Calcitonin receptor family evolution and fishing for function using in silico promoter analysis

•CALCR gene number in tetrapods, the coelacanth and gar and teleosts is respectively, 1, 1, 1.•CALCRL gene number in tetrapods, the coelacanth and gar and teleosts is respectively, 1, 2, 3.•Multiple hormone binding domains in CTR are a teleost specific innovation.•The co-regulated gene partners of the duplicate teleost CALCRL1 and CALCRL2 suggests they have divergent regulation.

In the present study the calcitonin receptor (CTR) sub-family of family B G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) in teleosts is evaluated and put in the context of the families overall evolution from echinodermates to vertebrates. Echinodermates, hemichordates, cephalochordates and tunicates have a single gene that encodes a receptor that bears similarity to the vertebrate calcitonin receptor (CTR) and calcitonin-like receptor (CTR/CLR). In tetrapods one gene encodes the calcitonin receptor (CALCR) and another gene the calcitonin receptor-like receptor (CALCRL). The evolution of CALCR has been under strong conservative pressure and a single copy is also found in fishes and high conservation of gene organisation and synteny exits from teleosts to human. A teleost specific CTR innovation that occurred after their divergence from holostei is the presence of several HBDs in the N-terminus. CALCRL had a different evolutionary trajectory from CALCR and although a single gene copy is present in tetrapods the sarcopterygii fish, the coelacanth, has 1 copy of CALCRL but also a fish specific form CALCRL3. The ray-finned fish, the spotted gar, has 1 copy of CALCRL and 1 of CALCRL3 but the teleost specific whole genome duplication has resulted in a CALCRL1 and CALCRL2 in addition to the fish specific CALCRL3. Strong conservation of CALCRL gene structure exists from human to fish. Promoter analysis in silico reveals that the duplicated CALCRL genes in the teleosts, zebrafish, takifugu, tetraodon and medaka, have divergent promoters and different putative co-regulated gene partners suggesting their function is different.