scholarly journals Genes relocated between Drosophila chromosome arms evolve under relaxed selective constraints relative to non-relocated genes

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret L. I. Hart ◽  
Ban L. Vu ◽  
Quinten Bolden ◽  
Keith T. Chen ◽  
Casey L. Oakes ◽  
...  

AbstractGene duplication creates a second copy of a gene either in tandem to the ancestral locus or dispersed to another chromosomal location. When the ancestral copy of a dispersed duplicate is lost from the genome, it creates the appearance that the gene was “relocated” from the ancestral locus to the derived location. Gene relocations may be as common as canonical dispersed duplications in which both the ancestral and derived copies are retained. Relocated genes appear to be under more selective constraints than the derived copies of canonical duplications, and they are possibly as conserved as single-copy non-relocated genes. To test this hypothesis, we combined comparative genomics, population genetics, gene expression, and functional analyses to assess the selection pressures acting on relocated, duplicated, and non-relocated single-copy genes in Drosophila genomes. We find that relocated genes evolve faster than single-copy non-relocated genes, and there is no evidence that this faster evolution is driven by positive selection. In addition, relocated genes are less essential for viability and male fertility than single-copy non-relocated genes, suggesting that relocated genes evolve fast because of relaxed selective constraints. However, relocated genes evolve slower than the derived copies of canonical dispersed duplicated genes. We therefore conclude that relocated genes are under more selective constraints than canonical duplicates, but are not as conserved as single-copy non-relocated genes.

2020 ◽  
Vol 37 (8) ◽  
pp. 2322-2331
Author(s):  
Carl J Dyson ◽  
Michael A D Goodisman

Abstract Gene duplication serves a critical role in evolutionary adaptation by providing genetic raw material to the genome. The evolution of duplicated genes may be influenced by epigenetic processes such as DNA methylation, which affects gene function in some taxa. However, the manner in which DNA methylation affects duplicated genes is not well understood. We studied duplicated genes in the honeybee Apis mellifera, an insect with a highly sophisticated social structure, to investigate whether DNA methylation was associated with gene duplication and genic evolution. We found that levels of gene body methylation were significantly lower in duplicate genes than in single-copy genes, implicating a possible role of DNA methylation in postduplication gene maintenance. Additionally, we discovered associations of gene body methylation with the location, length, and time since divergence of paralogous genes. We also found that divergence in DNA methylation was associated with divergence in gene expression in paralogs, although the relationship was not completely consistent with a direct link between DNA methylation and gene expression. Overall, our results provide further insight into genic methylation and how its association with duplicate genes might facilitate evolutionary processes and adaptation.


Genetics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takahiro Sakamoto ◽  
Hideki Innan

Abstract Muller’s ratchet is a process in which deleterious mutations are fixed irreversibly in the absence of recombination. The degeneration of the Y chromosome, and the gradual loss of its genes, can be explained by Muller’s ratchet. However, most theories consider single-copy genes, and may not be applicable to Y chromosomes, which have a number of duplicated genes in many species, which are probably undergoing concerted evolution by gene conversion. We developed a model of Muller’s ratchet to explore the evolution of the Y chromosome. The model assumes a non-recombining chromosome with both single-copy and duplicated genes. We used analytical and simulation approaches to obtain the rate of gene loss in this model, with special attention to the role of gene conversion. Homogenization by gene conversion makes both duplicated copies either mutated or intact. The former promotes the ratchet, and the latter retards, and we ask which of these counteracting forces dominates under which conditions. We found that the effect of gene conversion is complex, and depends upon the fitness effect of gene duplication. When duplication has no effect on fitness, gene conversion accelerates the ratchet of both single-copy and duplicated genes. If duplication has an additive fitness effect, the ratchet of single-copy genes is accelerated by gene duplication, regardless of the gene conversion rate, whereas gene conversion slows the degeneration of duplicated genes. Our results suggest that the evolution of the Y chromosome involves several parameters, including the fitness effect of gene duplication by increasing dosage and gene conversion rate.


Blood ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 97 (6) ◽  
pp. 1861-1868 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elise Coghill ◽  
Sarah Eccleston ◽  
Vanessa Fox ◽  
Loretta Cerruti ◽  
Clark Brown ◽  
...  

