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Adaptive Evolution of Gene Expression in Drosophila
Armita Nourmohammad1, Joachim Rambeau2, Torsten Held2
1Joseph-Henri Laboratories of Physics and Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.
Cell Reports
|August 10, 2017
Summary
Adaptation drives most gene expression evolution in Drosophila, with 64% of divergence attributed to directional selection. This adaptive gene expression is prominent in specific functions and shows male-biased evolution.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary biology
- Genomics
- Molecular biology
Background:
- Gene expression levels are key quantitative traits connecting genotypes to molecular functions and fitness.
- Previous population-genetic studies in Drosophila suggest significant genomic adaptive evolution, but the evolutionary modes of gene expression remain debated.
Purpose of the Study:
- To provide evidence that adaptation is the dominant force shaping gene expression evolution in flies.
- To quantify the proportion of adaptive changes in gene expression divergence across Drosophila species.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of time-resolved gene expression divergence data across seven Drosophila species.
- Application of a probabilistic inference method to detect gene-specific selection.
Main Results:
- 64% of observed gene expression divergence across seven Drosophila species is driven by adaptive changes and directional selection.
- Adaptive gene expression is more pronounced in specific functional categories: regulation, sensory perception, sexual behavior, and morphology.
- A significant number of genes exhibit sex-specific adaptive expression, predominantly in males.
Conclusions:
- Adaptation plays a dominant role in the evolution of gene expression levels in Drosophila.
- The findings highlight specific functional areas and sex-specific patterns in adaptive gene expression.
- This research framework enables mapping of system-wide selection on molecular quantitative traits, irrespective of their genetic underpinnings.
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