scholarly journals Behavior-dependent cis regulation reveals genes and pathways associated with bower building in cichlid fishes

2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (47) ◽  
pp. E11081-E11090 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan A. York ◽  
Chinar Patil ◽  
Kawther Abdilleh ◽  
Zachary V. Johnson ◽  
Matthew A. Conte ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Neural Plasticity ◽  
Genetic Basis ◽  
Specific Expression ◽  
Preferential Expression ◽  
Cichlid Fishes ◽  
Brain Gene Expression ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Allele Specific ◽  
Genomic Regions

Many behaviors are associated with heritable genetic variation [Kendler and Greenspan (2006) Am J Psychiatry 163:1683–1694]. Genetic mapping has revealed genomic regions or, in a few cases, specific genes explaining part of this variation [Bendesky and Bargmann (2011) Nat Rev Gen 12:809–820]. However, the genetic basis of behavioral evolution remains unclear. Here we investigate the evolution of an innate extended phenotype, bower building, among cichlid fishes of Lake Malawi. Males build bowers of two types, pits or castles, to attract females for mating. We performed comparative genome-wide analyses of 20 bower-building species and found that these phenotypes have evolved multiple times with thousands of genetic variants strongly associated with this behavior, suggesting a polygenic architecture. Remarkably, F1 hybrids of a pit-digging and a castle-building species perform sequential construction of first a pit and then a castle bower. Analysis of brain gene expression in these hybrids showed that genes near behavior-associated variants display behavior-dependent allele-specific expression with preferential expression of the pit-digging species allele during pit digging and of the castle-building species allele during castle building. These genes are highly enriched for functions related to neurodevelopment and neural plasticity. Our results suggest that natural behaviors are associated with complex genetic architectures that alter behavior via cis-regulatory differences whose effects on gene expression are specific to the behavior itself.

scholarly journals Patterns of genome-wide allele-specific expression in hybrid rice and the implications on the genetic basis of heterosis

2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (12) ◽  
pp. 5653-5658 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lin Shao ◽  
Feng Xing ◽  
Conghao Xu ◽  
Qinghua Zhang ◽  
Jian Che ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Basis ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Sequencing Data ◽  
Specific Expression ◽  
Allele Specific Expression ◽  
Parental Allele ◽  
Genetic Components ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
A Genome ◽  
Allele Specific

Utilization of heterosis has greatly increased the productivity of many crops worldwide. Although tremendous progress has been made in characterizing the genetic basis of heterosis using genomic technologies, molecular mechanisms underlying the genetic components are much less understood. Allele-specific expression (ASE), or imbalance between the expression levels of two parental alleles in the hybrid, has been suggested as a mechanism of heterosis. Here, we performed a genome-wide analysis of ASE by comparing the read ratios of the parental alleles in RNA-sequencing data of an elite rice hybrid and its parents using three tissues from plants grown under four conditions. The analysis identified a total of 3,270 genes showing ASE (ASEGs) in various ways, which can be classified into two patterns: consistent ASEGs such that the ASE was biased toward one parental allele in all tissues/conditions, and inconsistent ASEGs such that ASE was found in some but not all tissues/conditions, including direction-shifting ASEGs in which the ASE was biased toward one parental allele in some tissues/conditions while toward the other parental allele in other tissues/conditions. The results suggested that these patterns may have distinct implications in the genetic basis of heterosis: The consistent ASEGs may cause partial to full dominance effects on the traits that they regulate, and direction-shifting ASEGs may cause overdominance. We also showed that ASEGs were significantly enriched in genomic regions that were differentially selected during rice breeding. These ASEGs provide an index of the genes for future pursuit of the genetic and molecular mechanism of heterosis.

scholarly journals Modeling allele-specific gene expression by single-cell RNA sequencing

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuchao Jiang ◽  
Nancy R Zhang ◽  
Mingyao Li
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Single Cell ◽  
Rna Sequencing ◽  
Specific Gene ◽  
Burst Frequency ◽  
Specific Expression ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Single Cell Rna Sequencing ◽  
Allelic Differences ◽  
Allele Specific

AbstractAllele-specific expression is traditionally studied by bulk RNA sequencing, which measures average expression across cells. Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) allows the comparison of expression distribution between the two alleles of a diploid organism and thus the characterization of allele-specific bursting. We propose SCALE to analyze genome-wide allele-specific bursting, with adjustment of technical variability. SCALE detects genes exhibiting allelic differences in bursting parameters, and genes whose alleles burst non-independently. We apply SCALE to mouse blastocyst and human fibroblast cells and find that, globally, cis control in gene expression overwhelmingly manifests as differences in burst frequency.

scholarly journals Genome-Wide Regulatory Interactions in the Early Stages of Drosophila Speciation

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Alwyn Clark Go
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Isolation ◽  
Expression Analysis ◽  
Regulatory Elements ◽  
Specific Expression ◽  
Allele Specific Expression ◽  
Regulatory Interactions ◽  
Early Stages ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Allele Specific ◽  
Incomplete Reproductive Isolation

