1
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Chu YH, Lee YS, Gomez-Cano F, Gomez-Cano L, Zhou P, Doseff AI, Springer N, Grotewold E. Molecular mechanisms underlying gene regulatory variation of maize metabolic traits. THE PLANT CELL 2024; 36:3709-3728. [PMID: 38922302 PMCID: PMC11371180 DOI: 10.1093/plcell/koae180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2023] [Revised: 04/17/2024] [Accepted: 06/17/2024] [Indexed: 06/27/2024]
Abstract
Variation in gene expression levels is pervasive among individuals and races or varieties, and has substantial agronomic consequences, for example, by contributing to hybrid vigor. Gene expression level variation results from mutations in regulatory sequences (cis) and/or transcription factor (TF) activity (trans), but the mechanisms underlying cis- and/or trans-regulatory variation of complex phenotypes remain largely unknown. Here, we investigated gene expression variation mechanisms underlying the differential accumulation of the insecticidal compounds maysin and chlorogenic acid in silks of widely used maize (Zea mays) inbreds, B73 and A632. By combining transcriptomics and cistromics, we identified 1,338 silk direct targets of the maize R2R3-MYB TF Pericarp color1 (P1), consistent with it being a regulator of maysin and chlorogenic acid biosynthesis. Among these P1 targets, 464 showed allele-specific expression (ASE) between B73 and A632 silks. Allelic DNA-affinity purification sequencing identified 34 examples in which P1 allelic specific binding (ASB) correlated with cis-expression variation. From previous yeast one-hybrid studies, we identified 9 TFs potentially implicated in the control of P1 targets, with ASB to 83 out of 464 ASE genes (cis) and differential expression of 4 out of 9 TFs between B73 and A632 silks (trans). These results provide a molecular framework for understanding universal mechanisms underlying natural variation of gene expression levels, and how the regulation of metabolic diversity is established.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi-Hsuan Chu
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Yun Sun Lee
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Fabio Gomez-Cano
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Lina Gomez-Cano
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Peng Zhou
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - Andrea I Doseff
- Department of Physiology and Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Nathan Springer
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - Erich Grotewold
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
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2
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Chen X, Hu X, Li G, Grover CE, You J, Wang R, Liu Z, Qi Z, Luo X, Peng Y, Zhu M, Zhang Y, Lu S, Zhang YM, Lin Z, Wendel JF, Zhang X, Wang M. Genetic Regulatory Perturbation of Gene Expression Impacted by Genomic Introgression in Fiber Development of Allotetraploid Cotton. ADVANCED SCIENCE (WEINHEIM, BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, GERMANY) 2024:e2401549. [PMID: 39196795 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202401549] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2024] [Revised: 07/23/2024] [Indexed: 08/30/2024]
Abstract
Interspecific genomic introgression is an important evolutionary process with respect to the generation of novel phenotypic diversity and adaptation. A key question is how gene flow perturbs gene expression networks and regulatory interactions. Here, an introgression population of two species of allopolyploid cotton (Gossypium) to delineate the regulatory perturbations of gene expression regarding fiber development accompanying fiber quality change is utilized. De novo assembly of the recipient parent (G. hirsutum Emian22) genome allowed the identification of genomic variation and introgression segments (ISs) in 323 introgression lines (ILs) from the donor parent (G. barbadense 3-79). It documented gene expression dynamics by sequencing 1,284 transcriptomes of developing fibers and characterized genetic regulatory perturbations mediated by genomic introgression using a multi-locus model. Introgression of individual homoeologous genes exhibiting extreme low or high expression bias can lead to a parallel expression bias in their non-introgressed duplicates, implying a shared yet divergent regulatory fate of duplicated genes following allopolyploidy. Additionally, the IL N182 with improved fiber quality is characterized, and the candidate gene GhFLAP1 related to fiber length is validated. This study outlines a framework for understanding introgression-mediated regulatory perturbations in polyploids, and provides insights for targeted breeding of superior upland cotton fiber.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinyuan Chen
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China
| | - Xiubao Hu
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China
| | - Guo Li
- Crop Information Center, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China
| | - Corrinne E Grover
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, 50011, USA
| | - Jiaqi You
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China
| | - Ruipeng Wang
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China
| | - Zhenping Liu
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China
| | - Zhengyang Qi
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China
| | - Xuanxuan Luo
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China
| | - Yabin Peng
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China
| | - Mengmeng Zhu
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China
| | - Yuqi Zhang
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China
| | - Sifan Lu
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China
| | - Yuan-Ming Zhang
- Crop Information Center, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China
| | - Zhongxu Lin
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China
| | - Jonathan F Wendel
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, 50011, USA
| | - Xianlong Zhang
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China
| | - Maojun Wang
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China
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Corchado JC, Godthi A, Selvarasu K, Prahlad V. Robustness and variability in Caenorhabditis elegans dauer gene expression. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.08.15.608164. [PMID: 39229130 PMCID: PMC11370353 DOI: 10.1101/2024.08.15.608164] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/05/2024]
Abstract
Both plasticity and robustness are pervasive features of developmental programs. The dauer in Caenorhabditis elegans is an arrested, hypometabolic alternative to the third larval stage of the nematode. Dauers undergo dramatic tissue remodeling and extensive physiological, metabolic, behavioral, and gene expression changes compared to conspecifics that continue development and can be induced by several adverse environments or genetic mutations that act as independent and parallel inputs into the larval developmental program. Therefore, dauer induction is an example of phenotypic plasticity. However, whether gene expression in dauer larvae induced to arrest development by different genetic or environmental triggers is invariant or varies depending on their route into dauer has not been examined. By using RNA-sequencing to characterize gene expression in different types of dauer larvae and computing the variance and concordance within Gene Ontologies (GO) and gene expression networks, we find that the expression patterns within most pathways are strongly correlated between dauer larvae, suggestive of transcriptional robustness. However, gene expression within specific defense pathways, pathways regulating some morphological traits, and several metabolic pathways differ between the dauer larvae. We speculate that the transcriptional robustness of core dauer pathways allows for the buffering of variation in the expression of genes involved in adaptation, allowing the dauers induced by different stimuli to survive in and exploit different niches.
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Guzmán LF, Tirado B, Cruz-Cárdenas CI, Rojas-Anaya E, Aragón-Magadán MA. De Novo Transcriptome Assembly of Cedar ( Cedrela odorata L.) and Differential Gene Expression Involved in Herbivore Resistance. Curr Issues Mol Biol 2024; 46:8794-8806. [PMID: 39194737 DOI: 10.3390/cimb46080520] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2024] [Revised: 08/01/2024] [Accepted: 08/07/2024] [Indexed: 08/29/2024] Open
Abstract
Timber trees are targets of herbivorous attacks. The identification of genes associated with pest resistance can be accomplished through differential expression analysis using transcriptomes. We reported the de novo assembly of cedar (Cedrela odorata L.) transcriptome and the differential expression of genes involved in herbivore resistance. The assembly and annotation of the transcriptome were obtained using RNAseq from healthy cedar plants and those infested with Chrysobothris yucatanensis. A total of 325.6 million reads were obtained, and 127,031 (97.47%) sequences were successfully assembled. A total of 220 herbivory-related genes were detected, of which 170 genes were annotated using GO terms, and 161 genes with 245 functions were identified-165, 75, and 5 were molecular functions, biological processes, and cellular components, respectively. To protect against herbivorous infestation, trees produce toxins and volatile compounds which are modulated by signaling pathways and gene expression related to molecular functions and biological processes. The limited number of genes identified as cellular components suggests that there are minimal alterations in cellular structure in response to borer attack. The chitin recognition protein, jasmonate ZIM-domain (JAZ) motifs, and response regulator receiver domain were found to be overexpressed, whereas the terpene synthase, cytochrome P450, and protein kinase domain gene families were underexpressed. This is the first report of a cedar transcriptome focusing on genes that are overexpressed in healthy plants and underexpressed in infested plants. This method may be a viable option for identifying genes associated with herbivore resistance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis Felipe Guzmán
- National Genetic Resources Center, National Agricultural, Forestry and Livestock Researches Institute, Tepatitlán 47600, Jalisco, Mexico
| | - Bibiana Tirado
- Centro Universitario de los Altos, University of Guadalajara, Tepatitlán 47600, Jalisco, Mexico
| | - Carlos Iván Cruz-Cárdenas
- National Genetic Resources Center, National Agricultural, Forestry and Livestock Researches Institute, Tepatitlán 47600, Jalisco, Mexico
| | - Edith Rojas-Anaya
- National Genetic Resources Center, National Agricultural, Forestry and Livestock Researches Institute, Tepatitlán 47600, Jalisco, Mexico
| | - Marco Aurelio Aragón-Magadán
- National Genetic Resources Center, National Agricultural, Forestry and Livestock Researches Institute, Tepatitlán 47600, Jalisco, Mexico
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5
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Lin RC, Ferreira BT, Yuan YW. The molecular basis of phenotypic evolution: beyond the usual suspects. Trends Genet 2024; 40:668-680. [PMID: 38704304 PMCID: PMC11303103 DOI: 10.1016/j.tig.2024.04.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2024] [Revised: 04/15/2024] [Accepted: 04/17/2024] [Indexed: 05/06/2024]
Abstract
It has been well documented that mutations in coding DNA or cis-regulatory elements underlie natural phenotypic variation in many organisms. However, the development of sophisticated functional tools in recent years in a wide range of traditionally non-model systems have revealed many 'unusual suspects' in the molecular bases of phenotypic evolution, including upstream open reading frames (uORFs), cryptic splice sites, and small RNAs. Furthermore, large-scale genome sequencing, especially long-read sequencing, has identified a cornucopia of structural variation underlying phenotypic divergence and elucidated the composition of supergenes that control complex multi-trait polymorphisms. In this review article we highlight recent studies that demonstrate this great diversity of molecular mechanisms producing adaptive genetic variation and the panoply of evolutionary paths leading to the 'grandeur of life'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rong-Chien Lin
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USA
| | - Bianca T Ferreira
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USA
| | - Yao-Wu Yuan
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USA.
