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Updated: Jan 21, 2026

Molecular Evolution of the Tre Recombinase

Molecular Evolution of the Tre Recombinase

Published on: May 29, 2008

Molecular evolution across developmental time reveals rapid divergence in early embryogenesis.

Asher D Cutter¹, Rose H Garrett^1,2,3, Stephanie Mark¹

¹Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Toronto Toronto ON M6G1W3 Canada.

Evolution Letters

|August 8, 2019

Summary

Molecular evolution in Caenorhabditis elegans shows rapid change in genes with early embryonic expression and those peaking in adulthood. These patterns may explain hybrid dysfunction during speciation.

Keywords:

Development gene expression molecular evolution speciation

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Area of Science:

Developmental biology
Evolutionary genetics
Molecular evolution

Background:

Ontogenetic development involves dynamic changes in gene expression over time and space.
Understanding these changes can reveal patterns in the molecular evolution of developmentally regulated genes.

Purpose of the Study:

To characterize coexpression modules in the Caenorhabditis elegans transcriptome across its developmental stages.
To identify patterns of molecular evolution associated with dynamically expressed genes during ontogeny.

Main Methods:

Utilized a 30-point time series of the Caenorhabditis elegans transcriptome from early embryo to adult.
Quantified the functional form of gene expression profiles to analyze evolutionary rates.
Performed expression-weighted sequence divergence analysis.

Main Results:

Genes with transcript abundance peaking in early embryos and declining through development exhibit the fastest molecular evolution.
These early-expressed genes are enriched for oogenic functions and early zygotic expression.
Genes peaking toward adulthood, enriched for spermatogenesis, also evolve rapidly.
Observed patterns conflict with the 'early conservation model' but show some support for the 'hourglass model'.

Conclusions:

Rapid molecular evolution is linked to specific developmental stages and gene functions (oogenesis, spermatogenesis).
Sexual selection and relaxed selection on sperm may drive rapid evolution in adult-peaking genes.
These evolutionary trends, particularly in early embryogenesis, may predispose to hybrid dysfunction and speciation.