bioRxiv2022
Centromeric histones (CenH3s) are essential for chromosome inheritance during cell division in most eukaryotes. CenH3 genes have rapidly evolved and undergone repeated gene duplications and diversification in many plant and animal species. In Caenorhabditis, two independent duplications of CenH3 (named hcp-3 for HoloCentric chromosome-binding Protein 3) have been previously identified: in C. elegans and C. remanei. Here, using phylogenomic analyses in Caenorhabditis, we find strict retention of the ancestral hcp-3 gene and eight additional independent hcp-3 duplications, most of which are only found in one or two species. hcp-3L (hcp-3-like) paralogs are expressed in both sexes (males and females/ hermaphrodites) and have a conserved histone fold domain. We identified novel N-terminal protein motifs, including putative kinetochore protein-interacting motifs and a potential separase cleavage site, which are well-conserved across Caenorhabditis HCP-3 proteins. Other N-terminal motifs vary in their retention across paralogs or species, revealing potential sub-functionalization or functional loss following duplication. C. afra encodes an unprecedented protein fusion, where the hcp-3 paralog fused to duplicated segments from hcp-4 (nematode CENP-C). Extending our analyses beyond CenH3, we found gene duplications of six inner and outer kinetochore genes in Caenorhabditis, including co-retention of different kinetochore protein paralogs in a few species. Our findings suggest that centromeric protein duplications occur frequently in Caenorhabditis nematodes, are selectively retained under purifying selection but only for short evolutionary periods, then degenerate or are lost entirely. We hypothesize that unique challenges associated with holocentricity in Caenorhabditis may lead to this rapid revolving door of kinetochore protein paralogs.