Erythroid Kruppel-like factor (EKLF) is a transcription factor of the C2H2 zinc-finger class that is essential for definitive erythropoiesis. We generated immortal erythroid cell lines from EKLF−/− fetal liver progenitor cells that harbor a single copy of the entire human β-globin locus and then reintroduced EKLF as a tamoxifen-inducible, EKLF–mutant estrogen receptor (EKLF-ER™) fusion protein. Addition of tamoxifen resulted in enhanced differentiation and hemoglobinization, coupled with reduced proliferation. Human β-globin gene expression increased significantly, whereas γ-globin transcripts remained elevated at levels close to endogenous mouse α-globin transcript levels. We conclude that EKLF plays a role in regulation of the cell cycle and hemoglobinization in addition to its role in β-globin gene expression. The cell lines we used will facilitate structural and functional analyses of EKLF in these processes and provide useful tools for the elucidation of nonglobin EKLF target genes.


2012 ◽  
Vol 367 (1600) ◽  
pp. 2357-2375 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard H. Baker ◽  
Apurva Narechania ◽  
Philip M. Johns ◽  
Gerald S. Wilkinson

Gene duplication provides an essential source of novel genetic material to facilitate rapid morphological evolution. Traits involved in reproduction and sexual dimorphism represent some of the fastest evolving traits in nature, and gene duplication is intricately involved in the origin and evolution of these traits. Here, we review genomic research on stalk-eyed flies (Diopsidae) that has been used to examine the extent of gene duplication and its role in the genetic architecture of sexual dimorphism. Stalk-eyed flies are remarkable because of the elongation of the head into long stalks, with the eyes and antenna laterally displaced at the ends of these stalks. Many species are strongly sexually dimorphic for eyespan, and these flies have become a model system for studying sexual selection. Using both expressed sequence tag and next-generation sequencing, we have established an extensive database of gene expression in the developing eye-antennal imaginal disc, the adult head and testes. Duplicated genes exhibit narrower expression patterns than non-duplicated genes, and the testes, in particular, provide an abundant source of gene duplication. Within somatic tissue, duplicated genes are more likely to be differentially expressed between the sexes, suggesting gene duplication may provide a mechanism for resolving sexual conflict.


Genetics ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 165 (4) ◽  
pp. 1843-1851 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Parsch

AbstractIntron sizes show an asymmetrical distribution in a number of organisms, with a large number of “short” introns clustered around a minimal intron length and a much broader distribution of longer introns. In Drosophila melanogaster, the short intron class is centered around 61 bp. The narrow length distribution suggests that natural selection may play a role in maintaining intron size. A comparison of 15 orthologous introns among species of the D. melanogaster subgroup indicates that, in general, short introns are not under greater DNA sequence or length constraints than long introns. There is a bias toward deletions in all introns (deletion/insertion ratio is 1.66), and the vast majority of indels are of short length (<10 bp). Indels occurring on the internal branches of the phylogenetic tree are significantly longer than those occurring on the terminal branches. These results are consistent with a compensatory model of intron length evolution in which slightly deleterious short deletions are frequently fixed within species by genetic drift, and relatively rare larger insertions that restore intron length are fixed by positive selection. A comparison of paralogous introns shared among duplicated genes suggests that length constraints differ between introns within the same gene. The janusA, janusB, and ocnus genes share two short introns derived from a common ancestor. The first of these introns shows significantly fewer indels than the second intron, although the two introns show a comparable number of substitutions. This indicates that intron-specific selective constraints have been maintained following gene duplication, which preceded the divergence of the D. melanogaster species subgroup.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tingting Li ◽  
Weigao Yuan ◽  
Shuai Qiu ◽  
Jisen Shi

AbstractThe differential expression of genes is crucial for plant somatic embryogenesis (SE), and the accurate quantification of gene expression levels relies on choosing appropriate reference genes. To select the most suitable reference genes for SE studies, 10 commonly used reference genes were examined in synchronized somatic embryogenic and subsequent germinative cultures of Liriodendron hybrids by using quantitative real-time reverse transcription PCR. Four popular normalization algorithms: geNorm, NormFinder, Bestkeeper and Delta-Ct were used to select and validate the suitable reference genes. The results showed that elongation factor 1-gamma, histone H1 linker protein, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase and α-tubulin were suitable for SE tissues, while elongation factor 1-gamma and actin were best for the germinative organ tissues. Our work will benefit future studies of gene expression and functional analyses of SE in Liriodendron hybrids. It is also serves as a guide of reference gene selection in early embryonic gene expression analyses for other woody plant species.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (14) ◽  
pp. 7624
Author(s):  
Mohammad Saeed ◽  
Alejandro Ibáñez-Costa ◽  
Alejandra María Patiño-Trives ◽  
Laura Muñoz-Barrera ◽  
Eduardo Collantes Estévez ◽  
...  