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6
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Glaser-Schmitt A, Lemoine M, Kaltenpoth M, Parsch J. Pervasive tissue-, genetic background-, and allele-specific gene expression effects in Drosophila melanogaster. PLoS Genet 2024; 20:e1011257. [PMID: 39178312 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1011257] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2024] [Revised: 09/05/2024] [Accepted: 07/30/2024] [Indexed: 08/25/2024] Open
Abstract
The pervasiveness of gene expression variation and its contribution to phenotypic variation and evolution is well known. This gene expression variation is context dependent, with differences in regulatory architecture often associated with intrinsic and environmental factors, and is modulated by regulatory elements that can act in cis (linked) or in trans (unlinked) relative to the genes they affect. So far, little is known about how this genetic variation affects the evolution of regulatory architecture among closely related tissues during population divergence. To address this question, we analyzed gene expression in the midgut, hindgut, and Malpighian tubule as well as microbiome composition in the two gut tissues in four Drosophila melanogaster strains and their F1 hybrids from two divergent populations: one from the derived, European range and one from the ancestral, African range. In both the transcriptome and microbiome data, we detected extensive tissue- and genetic background-specific effects, including effects of genetic background on overall tissue specificity. Tissue-specific effects were typically stronger than genetic background-specific effects, although the two gut tissues were not more similar to each other than to the Malpighian tubules. An examination of allele specific expression revealed that, while both cis and trans effects were more tissue-specific in genes expressed differentially between populations than genes with conserved expression, trans effects were more tissue-specific than cis effects. Despite there being highly variable regulatory architecture, this observation was robust across tissues and genetic backgrounds, suggesting that the expression of trans variation can be spatially fine-tuned as well as or better than cis variation during population divergence and yielding new insights into cis and trans regulatory evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda Glaser-Schmitt
- Division of Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Biology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Marion Lemoine
- Department of Insect Symbiosis, Max-Planck-Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany
| | - Martin Kaltenpoth
- Department of Insect Symbiosis, Max-Planck-Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany
| | - John Parsch
- Division of Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Biology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
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7
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Brown A, Steenwyk JL, Rokas A. Genome-wide patterns of noncoding and protein-coding sequence variation in the major fungal pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus. G3 (BETHESDA, MD.) 2024; 14:jkae091. [PMID: 38696662 PMCID: PMC11228837 DOI: 10.1093/g3journal/jkae091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2024] [Revised: 04/19/2024] [Accepted: 04/25/2024] [Indexed: 05/04/2024]
Abstract
Aspergillus fumigatus is a deadly fungal pathogen, responsible for >400,000 infections/year and high mortality rates. A. fumigatus strains exhibit variation in infection-relevant traits, including in their virulence. However, most A. fumigatus protein-coding genes, including those that modulate its virulence, are shared between A. fumigatus strains and closely related nonpathogenic relatives. We hypothesized that A. fumigatus genes exhibit substantial genetic variation in the noncoding regions immediately upstream to the start codons of genes, which could reflect differences in gene regulation between strains. To begin testing this hypothesis, we identified 5,812 single-copy orthologs across the genomes of 263 A. fumigatus strains. In general, A. fumigatus noncoding regions showed higher levels of sequence variation compared with their corresponding protein-coding regions. Focusing on 2,482 genes whose protein-coding sequence identity scores ranged between 75 and 99%, we identified 478 total genes with signatures of positive selection only in their noncoding regions and 65 total genes with signatures only in their protein-coding regions. Twenty-eight of the 478 noncoding regions and 5 of the 65 protein-coding regions under selection are associated with genes known to modulate A. fumigatus virulence. Noncoding region variation between A. fumigatus strains included single-nucleotide polymorphisms and insertions or deletions of at least a few nucleotides. These results show that noncoding regions of A. fumigatus genes harbor greater sequence variation than protein-coding regions, raising the hypothesis that this variation may contribute to A. fumigatus phenotypic heterogeneity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alec Brown
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA
- Evolutionary Studies Initiative, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA
| | - Jacob L Steenwyk
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA
- Evolutionary Studies Initiative, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Howards Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Antonis Rokas
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA
- Evolutionary Studies Initiative, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA
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8
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Mandal RN, Ke J, Kanika NH, Wang F, Wang J, Wang C. Regulatory gene network for coffee-like color morph of TYRP1 mutant of oujiang color common carp. BMC Genomics 2024; 25:659. [PMID: 38956500 PMCID: PMC11218255 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-024-10550-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2023] [Accepted: 06/21/2024] [Indexed: 07/04/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Neither a TYRP1-mediated highly conserved genetic network underlying skin color towards optimum defense nor the pathological tendency of its mutation is well understood. The Oujiang Color Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio var. color) as a model organism, offering valuable insights into genetics, coloration, aquaculture practices, and environmental health. Here, we performed a comparative skin transcriptome analysis on TYRP1 mutant and wild fishes by applying a conservative categorical approach considering different color phenotypes. RESULTS Our results reveal that an unusual color phenotype may be sensitized with TYRP1 mutation as a result of upregulating several genes related to an anti-inflammatory autoimmune system in response to the COMT-mediated catecholamine neurotransmitters in the skin. Particularly, catecholamines-derived red/brown, red with blue colored membrane attack complex, and brown/grey colored reduced eumelanin are expected to be aggregated in the regenerated cells. CONCLUSIONS It is, thus, concluded that the regenerated cells with catecholamines, membrane attack complex, and eumelanin altogether may contribute to the formation of the unusual (coffee-like) color phenotype in TYRP1 mutant.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roland Nathan Mandal
- Key Laboratory of Freshwater Aquatic Genetic Resources Certificated By the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Aquaculture, National Demonstration Centre for Experimental Fisheries Science Education, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, 201306, China
| | - Jing Ke
- Key Laboratory of Freshwater Aquatic Genetic Resources Certificated By the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Aquaculture, National Demonstration Centre for Experimental Fisheries Science Education, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, 201306, China
| | - Nusrat Hasan Kanika
- Key Laboratory of Freshwater Aquatic Genetic Resources Certificated By the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Aquaculture, National Demonstration Centre for Experimental Fisheries Science Education, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, 201306, China
| | - Fuyan Wang
- Key Laboratory of Freshwater Aquatic Genetic Resources Certificated By the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Aquaculture, National Demonstration Centre for Experimental Fisheries Science Education, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, 201306, China
| | - Jun Wang
- Key Laboratory of Freshwater Aquatic Genetic Resources Certificated By the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Aquaculture, National Demonstration Centre for Experimental Fisheries Science Education, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, 201306, China.
- College of Fisheries and Life Sciences, Shanghai Ocean University, 999, Huchenghuan Road, Shanghai, 201306, China.
| | - Chenghui Wang
- Key Laboratory of Freshwater Aquatic Genetic Resources Certificated By the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Aquaculture, National Demonstration Centre for Experimental Fisheries Science Education, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, 201306, China.
- College of Fisheries and Life Sciences, Shanghai Ocean University, 999, Huchenghuan Road, Shanghai, 201306, China.
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9
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Buono L, Annona G, Magri MS, Negueruela S, Sepe RM, Caccavale F, Maeso I, Arnone MI, D’Aniello S. Conservation of cis-Regulatory Syntax Underlying Deuterostome Gastrulation. Cells 2024; 13:1121. [PMID: 38994973 PMCID: PMC11240583 DOI: 10.3390/cells13131121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2024] [Revised: 06/22/2024] [Accepted: 06/26/2024] [Indexed: 07/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Throughout embryonic development, the shaping of the functional and morphological characteristics of embryos is orchestrated by an intricate interaction between transcription factors and cis-regulatory elements. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of deuterostome cis-regulatory landscapes during gastrulation, focusing on four paradigmatic species: the echinoderm Strongylocentrotus purpuratus, the cephalochordate Branchiostoma lanceolatum, the urochordate Ciona intestinalis, and the vertebrate Danio rerio. Our approach involved comparative computational analysis of ATAC-seq datasets to explore the genome-wide blueprint of conserved transcription factor binding motifs underlying gastrulation. We identified a core set of conserved DNA binding motifs associated with 62 known transcription factors, indicating the remarkable conservation of the gastrulation regulatory landscape across deuterostomes. Our findings offer valuable insights into the evolutionary molecular dynamics of embryonic development, shedding light on conserved regulatory subprograms and providing a comprehensive perspective on the conservation and divergence of gene regulation underlying the gastrulation process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lorena Buono
- Department of Biology and Evolution of Marine Organisms (BEOM), Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, 80121 Naples, Italy; (G.A.); (R.M.S.); (F.C.); (M.I.A.)
| | - Giovanni Annona
- Department of Biology and Evolution of Marine Organisms (BEOM), Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, 80121 Naples, Italy; (G.A.); (R.M.S.); (F.C.); (M.I.A.)
- Department of Research Infrastructure for Marine Biological Resources (RIMAR), Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, 80121 Naples, Italy
| | - Marta Silvia Magri
- Centro Andaluz de Biología del Desarollo (CABD), Universidad Pablo de Olavide, 41013 Sevilla, Spain;
| | | | - Rosa Maria Sepe
- Department of Biology and Evolution of Marine Organisms (BEOM), Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, 80121 Naples, Italy; (G.A.); (R.M.S.); (F.C.); (M.I.A.)