Speciation occurs when reproductive barriers prevent the exchange of genetic information between individuals. A common form of reproductive barrier between species capable of interbreeding is hybrid sterility. Genomic incompatibilities between the divergent genomes of different species contribute to a reduction in hybrid fitness. These incompatibilities continue to accumulate after speciation, therefore, young divergent taxa with incomplete reproductive isolation are important in understating the genetics leading to speciation. Here, I use two Drosophila subspecies pairs. The first is D. willistoni consisting of D. w. willistoni and D. w. winge. The second subspecies pair is D. pseudoobscura, which is composed of D. p. pseudoobscura and D. p. bogotana. Both subspecies pairs are at the early stages of speciation and show incomplete reproductive isolation through unidirectional hybrid male sterility. In this thesis, I performed an exploratory survey of genome-wide expression analysis using RNA-sequencing on D. willistoni and determined the extent of regulatory divergence between the subspecies using allele-specific expression analysis. I found that misexpressed genes showed a degree of tissue specificity and that the sterile male hybrids had a higher proportion of misexpressed genes in the testes relative to the fertile hybrids. The analysis of regulatory divergence between this subspecies pair found a large (66-70%) proportion of genes with conserved regulatory elements. Of the genes showing evidence or regulatory divergence between subspecies, cis-regulatory divergence was more common than other types. In the D. pseudoobscura subspecies pair, I compared sequence and expression divergence and found no support for directional selection driving gene misexpression in their hybrids. Allele-specific expression analysis revealed that compensatory cis-trans mutations partly explained gene misexpression in the hybrids. The remaining hybrid misexpression occurs due to interacting gene networks or possible co-option of cis-regulatory elements by divergent transacting factors. Overall, the results of this thesis highlight the role of regulatory interactions in a hybrid genome and how these interactions could lead to hybrid breakdown by disrupting gene interaction networks.

scholarly journals Genetic influences on cell type specific gene expression and splicing during neurogenesis elucidate regulatory mechanisms of brain traits

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nil Aygün ◽  
Angela L. Elwell ◽  
Dan Liang ◽  
Michael J. Lafferty ◽  
Kerry E. Cheek ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Regulatory Elements ◽  
Regulatory Mechanisms ◽  
Specific Gene ◽  
Cell Type ◽  
Specific Expression ◽  
Risk Variants ◽  
Allele Specific ◽  
Cell Type Specific ◽  
Regulatory Effects

SummaryInterpretation of the function of non-coding risk loci for neuropsychiatric disorders and brain-relevant traits via gene expression and alternative splicing is mainly performed in bulk post-mortem adult tissue. However, genetic risk loci are enriched in regulatory elements of cells present during neocortical differentiation, and regulatory effects of risk variants may be masked by heterogeneity in bulk tissue. Here, we map e/sQTLs and allele specific expression in primary human neural progenitors (n=85) and their sorted neuronal progeny (n=74). Using colocalization and TWAS, we uncover cell-type specific regulatory mechanisms underlying risk for these traits.

scholarly journals Genetic architecture and heritability of early-life telomere length in a wild passerine

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Pepke ◽  
Thomas Kvalnes ◽  
Sarah Lundregan ◽  
Winnie Boner ◽  
Pat Monaghan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Telomere Length ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Genetic Basis ◽  
Skeletal Development ◽  
Cellular Growth ◽  
Phenotypic Correlation ◽  
Animal Populations ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Genomic Regions

Early-life telomere length (TL) is associated with fitness in a range of organisms. Little is known about the genetic basis of variation in TL in wild animal populations, but to understand the evolutionary and ecological significance of TL it is important to quantify the relative importance of genetic and environmental variation in TL. In this study, we measured TL in 2746 house sparrow nestlings sampled across 20 years and used an animal model to show that there is a small heritable component of early-life TL (h2=0.04), but with a strong component of maternal inheritance. Variation in TL among individuals was mainly driven by environmental (year) variance, but also brood and parental effects. We did not find evidence for a negative genetic correlation underlying the observed negative phenotypic correlation between TL and structural body size. Thus, TL may evolve independently of body size and the negative phenotypic correlation is likely to be caused by non-genetic environmental effects. We further used genome‐wide association analysis to identify genomic regions associated with TL variation. We identified several putative genes underlying TL variation; these have been inferred to be involved in oxidative stress, cellular growth, skeletal development, cell differentiation and tumorigenesis in other species. Together, our results show that TL is a lowly heritable, polygenic trait which is strongly affected by environmental conditions in a free-living bird.

scholarly journals Histone H3K9 methylation promotes formation of genome compartments inCaenorhabditis elegansvia chromosome compaction and perinuclear anchoring

2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (21) ◽  
pp. 11459-11470 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qian Bian ◽  
Erika C. Anderson ◽  
Qiming Yang ◽  
Barbara J. Meyer
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Nuclear Periphery ◽  
Chromosome Conformation ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Central Regions ◽  
In Trans ◽  
Genomic Regions ◽  
In Cis ◽  
Gene Expression Levels