Objectives: This study employed genetic and functional analyses using OASIS meta-analysis of multiple existing GWAS and gene-expression datasets to identify novel SLE genes. Methods: Four hundred and ten genes were mapped using SNIPPER to 30 SLE GWAS loci and investigated for expression in three SLE GEO-datasets and the Cordoba GSE50395-dataset. Blood eQTL for significant SNPs in SLE loci and STRING for functional pathways of differentially expressed genes were used. Confirmatory qPCR on SLE monocytes was performed. The entire 12p11 locus was investigated for genetic association using two additional GWAS. Expression of 150 genes at this locus was assessed. Based on this significance, qPCRs for DNM1L and KRAS were performed. Results: Fifty genes were differentially expressed in at least two SLE GEO-datasets, with all probes directionally aligned. DDX11, an RNA helicase involved in genome stability, was downregulated in both GEO and Cordoba datasets. The most significant SNP, rs3741869 in OASIS locus 12p11.21, containing DDX11, was a cis-eQTL regulating DDX11 expression. DDX11 was found repressed. The entire 12p11 locus showed three association peaks. Gene expression in GEO datasets identified DNM1L and KRAS, besides DDX11. Confirmatory qPCR validated DNM1L as an SLE susceptibility gene. DDX11, DNM1L and KRAS interact with each other and multiple known SLE genes including STAT1/STAT4 and major components of IFN-dependent gene expression, and are responsible for signal transduction of cytokines, hormones, and growth-factors, deregulation of which is involved in SLE-development. Conclusion: A genomic convergence approach with OASIS analysis of multiple GWAS and expression datasets identified DDX11 and DNM1L as novel SLE-genes, the expression of which is altered in monocytes from SLE patients. This study lays the foundation for understanding the pathogenic involvement of DDX11 and DNM1L in SLE by identifying them using a systems-biology approach, while the 12p11 locus harboring these genes was previously missed by four independent GWAS.


Author(s):  
Yifan Zhang ◽  
Weiwei Jiang ◽  
Jun Xu ◽  
Na Wu ◽  
Yang Wang ◽  
...  

ObjectiveThe gut microbiota is associated with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). We isolated the Escherichia coli strain NF73-1 from the intestines of a NASH patient and then investigated its effect and underlying mechanism.Methods16S ribosomal RNA (16S rRNA) amplicon sequencing was used to detect bacterial profiles in healthy controls, NAFLD patients and NASH patients. Highly enriched E. coli strains were cultured and isolated from NASH patients. Whole-genome sequencing and comparative genomics were performed to investigate gene expression. Depending on the diet, male C57BL/6J mice were further grouped in normal diet (ND) and high-fat diet (HFD) groups. To avoid disturbing the bacterial microbiota, some of the ND and HFD mice were grouped as “bacteria-depleted” mice and treated with a cocktail of broad-spectrum antibiotic complex (ABX) from the 8th to 10th week. Then, E. coli NF73-1, the bacterial strain isolated from NASH patients, was administered transgastrically for 6 weeks to investigate its effect and mechanism in the pathogenic progression of NAFLD.ResultsThe relative abundance of Escherichia increased significantly in the mucosa of NAFLD patients, especially NASH patients. The results from whole-genome sequencing and comparative genomics showed a specific gene expression profile in E. coli strain NF73-1, which was isolated from the intestinal mucosa of NASH patients. E. coli NF73-1 accelerates NAFLD independently. Only in the HFD-NF73-1 and HFD-ABX-NF73-1 groups were EGFP-labeled E. coli NF73-1 detected in the liver and intestine. Subsequently, translocation of E. coli NF73-1 into the liver led to an increase in hepatic M1 macrophages via the TLR2/NLRP3 pathway. Hepatic M1 macrophages induced by E. coli NF73-1 activated mTOR-S6K1-SREBP-1/PPAR-α signaling, causing a metabolic switch from triglyceride oxidation toward triglyceride synthesis in NAFLD mice.ConclusionsE. coli NF73-1 is a critical trigger in the progression of NAFLD. E. coli NF73-1 might be a specific strain for NAFLD patients.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document