- Department of Ecosustainable Marine Biotechnology, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Via Ammiraglio Ferdinando Acton, 80133 Naples, Italy
| | - Filomena Caccavale
- Department of Biology and Evolution of Marine Organisms (BEOM), Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, 80121 Naples, Italy; (G.A.); (R.M.S.); (F.C.); (M.I.A.)
| | - Ignacio Maeso
- Department of Genetics, Microbiology and Statistics, Faculty of Biology, University of Barcelona (UB), 08028 Barcelona, Spain;
- Institut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat (IRBio), University of Barcelona (UB), 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Maria Ina Arnone
- Department of Biology and Evolution of Marine Organisms (BEOM), Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, 80121 Naples, Italy; (G.A.); (R.M.S.); (F.C.); (M.I.A.)
| | - Salvatore D’Aniello
- Department of Biology and Evolution of Marine Organisms (BEOM), Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, 80121 Naples, Italy; (G.A.); (R.M.S.); (F.C.); (M.I.A.)
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10
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Li Y, Zhang J, Gao X, Zhang QC. Tissue module discovery in single-cell-resolution spatial transcriptomics data via cell-cell interaction-aware cell embedding. Cell Syst 2024; 15:578-592.e7. [PMID: 38823396 DOI: 10.1016/j.cels.2024.05.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2023] [Revised: 01/08/2024] [Accepted: 05/07/2024] [Indexed: 06/03/2024]
Abstract
Computational methods are desired for single-cell-resolution spatial transcriptomics (ST) data analysis to uncover spatial organization principles for how individual cells exert tissue-specific functions. Here, we present ST data analysis via interaction-aware cell embedding (SPACE), a deep-learning method for cell-type identification and tissue module discovery from single-cell-resolution ST data by learning a cell representation that captures its gene expression profile and interactions with its spatial neighbors. SPACE identified spatially informed cell subtypes defined by their special spatial distribution patterns and distinct proximal-interacting cell types. SPACE also automatically discovered "cell communities"-tissue modules with discernible boundaries and a uniform spatial distribution of constituent cell types. For each cell community, SPACE outputs a characteristic proximal cell-cell interaction network associated with physiological processes, which can be used to refine ligand-receptor-based intercellular signaling analyses. We envision that SPACE can be used in large-scale ST projects to understand how proximal cell-cell interactions contribute to emergent biological functions within cell communities. A record of this paper's transparent peer review process is included in the supplemental information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuzhe Li
- MOE Key Laboratory of Bioinformatics, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Structural Biology & Frontier Research Center for Biological Structure, Center for Synthetic and Systems Biology, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China; Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Jinsong Zhang
- MOE Key Laboratory of Bioinformatics, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Structural Biology & Frontier Research Center for Biological Structure, Center for Synthetic and Systems Biology, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China; Tsinghua-Peking Center for Life Sciences, Beijing 100084, China; Shanghai Qi Zhi Institute, Shanghai 200030, China
| | - Xin Gao
- Computer Science Program, Computer, Electrical and Mathematical Sciences and Engineering (CEMSE) Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; KAUST Computational Bioscience Research Center (CBRC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; BioMap, Beijing 100086, China.
| | - Qiangfeng Cliff Zhang
- MOE Key Laboratory of Bioinformatics, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Structural Biology & Frontier Research Center for Biological Structure, Center for Synthetic and Systems Biology, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China; Tsinghua-Peking Center for Life Sciences, Beijing 100084, China.
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11
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Lee H, Boor SA, Hilbert ZA, Meisel JD, Park J, Wang Y, McKeown R, Fischer SEJ, Andersen EC, Kim DH. Genetic variants that modify neuroendocrine gene expression and foraging behavior of C. elegans. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2024; 10:eadk9481. [PMID: 38865452 PMCID: PMC11168454 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adk9481] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2023] [Accepted: 04/30/2024] [Indexed: 06/14/2024]
Abstract
The molecular mechanisms underlying diversity in animal behavior are not well understood. A major experimental challenge is determining the contribution of genetic variants that affect neuronal gene expression to differences in behavioral traits. In Caenorhabditis elegans, the neuroendocrine transforming growth factor-β ligand, DAF-7, regulates diverse behavioral responses to bacterial food and pathogens. The dynamic neuron-specific expression of daf-7 is modulated by environmental and endogenous bacteria-derived cues. Here, we investigated natural variation in the expression of daf-7 from the ASJ pair of chemosensory neurons. We identified common genetic variants in gap-2, encoding a Ras guanosine triphosphatase (GTPase)-activating protein homologous to mammalian synaptic Ras GTPase-activating protein, which modify daf-7 expression cell nonautonomously and promote exploratory foraging behavior in a partially DAF-7-dependent manner. Our data connect natural variation in neuron-specific gene expression to differences in behavior and suggest that genetic variation in neuroendocrine signaling pathways mediating host-microbe interactions may give rise to diversity in animal behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Harksun Lee
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Sonia A. Boor
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Zoë A. Hilbert
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Joshua D. Meisel
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Jaeseok Park
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Ye Wang
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Ryan McKeown
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Sylvia E. J. Fischer
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Harvard Medical School Initiative for RNA Medicine, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Erik C. Andersen
- Department of Biology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21212, USA
| | - Dennis H. Kim
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
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12
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Hoedjes KM, Grath S, Posnien N, Ritchie MG, Schlötterer C, Abbott JK, Almudi I, Coronado-Zamora M, Durmaz Mitchell E, Flatt T, Fricke C, Glaser-Schmitt A, González J, Holman L, Kankare M, Lenhart B, Orengo DJ, Snook RR, Yılmaz VM, Yusuf L. From whole bodies to single cells: A guide to transcriptomic approaches for ecology and evolutionary biology. Mol Ecol 2024:e17382. [PMID: 38856653 DOI: 10.1111/mec.17382] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2023] [Revised: 04/09/2024] [Accepted: 04/29/2024] [Indexed: 06/11/2024]
Abstract
RNA sequencing (RNAseq) methodology has experienced a burst of technological developments in the last decade, which has opened up opportunities for studying the mechanisms of adaptation to environmental factors at both the organismal and cellular level. Selecting the most suitable experimental approach for specific research questions and model systems can, however, be a challenge and researchers in ecology and evolution are commonly faced with the choice of whether to study gene expression variation in whole bodies, specific tissues, and/or single cells. A wide range of sometimes polarised opinions exists over which approach is best. Here, we highlight the advantages and disadvantages of each of these approaches to provide a guide to help researchers make informed decisions and maximise the power of their study. Using illustrative examples of various ecological and evolutionary research questions, we guide the readers through the different RNAseq approaches and help them identify the most suitable design for their own projects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katja M Hoedjes
- Amsterdam Institute for Life and Environment, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Sonja Grath
- Division of Evolutionary Biology, LMU Munich, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
| | - Nico Posnien
- Department of Developmental Biology, Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences (GZMB), University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Michael G Ritchie
- Centre for Biological Diversity, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
| | | | | | - Isabel Almudi
- Departament de Genètica, Microbiologia i Estadística, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Institut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat (IRBio), Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | | | - Esra Durmaz Mitchell
- Department of Biology, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
- Functional Genomics and Metabolism Research Unit, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| | - Thomas Flatt
- Department of Biology, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
| | - Claudia Fricke
- Institute for Zoology/Animal Ecology, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | | | - Josefa González
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, CSIC, UPF, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Luke Holman
- School of Applied Sciences, Edinburgh Napier University, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Maaria Kankare
- Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Benedict Lenhart
- Department of Biology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
| | - Dorcas J Orengo
- Departament de Genètica, Microbiologia i Estadística, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Institut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat (IRBio), Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Rhonda R Snook
- Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Vera M Yılmaz
- Division of Evolutionary Biology, LMU Munich, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
| | - Leeban Yusuf
- Centre for Biological Diversity, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
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13
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Majane AC, Cridland JM, Blair LK, Begun DJ. Evolution and genetics of accessory gland transcriptome divergence between Drosophila melanogaster and D. simulans. Genetics 2024; 227:iyae039. [PMID: 38518250 PMCID: PMC11151936 DOI: 10.1093/genetics/iyae039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2023] [Revised: 08/27/2023] [Accepted: 02/15/2024] [Indexed: 03/24/2024] Open
Abstract
Studies of allele-specific expression in interspecific hybrids have provided important insights into gene-regulatory divergence and hybrid incompatibilities. Many such investigations in Drosophila have used transcriptome data from complex mixtures of many tissues or from gonads, however, regulatory divergence may vary widely among species, sexes, and tissues. Thus, we lack sufficiently broad sampling to be confident about the general biological principles of regulatory divergence. Here, we seek to fill some of these gaps in the literature by characterizing regulatory evolution and hybrid misexpression in a somatic male sex organ, the accessory gland, in F1 hybrids between Drosophila melanogaster and D. simulans. The accessory gland produces seminal fluid proteins, which play an important role in male and female fertility and may be subject to adaptive divergence due to male-male or male-female interactions. We find that trans differences are relatively more abundant than cis, in contrast to most of the interspecific hybrid literature, though large effect-size trans differences are rare. Seminal fluid protein genes have significantly elevated levels of expression divergence and tend to be regulated through both cis and trans divergence. We find limited misexpression (over- or underexpression relative to both parents) in this organ compared to most other Drosophila studies. As in previous studies, male-biased genes are overrepresented among misexpressed genes and are much more likely to be underexpressed. ATAC-Seq data show that chromatin accessibility is correlated with expression differences among species and hybrid allele-specific expression. This work identifies unique regulatory evolution and hybrid misexpression properties of the accessory gland and suggests the importance of tissue-specific allele-specific expression studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alex C Majane
- Department of Evolution and Ecology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Julie M Cridland
- Department of Evolution and Ecology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Logan K Blair
- Department of Evolution and Ecology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - David J Begun
- Department of Evolution and Ecology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
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14
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Caudal É, Loegler V, Dutreux F, Vakirlis N, Teyssonnière É, Caradec C, Friedrich A, Hou J, Schacherer J. Pan-transcriptome reveals a large accessory genome contribution to gene expression variation in yeast. Nat Genet 2024; 56:1278-1287. [PMID: 38778243 PMCID: PMC11176082 DOI: 10.1038/s41588-024-01769-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2023] [Accepted: 04/24/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024]
Abstract
Gene expression is an essential step in the translation of genotypes into phenotypes. However, little is known about the transcriptome architecture and the underlying genetic effects at the species level. Here we generated and analyzed the pan-transcriptome of ~1,000 yeast natural isolates across 4,977 core and 1,468 accessory genes. We found that the accessory genome is an underappreciated driver of transcriptome divergence. Global gene expression patterns combined with population structure showed that variation in heritable expression mainly lies within subpopulation-specific signatures, for which accessory genes are overrepresented. Genome-wide association analyses consistently highlighted that accessory genes are associated with proportionally more variants with larger effect sizes, illustrating the critical role of the accessory genome on the transcriptional landscape within and between populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Élodie Caudal
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS GMGM UMR 7156, Strasbourg, France
| | - Victor Loegler
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS GMGM UMR 7156, Strasbourg, France
| | - Fabien Dutreux
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS GMGM UMR 7156, Strasbourg, France
| | | | | | - Claudia Caradec
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS GMGM UMR 7156, Strasbourg, France
| | - Anne Friedrich
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS GMGM UMR 7156, Strasbourg, France
| | - Jing Hou
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS GMGM UMR 7156, Strasbourg, France.
| | - Joseph Schacherer
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS GMGM UMR 7156, Strasbourg, France.
- Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), Paris, France.
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15
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Dennis MY. Transforming our understanding of species-specific gene regulation. CELL GENOMICS 2024; 4:100540. [PMID: 38604125 PMCID: PMC11019355 DOI: 10.1016/j.xgen.2024.100540] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2024] [Revised: 03/18/2024] [Accepted: 03/18/2024] [Indexed: 04/13/2024]
Abstract
Mechanisms underlying phenotypic divergence across species remain unresolved. In this issue of Cell Genomics, Hansen, Fong, et al.1 systematically dissect human and rhesus macaque gene expression divergence by screening tens of thousands of orthologous elements for enhancer activity in lymphoblastoid cell lines, revealing a much greater role for trans divergence at levels equal to those of cis effects, counter to the prevailing consensus in the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Megan Y Dennis
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Medicine, Genome Center, and MIND Institute, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
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16
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Hansen TJ, Fong SL, Day JK, Capra JA, Hodges E. Human gene regulatory evolution is driven by the divergence of regulatory element function in both cis and trans. CELL GENOMICS 2024; 4:100536. [PMID: 38604126 PMCID: PMC11019363 DOI: 10.1016/j.xgen.2024.100536] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2023] [Revised: 01/03/2024] [Accepted: 03/10/2024] [Indexed: 04/13/2024]
Abstract
Gene regulatory divergence between species can result from cis-acting local changes to regulatory element DNA sequences or global trans-acting changes to the regulatory environment. Understanding how these mechanisms drive regulatory evolution has been limited by challenges in identifying trans-acting changes. We present a comprehensive approach to directly identify cis- and trans-divergent regulatory elements between human and rhesus macaque lymphoblastoid cells using assay for transposase-accessible chromatin coupled to self-transcribing active regulatory region (ATAC-STARR) sequencing. In addition to thousands of cis changes, we discover an unexpected number (∼10,000) of trans changes and show that cis and trans elements exhibit distinct patterns of sequence divergence and function. We further identify differentially expressed transcription factors that underlie ∼37% of trans differences and trace how cis changes can produce cascades of trans changes. Overall, we find that most divergent elements (67%) experienced changes in both cis and trans, revealing a substantial role for trans divergence-alone and together with cis changes-in regulatory differences between species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tyler J Hansen
- Department of Biochemistry, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
| | - Sarah L Fong
- Vanderbilt Genetics Institute, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232, USA; Bakar Computational Health Sciences Institute, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Jessica K Day
- Department of Biochemistry, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
| | - John A Capra
- Bakar Computational Health Sciences Institute, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA; Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA.
| | - Emily Hodges
- Department of Biochemistry, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232, USA; Vanderbilt Genetics Institute, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232, USA; Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center, Nashville, TN 37232, USA.
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17
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Yuan G, Nong T, Hunpatin OS, Shi C, Su X, Xu F, Wang Y, Zhang Z, Ning Y, Liu H, Wang Q. Genome-wide identification of Shaker K + channel family in Nicotiana tabacum and functional analysis of NtSKOR1B in response to salt stress. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2024; 15:1378738. [PMID: 38660442 PMCID: PMC11039879 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1378738] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2024] [Accepted: 03/26/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024]
Abstract
Soil salinization poses a mounting global ecological and environmental threat. The identification of genes responsible for negative regulation of salt tolerance and their utilization in crop improvement through gene editing technologies emerges as a swift strategy for the effective utilization of saline-alkali lands. One efficient mechanism of plant salt tolerance is maintaining the proper intracellular K+/Na+ ratio. The Shaker K+ channels play a crucial role in potassium absorption, transport, and intracellular potassium homeostasis in plant cells. Here, the study presents the first genome-wide identification of Shaker K+ channels in Nicotiana tabacum L., along with a detailed bioinformatic analysis of the 20 identified members. Transcriptome analysis revealed a significant up-regulation of NtSKOR1B, an outwardly-rectifying member predominantly expressed in the root tissue of tobacco seedlings, in response to salt stress. This finding was then confirmed by GUS staining of ProNtSKOR1B::GUS transgenic lines and RT-qPCR analysis. Subsequently, NtSKOR1B knockout mutants (ntskor1) were then generated and subjected to salt conditions. It was found that ntskor1 mutants exhibit enhanced salt tolerance, characterized by increased biomass, higher K+ content and elevated K+/Na+ ratios in both leaf and root tissues, compared to wild-type plants. These results indicate that NtSKOR1B knockout inhibits K+ efflux in root and leaf tissues of tobacco seedlings under salt stress, thereby maintaining higher K+/Na+ ratios within the cells. Thus, our study identifies NtSKOR1B as a negative regulator of salt tolerance in tobacco seedlings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guang Yuan
- Tobacco Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Qingdao, China
- Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Tongjia Nong
- Tobacco Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Qingdao, China
- Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Oluwaseyi Setonji Hunpatin
- Tobacco Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Qingdao, China
- Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Chuhan Shi
- Tobacco Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Qingdao, China
- Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaoqing Su
- Tobacco Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Qingdao, China
- College of Agriculture, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao, China
| | - Fangzheng Xu
- Tobacco Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Qingdao, China
| | - Yihui Wang
- China Tobacco Shandong Industrial Co., LTD Cigar Operation Center, Jinan, China
| | - Zhaoting Zhang
- Xuancheng City Xuanzhou District Tobacco Industry Development Center, Xuancheng, China
| | - Yang Ning
- Tobacco Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Qingdao, China
| | - Haobao Liu
- Tobacco Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Qingdao, China
| | - Qian Wang
- Tobacco Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Qingdao, China
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18
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Tsouris A, Brach G, Friedrich A, Hou J, Schacherer J. Diallel panel reveals a significant impact of low-frequency genetic variants on gene expression variation in yeast. Mol Syst Biol 2024; 20:362-373. [PMID: 38355920 PMCID: PMC10987670 DOI: 10.1038/s44320-024-00021-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2023] [Revised: 01/29/2024] [Accepted: 01/30/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Unraveling the genetic sources of gene expression variation is essential to better understand the origins of phenotypic diversity in natural populations. Genome-wide association studies identified thousands of variants involved in gene expression variation, however, variants detected only explain part of the heritability. In fact, variants such as low-frequency and structural variants (SVs) are poorly captured in association studies. To assess the impact of these variants on gene expression variation, we explored a half-diallel panel composed of 323 hybrids originated from pairwise crosses of 26 natural Saccharomyces cerevisiae isolates. Using short- and long-read sequencing strategies, we established an exhaustive catalog of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and SVs for this panel. Combining this dataset with the transcriptomes of all hybrids, we comprehensively mapped SNPs and SVs associated with gene expression variation. While SVs impact gene expression variation, SNPs exhibit a higher effect size with an overrepresentation of low-frequency variants compared to common ones. These results reinforce the importance of dissecting the heritability of complex traits with a comprehensive catalog of genetic variants at the population level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Tsouris
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, GMGM UMR 7156, Strasbourg, France
| | - Gauthier Brach
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, GMGM UMR 7156, Strasbourg, France
| | - Anne Friedrich
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, GMGM UMR 7156, Strasbourg, France
| | - Jing Hou
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, GMGM UMR 7156, Strasbourg, France.
| | - Joseph Schacherer
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, GMGM UMR 7156, Strasbourg, France.
- Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), Paris, France.
