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Updated: May 24, 2025
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Combined Nucleotide and Protein Extractions in Caenorhabditis elegans
Published on: March 17, 2019
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Macroevolutionary divergence of gene expression driven by selection on protein abundance
Alexander L Cope1,2,3,4, Joshua G Schraiber5, Matt Pennell5,6
1Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|March 6, 2025
Summary
Messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein levels evolve under distinct pressures. mRNA evolves faster to match protein levels, which are strongly selected for stability over evolutionary time.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary biology
- Genomics
- Molecular biology
Background:
- The relationship between messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein abundances is crucial for gene expression.
- While mRNA and protein regulation is studied, evolutionary forces shaping their relationship remain unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the evolutionary processes governing the relationship between mRNA and protein abundances.
- To develop and apply a phylogenetic model to multispecies mammalian data.
Main Methods:
- Derived a new phylogenetic model.
- Applied the model to multispecies mammalian data.
- Compared model parameters with functional genomic data.
Main Results:
- Identified strong stabilizing selection on protein abundances over macroevolutionary timescales.
- Found that mutations impacting mRNA abundances have minimal effects on protein abundances.
- Observed that mRNA abundances evolve under selection to align with protein abundances.
- Determined that mRNA abundances adapt more rapidly than protein abundances due to higher mutational opportunities.
Conclusions:
- mRNA and protein abundances evolve under different selective pressures and rates.
- The evolutionary dynamics suggest mRNA adapts faster to maintain protein stability.
- The study provides a framework for understanding gene expression divergence through evolutionary rules.
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