter cluster consists of two stata-related genes, although this arrangement can be explained through sequential gene loss (of the statb equivalent) followed by local duplication of the remaining gene, or via ‘gene conversion’ of the adjacent STAT genes, as has been reported for a segment of the adjacent mammalian STAT5 genes. Analysis of additional organisms intermediate between urochordates and higher vertebrates will definitively resolve this issue. Finally, duplicates for both stat1 and stat5 have been retained following 3R in teleosts, with additional local duplications of stat1 leading to a pseudogene in zebrafish, while local duplication has also occurred along the mammalian lineage with respect to the STAT5 genes.

19Interpretation of SOCS gene evolution is also complex, since certain gene subsets appear to have been specifically lost in some lineages. Our model suggests that the common ancestor of protostomes and deuterostomes possessed four members of this family: a socs1/socs2/socs3/cish intermediate, a socs4/socs5 intermediate as well as distinct socs6 and socs7 precursors (Figure 13). This is supported by analysis of the more primitive sea anemone (Nematostella vectensis) genome, which contains exactly this complement of socs genes (data not shown). Additionally, a SOCS2-like gene, resembling the socs1/socs2/socs3/cish intermediate, has been described in the European honey bee (Apis mellifera), flour beetle (Tribolium castaneum), along with various molluscs and crustaceans. Thus, the invertebrate lineage of protostomes appears to possess a socs1/socs2/socs3/cish intermediate, lost in the fruit fly, whilst protostomes also possess a socs4/socs5 intermediate, as well as divergent socs6 and socs7 orthologs, whereas the urochordate lineage of deuterostomes (typified by sea squirt) has retained the socs1/socs2/socs3/cish intermediate, as well as socs6 and socs7 orthologs, but has specifically lost the socs4/socs5 intermediate. Subsequent expansion of the SOCS family within vertebrates has been variable along the different lineages, although WGDs again represent the key driving force. The SOCS1/SOCS2/SOCS3/CISH lineage follows the classical WGD expansion during 1R and 2R, generating SOCS1, SOCS2, SOCS3 and CISH, via SOCS1/SOCS3 and SOCS2/CISH intermediates, with additional socs3 and cish paralogs retained in teleosts following 3R. The SOCS4/SOCS5 intermediate has only duplicated once during 1R and 2R, with the presence of two distinct socs4/socs5 genes in the genome of Petromyzon marinus (data not shown) suggesting that the duplication occurred via 1R. The 3R event produced paralogs for both socs4 and socs5 that have been retained in zebrafish. In contrast, no expansion of socs6 or socs7 genes has occurred following any of the three WGD events.

20From this analysis it is evident that diversification of individual JAK-STAT pathway components has occurred at differing rates. For 1R and 2R, the overall ‘expansion ratio’ (calculated by comparing the number of members present in the common ancestor of protostomes and deuterostomes to the common ancestor of tetrapods and teleosts) was 1∶4 for the JAK and PIAS families and 1∶3 for the STAT and SHP. The expansion ratio for the SOCS family overall was 1∶2, although this ranged markedly between sub-families: from 1∶4 for SOCS1/SOCS2/SOCS3/CISH, 1∶2 for SOCS4/SOCS5, and 1∶1 for SOCS6 and SOCS7. For 3R, the expansion was more modest and differentially focused, being 1∶1.5 for the SOCS family, 1∶1.33 for the STAT family, 1∶1.25 for the JAK family and 1∶1 for the SHP and PIAS families. Indeed, the majority of JAK-STAT pathway components are represented at a 1∶1 homolog ratio between tetrapods and teleosts. The encoded set of core signaling molecules (JAK1, JAK3, TYK2, STAT2, STAT3, STAT4, STAT6, SOCS1, SOCS2, SOCS6, SOCS7, SHP1, SHP2, PIASx, PIASy) are therefore likely to display the highest functional conservation across these organismal groups.