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19
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Bohutínská M, Peichel CL. Divergence time shapes gene reuse during repeated adaptation. Trends Ecol Evol 2024; 39:396-407. [PMID: 38155043 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2023.11.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2023] [Revised: 11/15/2023] [Accepted: 11/20/2023] [Indexed: 12/30/2023]
Abstract
When diverse lineages repeatedly adapt to similar environmental challenges, the extent to which the same genes are involved (gene reuse) varies across systems. We propose that divergence time among lineages is a key factor driving this variability: as lineages diverge, the extent of gene reuse should decrease due to reductions in allele sharing, functional differentiation among genes, and restructuring of genome architecture. Indeed, we show that many genomic studies of repeated adaptation find that more recently diverged lineages exhibit higher gene reuse during repeated adaptation, but the relationship becomes less clear at older divergence time scales. Thus, future research should explore the factors shaping gene reuse and their interplay across broad divergence time scales for a deeper understanding of evolutionary repeatability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Magdalena Bohutínská
- Division of Evolutionary Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Bern, 3012, Switzerland; Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, 12800, Czech Republic.
| | - Catherine L Peichel
- Division of Evolutionary Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Bern, 3012, Switzerland
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20
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Exciting times for evolutionary biology. Nat Ecol Evol 2024; 8:593-594. [PMID: 38605230 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-024-02402-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/13/2024]
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21
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Jiang J, Xu YC, Zhang ZQ, Chen JF, Niu XM, Hou XH, Li XT, Wang L, Zhang YE, Ge S, Guo YL. Forces driving transposable element load variation during Arabidopsis range expansion. THE PLANT CELL 2024; 36:840-862. [PMID: 38036296 PMCID: PMC10980350 DOI: 10.1093/plcell/koad296] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2023] [Revised: 10/25/2023] [Accepted: 11/06/2023] [Indexed: 12/02/2023]
Abstract
Genetic load refers to the accumulated and potentially life-threatening deleterious mutations in populations. Understanding the mechanisms underlying genetic load variation of transposable element (TE) insertion, a major large-effect mutation, during range expansion is an intriguing question in biology. Here, we used 1,115 global natural accessions of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) to study the driving forces of TE load variation during its range expansion. TE load increased with range expansion, especially in the recently established Yangtze River basin population. Effective population size, which explains 62.0% of the variance in TE load, high transposition rate, and selective sweeps contributed to TE accumulation in the expanded populations. We genetically mapped and identified multiple candidate causal genes and TEs, and revealed the genetic architecture of TE load variation. Overall, this study reveals the variation in TE genetic load during Arabidopsis expansion and highlights the causes of TE load variation from the perspectives of both population genetics and quantitative genetics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan Jiang
- State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China
- China National Botanical Garden, Beijing 100093, China
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Yong-Chao Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China
- China National Botanical Garden, Beijing 100093, China
| | - Zhi-Qin Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China
- China National Botanical Garden, Beijing 100093, China
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Jia-Fu Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China
- China National Botanical Garden, Beijing 100093, China
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Xiao-Min Niu
- State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China
- China National Botanical Garden, Beijing 100093, China
| | - Xing-Hui Hou
- State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China
- China National Botanical Garden, Beijing 100093, China
| | - Xin-Tong Li
- State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China
- China National Botanical Garden, Beijing 100093, China
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Li Wang
- Agricultural Synthetic Biology Center, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen 518000, China
| | - Yong E Zhang
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents & Key Laboratory of the Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Song Ge
- State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China
- China National Botanical Garden, Beijing 100093, China
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Ya-Long Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China
- China National Botanical Garden, Beijing 100093, China
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
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22
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Everman ER, Macdonald SJ. Gene expression variation underlying tissue-specific responses to copper stress in Drosophila melanogaster. G3 (BETHESDA, MD.) 2024; 14:jkae015. [PMID: 38262701 PMCID: PMC11021028 DOI: 10.1093/g3journal/jkae015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2023] [Revised: 01/04/2024] [Accepted: 01/08/2024] [Indexed: 01/25/2024]
Abstract
Copper is one of a handful of biologically necessary heavy metals that is also a common environmental pollutant. Under normal conditions, copper ions are required for many key physiological processes. However, in excess, copper results in cell and tissue damage ranging in severity from temporary injury to permanent neurological damage. Because of its biological relevance, and because many conserved copper-responsive genes respond to nonessential heavy metal pollutants, copper resistance in Drosophila melanogaster is a useful model system with which to investigate the genetic control of the heavy metal stress response. Because heavy metal toxicity has the potential to differently impact specific tissues, we genetically characterized the control of the gene expression response to copper stress in a tissue-specific manner in this study. We assessed the copper stress response in head and gut tissue of 96 inbred strains from the Drosophila Synthetic Population Resource using a combination of differential expression analysis and expression quantitative trait locus mapping. Differential expression analysis revealed clear patterns of tissue-specific expression. Tissue and treatment specific responses to copper stress were also detected using expression quantitative trait locus mapping. Expression quantitative trait locus associated with MtnA, Mdr49, Mdr50, and Sod3 exhibited both genotype-by-tissue and genotype-by-treatment effects on gene expression under copper stress, illuminating tissue- and treatment-specific patterns of gene expression control. Together, our data build a nuanced description of the roles and interactions between allelic and expression variation in copper-responsive genes, provide valuable insight into the genomic architecture of susceptibility to metal toxicity, and highlight candidate genes for future functional characterization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth R Everman
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Oklahoma, 730 Van Vleet Oval, Norman, OK 73019, USA
| | - Stuart J Macdonald
- Molecular Biosciences, University of Kansas, 1200 Sunnyside Ave, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA
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23
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Wang L, Chen M, Zheng X, Li X. Comparative genomics of fungal mutants provides a systemic view of extreme cadmium tolerance in eukaryotic microbes. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2024; 465:133354. [PMID: 38154183 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.133354] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2023] [Revised: 12/09/2023] [Accepted: 12/21/2023] [Indexed: 12/30/2023]
Abstract
Whether eukaryotic organisms can evolve for higher heavy metal resistance in laboratory conditions remains unknown. In this study, we challenged a macrofungi, Pleurotus ostreatus, in a designed microbial evolution and growth arena (MEGA)-plate with an extreme Cd gradient. Within months, the wild-type strain developed 10 mutants, exhibiting a maximum three-fold increase in Cd tolerance and slower growth rates. Genomic sequencing and re-sequencing of the wild-type and ten mutant strains generated about 51 GB data, allowing a comprehensive comparative genomics analysis. As a result, a total of 2512 common single nucleotide polymorphisms, 70 inserts and deletes, 39 copy number variations and 21 structural variations were found in the 10 mutants. The mutant genes were primarily involved in substrate transport. In combination with transcriptome analysis, we discovered that the ten mutants had a distinct Cd-resistant mechanism compared to the wild-type strain. Genes involved in oxidation-reduction, ion transmembrane transport, and metal compartment/efflux are primarily responsible for the extreme Cd tolerance in the P. ostreatus mutants. Our findings contribute to the understanding of eukaryotic Cd resistance at the genome level and establish a foundation for developing bioremediation tools utilizing highly tolerant macrofungi.
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Affiliation(s)
- Likun Wang
- Center for Agricultural Resources Research, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shijiazhuang 050021, China
| | | | - Xin Zheng
- Center for Agricultural Resources Research, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shijiazhuang 050021, China
| | - Xiaofang Li
- Center for Agricultural Resources Research, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shijiazhuang 050021, China.
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24
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Balogun EJ, Ness RW. The Effects of De Novo Mutation on Gene Expression and the Consequences for Fitness in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Mol Biol Evol 2024; 41:msae035. [PMID: 38366781 PMCID: PMC10910851 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msae035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2023] [Revised: 02/01/2024] [Accepted: 02/13/2024] [Indexed: 02/18/2024] Open
Abstract
Mutation is the ultimate source of genetic variation, the bedrock of evolution. Yet, predicting the consequences of new mutations remains a challenge in biology. Gene expression provides a potential link between a genotype and its phenotype. But the variation in gene expression created by de novo mutation and the fitness consequences of mutational changes to expression remain relatively unexplored. Here, we investigate the effects of >2,600 de novo mutations on gene expression across the transcriptome of 28 mutation accumulation lines derived from 2 independent wild-type genotypes of the green algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. We observed that the amount of genetic variance in gene expression created by mutation (Vm) was similar to the variance that mutation generates in typical polygenic phenotypic traits and approximately 15-fold the variance seen in the limited species where Vm in gene expression has been estimated. Despite the clear effect of mutation on expression, we did not observe a simple additive effect of mutation on expression change, with no linear correlation between the total expression change and mutation count of individual MA lines. We therefore inferred the distribution of expression effects of new mutations to connect the number of mutations to the number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Our inferred DEE is highly L-shaped with 95% of mutations causing 0-1 DEG while the remaining 5% are spread over a long tail of large effect mutations that cause multiple genes to change expression. The distribution is consistent with many cis-acting mutation targets that affect the expression of only 1 gene and a large target of trans-acting targets that have the potential to affect tens or hundreds of genes. Further evidence for cis-acting mutations can be seen in the overabundance of mutations in or near differentially expressed genes. Supporting evidence for trans-acting mutations comes from a 15:1 ratio of DEGs to mutations and the clusters of DEGs in the co-expression network, indicative of shared regulatory architecture. Lastly, we show that there is a negative correlation with the extent of expression divergence from the ancestor and fitness, providing direct evidence of the deleterious effects of perturbing gene expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eniolaye J Balogun
- Department of Biology, William G. Davis Building, University of Toronto, Mississauga L5L-1C6, Canada
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto M5S-3B2, Canada
| | - Rob W Ness
- Department of Biology, William G. Davis Building, University of Toronto, Mississauga L5L-1C6, Canada
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25
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Innes PA, Goebl AM, Smith CCR, Rosenberger K, Kane NC. Gene expression and alternative splicing contribute to adaptive divergence of ecotypes. Heredity (Edinb) 2024; 132:120-132. [PMID: 38071268 PMCID: PMC10924094 DOI: 10.1038/s41437-023-00665-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2023] [Revised: 11/23/2023] [Accepted: 11/24/2023] [Indexed: 03/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Regulation of gene expression is a critical link between genotype and phenotype explaining substantial heritable variation within species. However, we are only beginning to understand the ways that specific gene regulatory mechanisms contribute to adaptive divergence of populations. In plants, the post-transcriptional regulatory mechanism of alternative splicing (AS) plays an important role in both development and abiotic stress response, making it a compelling potential target of natural selection. AS allows organisms to generate multiple different transcripts/proteins from a single gene and thus may provide a source of evolutionary novelty. Here, we examine whether variation in alternative splicing and gene expression levels might contribute to adaptation and incipient speciation of dune-adapted prairie sunflowers in Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado, USA. We conducted a common garden experiment to assess transcriptomic variation among ecotypes and analyzed differential expression, differential splicing, and gene coexpression. We show that individual genes are strongly differentiated for both transcript level and alternative isoform proportions, even when grown in a common environment, and that gene coexpression networks are disrupted between ecotypes. Furthermore, we examined how genome-wide patterns of sequence divergence correspond to divergence in transcript levels and isoform proportions and find evidence for both cis and trans-regulation. Together, our results emphasize that alternative splicing has been an underappreciated mechanism providing source material for natural selection at short evolutionary time scales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter A Innes
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA.