Genomic regions preferentially associate with regions of similar transcriptional activity, partitioning genomes into active and inactive compartments within the nucleus. Here we explore mechanisms controlling genome compartment organization inCaenorhabditis elegansand investigate roles for compartments in regulating gene expression. Distal arms ofC. eleganschromosomes, which are enriched for heterochromatic histone modifications H3K9me1/me2/me3, interact with each other bothin cisandin trans,while interacting less frequently with central regions, leading to genome compartmentalization. Arms are anchored to the nuclear periphery via the nuclear envelope protein CEC-4, which binds to H3K9me. By performing genome-wide chromosome conformation capture experiments (Hi-C), we showed that eliminating H3K9me1/me2/me3 through mutations in the methyltransferase genesmet-2andset-25significantly impaired formation of inactive Arm and active Center compartments.cec-4mutations also impaired compartmentalization, but to a lesser extent. We found that H3K9me promotes compartmentalization through two distinct mechanisms: Perinuclear anchoring of chromosome arms via CEC-4 to promote theircisassociation, and an anchoring-independent mechanism that compacts individual chromosome arms. In bothmet-2 set-25andcec-4mutants, no dramatic changes in gene expression were found for genes that switched compartments or for genes that remained in their original compartment, suggesting that compartment strength does not dictate gene-expression levels. Furthermore, H3K9me, but not perinuclear anchoring, also contributes to formation of another prominent feature of chromosome organization, megabase-scale topologically associating domains on X established by the dosage compensation condensin complex. Our results demonstrate that H3K9me plays crucial roles in regulating genome organization at multiple levels.

Allele-Specific Expression and Evolution of Gene Regulation Underlying Acute Heat Stress Response and Local Adaptation in the Copepod Tigriopus californicus

2020 ◽  
Vol 111 (6) ◽  
pp. 539-547
Author(s):  
Sumaetee Tangwancharoen ◽  
Brice X Semmens ◽  
Ronald S Burton
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Heat Stress ◽  
Stress Response ◽  
Local Adaptation ◽  
F1 Hybrids ◽  
Specific Expression ◽  
Heat Stress Response ◽  
Acute Heat Stress ◽  
Number Of Genes ◽  
Allele Specific

Abstract Geographic variation in environmental temperature can select for local adaptation among conspecific populations. Divergence in gene expression across the transcriptome is a key mechanism for evolution of local thermal adaptation in many systems, yet the genetic mechanisms underlying this regulatory evolution remain poorly understood. Here we examine gene expression in 2 locally adapted Tigriopus californicus populations (heat tolerant San Diego, SD, and less tolerant Santa Cruz, SC) and their F1 hybrids during acute heat stress response. Allele-specific expression (ASE) in F1 hybrids was used to determine cis-regulatory divergence. We found that the number of genes showing significant allelic imbalance increased under heat stress compared to unstressed controls. This suggests that there is significant population divergence in cis-regulatory elements underlying heat stress response. Specifically, the number of genes showing an excess of transcripts from the more thermal tolerant (SD) population increased with heat stress while that number of genes with an SC excess was similar in both treatments. Inheritance patterns of gene expression also revealed that genes displaying SD-dominant expression phenotypes increase in number in response to heat stress; that is, across loci, gene expression in F1’s following heat stress showed more similarity to SD than SC, a pattern that was absent in the control treatment. The observed patterns of ASE and inheritance of gene expression provide insight into the complex processes underlying local adaptation and thermal stress response.

scholarly journals Genome-Wide Analysis of Allele-Specific Expression Patterns in Seventeen Tissues of Korean Cattle (Hanwoo)

Animals ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 727
Author(s):  
Kyu-Sang Lim ◽  
Sun-Sik Chang ◽  
Bong-Hwan Choi ◽  
Seung-Hwan Lee ◽  
Kyung-Tai Lee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Phenotypic Variation ◽  
Expression Patterns ◽  
Monoallelic Expression ◽  
Specific Expression ◽  
Adult Cattle ◽  
Korean Cattle ◽  
Family Trio ◽  
Epigenetic Effects ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Allele Specific

The functional hemizygosity could be caused by the MAE of a given gene and it can be one of the sources to affect the phenotypic variation in cattle. We aimed to identify MAE genes across the transcriptome in Korean cattle (Hanwoo). For three Hanwoo family trios, the transcriptome data of 17 tissues were generated in three offspring. Sixty-two MAE genes had a monoallelic expression in at least one tissue. Comparing genotypes among each family trio, the preferred alleles of 18 genes were identified (maternal expression, n = 9; paternal expression, n = 9). The MAE genes are involved in gene regulation, metabolic processes, and immune responses, and in particular, six genes encode transcription factors (FOXD2, FOXM1, HTATSF1, SCRT1, NKX6-2, and UBN1) with tissue-specific expression. In this study, we report genome-wide MAE genes in seventeen tissues of adult cattle. These results could help to elucidate epigenetic effects on phenotypic variation in Hanwoo.

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