21The differential expansion of the individual JAK-STAT pathway components would not seem to be a random process, but instead linked to specific signaling “modules”. The key factor appears to be the diversification of upstream cytokine receptors, which expanded >30-fold during 1R and 2R but with much more limited expansion during 3R,,, consistent with the relative expansion of JAK-STAT pathway components. Specific evidence for the role of cytokine receptor expansion in the process comes from analysis of the SOCS family, with the subset predominantly involved in regulating cytokine signaling (SOCS1, SOCS2, SOCS3, CISH) expanding 4-fold during 1R and 2R, the subset with lesser roles (SOCS4, SOCS5) expanding to a reduced extent, and the subset with no known role in cytokine signaling (SOCS6, SOCS7) not expanding at all. Duplicate retention of JAK-STAT components along the teleost lineage (3R) also strongly correlates with expansion of the corresponding cytokine receptors, such that entire pathways are seen to be replicated. For example, duplicates of both prolactin receptor (prlr) and growth hormone receptor (ghr) are found in teleosts, as are the genes encoding the JAK-STAT components lying downstream of these receptors (JAK2, STAT5, CISH). Similarly, Class II receptors have expanded along the teleost lineage,,, as have the genes encoding STAT1 and its specific negative regulator PIAS1, that lie downstream of this group of receptors. Interestingly, the expansion of cytokine receptors has significantly exceeded that of the downstream JAK-STAT pathway. However, the latter are pleiomorphic, being able to form distinct ‘signaling modules’ by combining different components. For example, JAK2 can differentially activate STAT1, STAT3, STAT6 and/or STAT6 depending on the receptor context, while negative regulators are able to act on multiple receptors, JAKs and STATs, including the ability to cross-talk between different receptors. Therefore the overall functional complexity of both extracellular and intracellular signaling has probably increased to a similar extent. Furthermore, the relative rates of evolution for JAK-STAT components is different for those which are largely immune restricted (JAK3, TYK2, STAT1, STAT2, STAT4, and STAT6) compared to those that are more pleiotropic (JAK1, JAK2, STAT3, and STAT5) (Table S2). Consistent with a previous study, the higher dN/dS ratios of the immune restricted components reflect a greater evolutionary rate of change and lower purifying selection than the more pleiotropic components, likely due to the constant need to respond to the ever changing pathogenic threats that the immune system encounters.

22Finally, this study provides evidence that diversification of cytokine receptor signaling through JAK-STAT pathway components has contributed to the emergence of the adaptive immune system (AIS). The AIS arose within a relatively short time interval in vertebrate evolution, in a so-called immunological ‘big bang’ associated with two whole genome duplications. Whilst this likely overstates the simplicity and rapidity involved,, the WGD events clearly provided much of the raw materials for specific aspects of adaptive immunity, such that genes involved in adaptive immunity have been shown to be preferentially retained following 1R and 2R. This is largely true for all JAK-STAT components, with the exception of the subfamily of SOCS proteins with roles outside of cytokine signaling and SHP proteins that also participates in growth factor signaling thereby limiting the potential for additional diversification of this family. Moreover, the upstream cytokine receptors have been massively diversified in this time period and seem a major driver for retention of downstream JAK-STAT components, including those with unique roles in adaptive immunity. Indeed, the core cytokine signaling pathway components involved in adaptive immunity are present following 1R and 2R,,, including the lymphocyte-specific IL-2R, IL-4R, JAK3, STAT4 and STAT6, as are the key AIS components. As a corollary, the additional diversification during 3R falls largely outside the immune system (eg. PRLR/GHR pathways and SOCS4/SOCS5), apart from some limited diversification of class II cytokine signaling along the teleost lineage. In contrast, the innate immune system, typified by the presence of immune recognition molecules and phagocytic cells, pre-dates the evolution of functional cytokine receptor signaling. For example, Purple sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus), possesses over 200 Toll-like receptors (TLRs), but no apparent cytokine receptor signaling system. Similarly, fruit fly has several distinct innate immune cell populations and defense systems, but its canonical cytokine receptor-JAK-STAT pathway has only limited roles within its immune system. Rather, the subsequent diversification of cytokine receptor-JAK-STAT pathways would appear to contribute to the refinement of the pre-existing innate immune system. This is illustrated, for example, by the G-CSFR that is not essential for the development of innate immune cells, but also allows the innate immune system to respond to ‘emergency’ situations.