| | - April M Goebl
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
- Research and Conservation Department, Denver Botanic Gardens, Denver, CO, USA
| | - Chris C R Smith
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA
| | - Kaylee Rosenberger
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Nolan C Kane
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
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26
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Runemark A, Moore EC, Larson EL. Hybridization and gene expression: Beyond differentially expressed genes. Mol Ecol 2024:e17303. [PMID: 38411307 DOI: 10.1111/mec.17303] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2023] [Revised: 02/06/2024] [Accepted: 02/15/2024] [Indexed: 02/28/2024]
Abstract
Gene expression has a key role in reproductive isolation, and studies of hybrid gene expression have identified mechanisms causing hybrid sterility. Here, we review the evidence for altered gene expression following hybridization and outline the mechanisms shown to contribute to altered gene expression in hybrids. Transgressive gene expression, transcending that of both parental species, is pervasive in early generation sterile hybrids, but also frequently observed in viable, fertile hybrids. We highlight studies showing that hybridization can result in transgressive gene expression, also in established hybrid lineages or species. Such extreme patterns of gene expression in stabilized hybrid taxa suggest that altered hybrid gene expression may result in hybridization-derived evolutionary novelty. We also conclude that while patterns of misexpression in hybrids are well documented, the understanding of the mechanisms causing misexpression is lagging. We argue that jointly assessing differences in cell composition and cell-specific changes in gene expression in hybrids, in addition to assessing changes in chromatin and methylation, will significantly advance our understanding of the basis of altered gene expression. Moreover, uncovering to what extent evolution of gene expression results in altered expression for individual genes, or entire networks of genes, will advance our understanding of how selection moulds gene expression. Finally, we argue that jointly studying the dual roles of altered hybrid gene expression, serving both as a mechanism for reproductive isolation and as a substrate for hybrid ecological adaptation, will lead to significant advances in our understanding of the evolution of gene expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Runemark
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Emily C Moore
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Denver, Denver, Colorado, USA
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA
| | - Erica L Larson
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Denver, Denver, Colorado, USA
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27
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Panten J, Heinen T, Ernst C, Eling N, Wagner RE, Satorius M, Marioni JC, Stegle O, Odom DT. The dynamic genetic determinants of increased transcriptional divergence in spermatids. Nat Commun 2024; 15:1272. [PMID: 38341412 PMCID: PMC10858866 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-45133-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2023] [Accepted: 01/16/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Cis-genetic effects are key determinants of transcriptional divergence in discrete tissues and cell types. However, how cis- and trans-effects act across continuous trajectories of cellular differentiation in vivo is poorly understood. Here, we quantify allele-specific expression during spermatogenic differentiation at single-cell resolution in an F1 hybrid mouse system, allowing for the comprehensive characterisation of cis- and trans-genetic effects, including their dynamics across cellular differentiation. Collectively, almost half of the genes subject to genetic regulation show evidence for dynamic cis-effects that vary during differentiation. Our system also allows us to robustly identify dynamic trans-effects, which are less pervasive than cis-effects. In aggregate, genetic effects were strongest in round spermatids, which parallels their increased transcriptional divergence we identified between species. Our approach provides a comprehensive quantification of the variability of genetic effects in vivo, and demonstrates a widely applicable strategy to dissect the impact of regulatory variants on gene regulation in dynamic systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jasper Panten
- Division of Regulatory Genomics and Cancer Evolution, German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ), 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
- Division of Computational Genomics and Systems Genetics, German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ), 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
- Faculty of Biosciences, Heidelberg University, 69117, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Tobias Heinen
- Division of Computational Genomics and Systems Genetics, German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ), 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
- Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Genome Biology Unit, 69117, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Christina Ernst
- School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Nils Eling
- University of Zurich, Department of Quantitative Biomedicine, Zurich, 8057, Switzerland
- ETH Zurich, Institute for Molecular Health Sciences, Zurich, 8093, Switzerland
| | - Rebecca E Wagner
- Faculty of Biosciences, Heidelberg University, 69117, Heidelberg, Germany
- Division of Mechanisms Regulating Gene Expression, German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ), 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Maja Satorius
- Division of Regulatory Genomics and Cancer Evolution, German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ), 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - John C Marioni
- Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Cambridge, UK
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Cambridge, UK
| | - Oliver Stegle
- Division of Computational Genomics and Systems Genetics, German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ), 69120, Heidelberg, Germany.
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Genome Biology Unit, 69117, Heidelberg, Germany.
| | - Duncan T Odom
- Division of Regulatory Genomics and Cancer Evolution, German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ), 69120, Heidelberg, Germany.
- Faculty of Biosciences, Heidelberg University, 69117, Heidelberg, Germany.
- Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
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28
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Bontonou G, Saint-Leandre B, Kafle T, Baticle T, Hassan A, Sánchez-Alcañiz JA, Arguello JR. Evolution of chemosensory tissues and cells across ecologically diverse Drosophilids. Nat Commun 2024; 15:1047. [PMID: 38316749 PMCID: PMC10844241 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-44558-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2023] [Accepted: 12/19/2023] [Indexed: 02/07/2024] Open
Abstract
Chemosensory tissues exhibit significant between-species variability, yet the evolution of gene expression and cell types underlying this diversity remain poorly understood. To address these questions, we conducted transcriptomic analyses of five chemosensory tissues from six Drosophila species and integrated the findings with single-cell datasets. While stabilizing selection predominantly shapes chemosensory transcriptomes, thousands of genes in each tissue have evolved expression differences. Genes that have changed expression in one tissue have often changed in multiple other tissues but at different past epochs and are more likely to be cell type-specific than unchanged genes. Notably, chemosensory-related genes have undergone widespread expression changes, with numerous species-specific gains/losses including novel chemoreceptors expression patterns. Sex differences are also pervasive, including a D. melanogaster-specific excess of male-biased expression in sensory and muscle cells in its forelegs. Together, our analyses provide new insights for understanding evolutionary changes in chemosensory tissues at both global and individual gene levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gwénaëlle Bontonou
- Department of Ecology & Evolution, Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
- Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne, Switzerland.
| | - Bastien Saint-Leandre
- Department of Ecology & Evolution, Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
- Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne, Switzerland.
| | - Tane Kafle
- Department of Ecology & Evolution, Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Tess Baticle
- Department of Ecology & Evolution, Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Afrah Hassan
- Department of Ecology & Evolution, Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | | | - J Roman Arguello
- Department of Ecology & Evolution, Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
- Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne, Switzerland.
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.
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29
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Durkin SM, Ballinger MA, Nachman MW. Tissue-specific and cis-regulatory changes underlie parallel, adaptive gene expression evolution in house mice. PLoS Genet 2024; 20:e1010892. [PMID: 38306396 PMCID: PMC10866503 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1010892] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2023] [Revised: 02/14/2024] [Accepted: 01/22/2024] [Indexed: 02/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Changes in gene regulation have long been appreciated as a driving force of adaptive evolution, however the relative contributions of cis- and trans-acting changes to gene regulation over short evolutionary timescales remain unclear. Instances of recent, parallel phenotypic evolution provide an opportunity to assess whether parallel patterns are seen at the level of gene expression, and to assess the relative contribution of cis- and trans- changes to gene regulation in the early stages of divergence. Here, we studied gene expression in liver and brown adipose tissue in two wild-derived strains of house mice that independently adapted to cold, northern environments, and we compared them to a strain of house mice from a warm, tropical environment. To investigate gene regulatory evolution, we studied expression in parents and allele-specific expression in F1 hybrids of crosses between warm-adapted and cold-adapted strains. First, we found that the different cold-adapted mice showed both unique and shared changes in expression, but that the proportion of shared changes (i.e. parallelism) was greater than expected by chance. Second, we discovered that expression evolution occurred largely at tissue-specific and cis-regulated genes, and that these genes were over-represented in parallel cases of evolution. Finally, we integrated the expression data with scans for selection in natural populations and found substantial parallelism in the two northern populations for genes under selection. Furthermore, selection outliers were associated with cis-regulated genes more than expected by chance; cis-regulated genes under selection influenced phenotypes such as body size, immune functioning, and activity level. These results demonstrate that parallel patterns of gene expression in mice that have independently adapted to cold environments are driven largely by tissue-specific and cis-regulatory changes, providing insight into the mechanisms of adaptive gene regulatory evolution at the earliest stages of divergence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sylvia M. Durkin
- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology and Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, United States of America
| | - Mallory A. Ballinger
- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology and Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, United States of America
| | - Michael W. Nachman
- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology and Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, United States of America
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30
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Sabarís G, Ortíz DM, Laiker I, Mayansky I, Naik S, Cavalli G, Stern DL, Preger-Ben Noon E, Frankel N. The Density of Regulatory Information Is a Major Determinant of Evolutionary Constraint on Noncoding DNA in Drosophila. Mol Biol Evol 2024; 41:msae004. [PMID: 38364113 PMCID: PMC10871701 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msae004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2023] [Revised: 11/26/2023] [Accepted: 01/05/2024] [Indexed: 02/18/2024] Open
Abstract
Evolutionary analyses have estimated that ∼60% of nucleotides in intergenic regions of the Drosophila melanogaster genome are functionally relevant, suggesting that regulatory information may be encoded more densely in intergenic regions than has been revealed by most functional dissections of regulatory DNA. Here, we approached this issue through a functional dissection of the regulatory region of the gene shavenbaby (svb). Most of the ∼90 kb of this large regulatory region is highly conserved in the genus Drosophila, though characterized enhancers occupy a small fraction of this region. By analyzing the regulation of svb in different contexts of Drosophila development, we found that the regulatory information that drives svb expression in the abdominal pupal epidermis is organized in a different way than the elements that drive svb expression in the embryonic epidermis. While in the embryonic epidermis svb is activated by compact enhancers separated by large inactive DNA regions, svb expression in the pupal epidermis is driven by regulatory information distributed over broader regions of svb cis-regulatory DNA. In the same vein, we observed that other developmental genes also display a dense distribution of putative regulatory elements in their regulatory regions. Furthermore, we found that a large percentage of conserved noncoding DNA of the Drosophila genome is contained within regions of open chromatin. These results suggest that part of the evolutionary constraint on noncoding DNA of Drosophila is explained by the density of regulatory information, which may be greater than previously appreciated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gonzalo Sabarís
- Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias (IFIBYNE), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA), Buenos Aires 1428, Argentina
- Institute of Human Genetics, UMR 9002 CNRS-Université de Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | - Daniela M Ortíz
- Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias (IFIBYNE), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA), Buenos Aires 1428, Argentina
| | - Ian Laiker
- Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias (IFIBYNE), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA), Buenos Aires 1428, Argentina
| | - Ignacio Mayansky
- Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias (IFIBYNE), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA), Buenos Aires 1428, Argentina
| | - Sujay Naik
- Department of Genetics and Developmental Biology, The Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and Research Institute, Technion—Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 3109601, Israel
| | - Giacomo Cavalli
- Institute of Human Genetics, UMR 9002 CNRS-Université de Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | - David L Stern
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, VA 20147, USA
| | - Ella Preger-Ben Noon
- Department of Genetics and Developmental Biology, The Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and Research Institute, Technion—Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 3109601, Israel
| | - Nicolás Frankel
- Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias (IFIBYNE), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA), Buenos Aires 1428, Argentina
- Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales (FCEN), Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA), Buenos Aires 1428, Argentina
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31
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Yang X, Li X, Bao Q, Wang Z, He S, Qu X, Tang Y, Song B, Huang J, Yi G. Uncovering Evolutionary Adaptations in Common Warthogs through Genomic Analyses. Genes (Basel) 2024; 15:166. [PMID: 38397156 PMCID: PMC10888464 DOI: 10.3390/genes15020166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2023] [Revised: 01/15/2024] [Accepted: 01/20/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024] Open
Abstract
In the Suidae family, warthogs show significant survival adaptability and trait specificity. This study offers a comparative genomic analysis between the warthog and other Suidae species, including the Luchuan pig, Duroc pig, and Red River hog. By integrating the four genomes with sequences from the other four species, we identified 8868 single-copy orthologous genes. Based on 8868 orthologous protein sequences, phylogenetic assessments highlighted divergence timelines and unique evolutionary branches within suid species. Warthogs exist on different evolutionary branches compared to DRCs and LCs, with a divergence time preceding that of DRC and LC. Contraction and expansion analyses of warthog gene families have been conducted to elucidate the mechanisms of their evolutionary adaptations. Using GO, KEGG, and MGI databases, warthogs showed a preference for expansion in sensory genes and contraction in metabolic genes, underscoring phenotypic diversity and adaptive evolution direction. Associating genes with the QTLdb-pigSS11 database revealed links between gene families and immunity traits. The overlap of olfactory genes in immune-related QTL regions highlighted their importance in evolutionary adaptations. This work highlights the unique evolutionary strategies and adaptive mechanisms of warthogs, guiding future research into the distinct adaptability and disease resistance in pigs, particularly focusing on traits such as resistance to African Swine Fever Virus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xintong Yang
- Shenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory of Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Key Laboratory of Livestock and Poultry Multi-Omics of MARA, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen 518124, China; (X.Y.); (X.L.); (Q.B.); (Z.W.); (S.H.); (X.Q.); (Y.T.); (B.S.)
- State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-Bioresources, Guangxi University, Nanning 530005, China;
| | - Xingzheng Li
- Shenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory of Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Key Laboratory of Livestock and Poultry Multi-Omics of MARA, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen 518124, China; (X.Y.); (X.L.); (Q.B.); (Z.W.); (S.H.); (X.Q.); (Y.T.); (B.S.)
| | - Qi Bao
- Shenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory of Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Key Laboratory of Livestock and Poultry Multi-Omics of MARA, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen 518124, China; (X.Y.); (X.L.); (Q.B.); (Z.W.); (S.H.); (X.Q.); (Y.T.); (B.S.)
| | - Zhen Wang
- Shenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory of Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Key Laboratory of Livestock and Poultry Multi-Omics of MARA, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen 518124, China; (X.Y.); (X.L.); (Q.B.); (Z.W.); (S.H.); (X.Q.); (Y.T.); (B.S.)
| | - Sang He
- Shenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory of Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Key Laboratory of Livestock and Poultry Multi-Omics of MARA, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen 518124, China; (X.Y.); (X.L.); (Q.B.); (Z.W.); (S.H.); (X.Q.); (Y.T.); (B.S.)
| | - Xiaolu Qu
- Shenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory of Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Key Laboratory of Livestock and Poultry Multi-Omics of MARA, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen 518124, China; (X.Y.); (X.L.); (Q.B.); (Z.W.); (S.H.); (X.Q.); (Y.T.); (B.S.)
| | - Yueting Tang
- Shenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory of Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Key Laboratory of Livestock and Poultry Multi-Omics of MARA, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen 518124, China; (X.Y.); (X.L.); (Q.B.); (Z.W.); (S.H.); (X.Q.); (Y.T.); (B.S.)
- School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China
| | - Bangmin Song
- Shenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory of Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Key Laboratory of Livestock and Poultry Multi-Omics of MARA, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen 518124, China; (X.Y.); (X.L.); (Q.B.); (Z.W.); (S.H.); (X.Q.); (Y.T.); (B.S.)
- School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China
| | - Jieping Huang
- State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-Bioresources, Guangxi University, Nanning 530005, China;
| | - Guoqiang Yi
- Shenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory of Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Key Laboratory of Livestock and Poultry Multi-Omics of MARA, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen 518124, China; (X.Y.); (X.L.); (Q.B.); (Z.W.); (S.H.); (X.Q.); (Y.T.); (B.S.)
- Kunpeng Institute of Modern Agriculture at Foshan, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Foshan 528226, China
- Bama Yao Autonomous County Rural Revitalization Research Institute, Bama 547500, China
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32
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Tsouris A, Brach G, Schacherer J, Hou J. Non-additive genetic components contribute significantly to population-wide gene expression variation. CELL GENOMICS 2024; 4:100459. [PMID: 38190102 PMCID: PMC10794783 DOI: 10.1016/j.xgen.2023.100459] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2023] [Revised: 09/19/2023] [Accepted: 11/09/2023] [Indexed: 01/09/2024]
Abstract
Gene expression variation, an essential step between genotype and phenotype, is collectively controlled by local (cis) and distant (trans) regulatory changes. Nevertheless, how these regulatory elements differentially influence gene expression variation remains unclear. Here, we bridge this gap by analyzing the transcriptomes of a large diallel panel consisting of 323 unique hybrids originating from genetically divergent Saccharomyces cerevisiae isolates. Our analysis across 5,087 transcript abundance traits showed that non-additive components account for 36% of the gene expression variance on average. By comparing allele-specific read counts in parent-hybrid trios, we found that trans-regulatory changes underlie the majority of gene expression variation in the population. Remarkably, most cis-regulatory variations are also exaggerated or attenuated by additional trans effects. Overall, we showed that the transcriptome is globally buffered at the genetic level mainly due to trans-regulatory variation in the population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Tsouris
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, GMGM UMR, 7156 Strasbourg, France
| | - Gauthier Brach
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, GMGM UMR, 7156 Strasbourg, France
| | - Joseph Schacherer
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, GMGM UMR, 7156 Strasbourg, France; Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), Paris, France.
| | - Jing Hou
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, GMGM UMR, 7156 Strasbourg, France.