23The canonical cytokine receptor-regulated JAK-STAT pathway was formed prior to the appearance of chordates and has subsequently diversified greatly during chordate and vertebrate evolution. This significant, but differential, expansion of pathway components is largely mediated by WGD events with retention driven by diversification of upstream cytokine receptors. The majority of this occurred co-incidentally with the appearance of adaptive immunity, at which time the key lymphoid-specific cytokine signaling pathways were generated. This collectively suggests that evolution of cytokine receptor signaling via the JAK-STAT pathway was a key facilitator of adaptive immune system emergence.

24The tBLASTn algorithm was employed to systematically search for JAK, STAT, SHP, PIAS and SOCS gene sequences in Expressed Sequence Tag (EST), genomic, and whole genome shotgun (WGS) databases for a range of organisms at GenBank (http://blast.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/), or in other specific genomic databases, such as sea squirt (http://genome.jgi-psf.org/ciona4/). All independent sequences identified that possessed E values<0.1 were extracted for further analysis. GenomeScan (http://genes.mit.edu/genomescan.html) was used to predict coding exons from sequences derived solely from WGS or genomic scaffolds, some of which were manually adjusted on the basis of known intron-exon boundaries in other organisms. Nucleotide sequences were assembled using Sequencher 4.1.4 (Gene Codes Corporation). Any apparently incomplete contigs were extended by iterative BLASTn searches using the relevant contig terminus until the entire putative coding sequence had been identified. Any remaining gaps in the contigs were closed by sequencing of appropriate reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) products. The probable identity of each encoded protein was determined by BLASTp searching with the respective conceptual translations. To analyze splicing the position of intron/exon boundaries was determined by alignment of cDNA and genomic sequences, applying the GT-AG splice rule where possible. The final assignment of identity was guided by overall sequence identity, conservation of key functional domains and residues, phylogenic analysis and conserved synteny. The nomenclature for the genes followed the conventions of GenBank and the zebrafish information network (ZFIN) (www.zfin.org).

25Multiple protein sequences were aligned using AlignX9 (Invitrogen) and ClustalX 1.83. The latter was utilized to create bootstrapped phylogenetic trees of 1000 replicates using the Neighbor-Joining algorithm, with trees formatted using Njplot (http://pbil.univ-lyon1.fr/software/njplot.html), and viewed in Treeview 1.6.6 (http://taxonomy.zoology.gla.ac.uk/rod/treeview.html). Additional analyses using Maximum parsimony and Maximum likelihood algorithms were performed with Phylo_win (http://pbil.univ-lyon1.fr/software/phylowin.html) and Phylip (http://evolution.genetics.washington.edu/phylip.html) packages to confirm phylogenetic topologies. The JCoDA software package (http://www.tcnj.edu/~nayaklab/jcoda) was used to calculate positive selection.

26Ensembl (http://www.ensembl.org) was used to perform synteny analysis using the following genome assemblies: sea squirt (Ciona intestinalis) (JGI 2), zebrafish (Danio rerio) (Zv6 and Zv7), spotted green pufferfish (Tetraodon nigroviridis) (TETRAODON 7), Japanese pufferfish (Takifugu rubripes) (FUGU 4.0), African clawed frog (Xenopus tropicalis) (JGI 4.1), chicken (Gallus gallus) (WASHUC 1), mouse (Mus musculus) (NCBI m36) and human (Homo sapiens) (NCBI 36).