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Brown A, Steenwyk JL, Rokas A. Genome-wide patterns of non-coding sequence variation in the major fungal pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.01.08.574724. [PMID: 38260267 PMCID: PMC10802510 DOI: 10.1101/2024.01.08.574724] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2024]
Abstract
A.fumigatus is a deadly fungal pathogen, responsible for >400,000 infections/year and high mortality rates. A. fumigatus strains exhibit variation in infection-relevant traits, including in their virulence. However, most A. fumigatus protein-coding genes, including those that modulate its virulence, are shared between A. fumigatus strains and closely related non-pathogenic relatives. We hypothesized that A. fumigatus genes exhibit substantial genetic variation in the non-coding regions immediately upstream to the start codons of genes, which could reflect differences in gene regulation between strains. To begin testing this hypothesis, we identified 5,812 single-copy orthologs across the genomes of 263 A. fumigatus strains. A. fumigatus non-coding regions showed higher levels of sequence variation compared to their corresponding protein-coding regions. Specifically, we found that 1,274 non-coding regions exhibited <75% nucleotide sequence similarity (compared to 928 protein-coding regions) and 3,721 non-coding regions exhibited between 75% and 99% similarity (compared to 2,482 protein-coding regions) across strains. Only 817 non-coding regions exhibited ≥99% sequence similarity compared to 2,402 protein-coding regions. By examining 2,482 genes whose protein-coding sequence identity scores ranged between 75% and 99%, we identified 478 total genes with signatures of positive selection only in their non-coding regions and 65 total genes with signatures only in their protein-coding regions. 28 of the 478 non-coding regions and 5 of the 65 protein-coding regions under selection are associated with genes known to modulate A. fumigatus virulence. Non-coding region variation between A. fumigatus strains included single nucleotide polymorphisms and insertions or deletions of at least a few nucleotides. These results show that non-coding regions of A. fumigatus genes harbor greater sequence variation than protein-coding regions, raising the hypothesis that this variation may contribute to A. fumigatus phenotypic heterogeneity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alec Brown
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
- Evolutionary Studies Initiative, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Jacob L. Steenwyk
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
- Evolutionary Studies Initiative, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
- Howards Hughes Medical Institute and the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Antonis Rokas
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
- Evolutionary Studies Initiative, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
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34
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Kasela S, Aguet F, Kim-Hellmuth S, Brown BC, Nachun DC, Tracy RP, Durda P, Liu Y, Taylor KD, Johnson WC, Van Den Berg D, Gabriel S, Gupta N, Smith JD, Blackwell TW, Rotter JI, Ardlie KG, Manichaikul A, Rich SS, Barr RG, Lappalainen T. Interaction molecular QTL mapping discovers cellular and environmental modifiers of genetic regulatory effects. Am J Hum Genet 2024; 111:133-149. [PMID: 38181730 PMCID: PMC10806864 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2023.11.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2023] [Revised: 11/29/2023] [Accepted: 11/29/2023] [Indexed: 01/07/2024] Open
Abstract
Bulk-tissue molecular quantitative trait loci (QTLs) have been the starting point for interpreting disease-associated variants, and context-specific QTLs show particular relevance for disease. Here, we present the results of mapping interaction QTLs (iQTLs) for cell type, age, and other phenotypic variables in multi-omic, longitudinal data from the blood of individuals of diverse ancestries. By modeling the interaction between genotype and estimated cell-type proportions, we demonstrate that cell-type iQTLs could be considered as proxies for cell-type-specific QTL effects, particularly for the most abundant cell type in the tissue. The interpretation of age iQTLs, however, warrants caution because the moderation effect of age on the genotype and molecular phenotype association could be mediated by changes in cell-type composition. Finally, we show that cell-type iQTLs contribute to cell-type-specific enrichment of diseases that, in combination with additional functional data, could guide future functional studies. Overall, this study highlights the use of iQTLs to gain insights into the context specificity of regulatory effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silva Kasela
- New York Genome Center, New York, NY, USA; Department of Systems Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
| | | | - Sarah Kim-Hellmuth
- New York Genome Center, New York, NY, USA; Department of Pediatrics, Dr. von Hauner Children's Hospital, University Hospital LMU Munich, Munich, Germany; Computational Health Center, Institute of Translational Genomics, Helmholtz Munich, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Brielin C Brown
- New York Genome Center, New York, NY, USA; Data Science Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Daniel C Nachun
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Russell P Tracy
- Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, The University of Vermont, Larner College of Medicine, Burlington, VT, USA
| | - Peter Durda
- Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, The University of Vermont, Larner College of Medicine, Burlington, VT, USA
| | - Yongmei Liu
- Department of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Kent D Taylor
- The Institute for Translational Genomics and Population Sciences, Department of Pediatrics, The Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, CA, USA
| | - W Craig Johnson
- Department of Biostatistics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - David Van Den Berg
- Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | | | - Namrata Gupta
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Joshua D Smith
- Northwest Genomics Center, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Thomas W Blackwell
- Department of Biostatistics, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Jerome I Rotter
- The Institute for Translational Genomics and Population Sciences, Department of Pediatrics, The Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, CA, USA
| | | | - Ani Manichaikul
- Center for Public Health Genomics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - Stephen S Rich
- Center for Public Health Genomics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - R Graham Barr
- Departments of Medicine and Epidemiology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Tuuli Lappalainen
- New York Genome Center, New York, NY, USA; Department of Systems Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA; Science for Life Laboratory, Department of Gene Technology, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden.
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35
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Louder MIM, Justen H, Kimmitt AA, Lawley KS, Turner LM, Dickman JD, Delmore KE. Gene regulation and speciation in a migratory divide between songbirds. Nat Commun 2024; 15:98. [PMID: 38167733 PMCID: PMC10761872 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-44352-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2023] [Accepted: 12/11/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Behavioral variation abounds in nature. This variation is important for adaptation and speciation, but its molecular basis remains elusive. Here, we use a hybrid zone between two subspecies of songbirds that differ in migration - an ecologically important and taxonomically widespread behavior---to gain insight into this topic. We measure gene expression in five brain regions. Differential expression between migratory states was dominated by circadian genes in all brain regions. The remaining patterns were largely brain-region specific. For example, expression differences between the subspecies that interact with migratory state likely help maintain reproductive isolation in this system and were documented in only three brain regions. Contrary to existing work on regulatory mechanisms underlying species-specific traits, two lines of evidence suggest that trans- (vs. cis) regulatory changes underlie these patterns - no evidence for allele-specific expression in hybrids and minimal associations between genomic differentiation and expression differences. Additional work with hybrids shows expression levels were often distinct (transgressive) from parental forms. Behavioral contrasts and functional enrichment analyses allowed us to connect these patterns to mitonuclear incompatibilities and compensatory responses to stress that could exacerbate selection on hybrids and contribute to speciation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Hannah Justen
- Biology Department, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
| | | | - Koedi S Lawley
- Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
| | - Leslie M Turner
- Milner Centre for Evolution, Department of Biology & Biochemistry, University of Bath, Bath, UK
| | - J David Dickman
- Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Kira E Delmore
- Biology Department, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA.
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36
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Wallace JL, Pollen AA. Human neuronal maturation comes of age: cellular mechanisms and species differences. Nat Rev Neurosci 2024; 25:7-29. [PMID: 37996703 DOI: 10.1038/s41583-023-00760-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/12/2023] [Indexed: 11/25/2023]
Abstract
The delayed and prolonged postmitotic maturation of human neurons, compared with neurons from other species, may contribute to human-specific cognitive abilities and neurological disorders. Here we review the mechanisms of neuronal maturation, applying lessons from model systems to understand the specific features of protracted human cortical maturation and species differences. We cover cell-intrinsic features of neuronal maturation, including transcriptional, epigenetic and metabolic mechanisms, as well as cell-extrinsic features, including the roles of activity and synapses, the actions of glial cells and the contribution of the extracellular matrix. We discuss evidence for species differences in biochemical reaction rates, the proposed existence of an epigenetic maturation clock and the contributions of both general and modular mechanisms to species-specific maturation timing. Finally, we suggest approaches to measure, improve and accelerate the maturation of human neurons in culture, examine crosstalk and interactions among these different aspects of maturation and propose conceptual models to guide future studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jenelle L Wallace
- Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
- Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
| | - Alex A Pollen
- Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
- Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
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37
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Dimayacyac JR, Wu S, Jiang D, Pennell M. Evaluating the Performance of Widely Used Phylogenetic Models for Gene Expression Evolution. Genome Biol Evol 2023; 15:evad211. [PMID: 38000902 PMCID: PMC10709115 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evad211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2023] [Revised: 11/09/2023] [Accepted: 11/17/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Phylogenetic comparative methods are increasingly used to test hypotheses about the evolutionary processes that drive divergence in gene expression among species. However, it is unknown whether the distributional assumptions of phylogenetic models designed for quantitative phenotypic traits are realistic for expression data and importantly, the reliability of conclusions of phylogenetic comparative studies of gene expression may depend on whether the data is well described by the chosen model. To evaluate this, we first fit several phylogenetic models of trait evolution to 8 previously published comparative expression datasets, comprising a total of 54,774 genes with 145,927 unique gene-tissue combinations. Using a previously developed approach, we then assessed how well the best model of the set described the data in an absolute (not just relative) sense. First, we find that Ornstein-Uhlenbeck models, in which expression values are constrained around an optimum, were the preferred models for 66% of gene-tissue combinations. Second, we find that for 61% of gene-tissue combinations, the best-fit model of the set was found to perform well; the rest were found to be performing poorly by at least one of the test statistics we examined. Third, we find that when simple models do not perform well, this appears to be typically a consequence of failing to fully account for heterogeneity in the rate of the evolution. We advocate that assessment of model performance should become a routine component of phylogenetic comparative expression studies; doing so can improve the reliability of inferences and inspire the development of novel models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jose Rafael Dimayacyac
- Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Michael Smith Laboratories, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Shanyun Wu
- Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Department of Developmental Biology, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Daohan Jiang
- Department of Quantitative and Computational Biology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Matt Pennell
- Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Department of Quantitative and Computational Biology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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38
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Fulgione D, Maselli V, Rivieccio E, Aceto S, Salvemini M, Buglione M. Evolutionary Plasticity in Insular Lizard, Adapting over Reproduction, Metabolism, and Color Variation. BIOLOGY 2023; 12:1478. [PMID: 38132304 PMCID: PMC10740616 DOI: 10.3390/biology12121478] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2023] [Revised: 11/22/2023] [Accepted: 11/27/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023]
Abstract
The Italian wall lizard (Podarcis siculus) living on islets exhibits a melanic skin coloration and a suite of adaptive traits lacking in nearby mainland populations. On islets, the unpredictable environmental conditions and highly fluctuating population densities are believed to have produced reversed island syndrome (RIS). Several physiological, behavioral, and life-history changes based on the RIS could result from positive selection on increased activity of melanocortins. We hypothesize that phenotypes on islets are the product of a plastic variation depending on the regulation of specific genes. Focusing on control systems that determine the insular-adapted phenotype, we demonstrated that reproductive markers, involved in the hypothalamus-hypophysis-gonadal axis, and metabolism markers, flags for hypophysis-melanocortin receptors, are all up-regulated in island lizards under the RIS. This behavior, combined with the observed limited variation in the mitochondrial genome, agrees with the hypothesis that plasticity enables populations to persist in novel environmental conditions and that over time, natural selection will "fine-tune" the population to the environment by modifying the phenotype under selection. We believe that analysis of the transcriptome and the single gene expression, such that all the variations observed in the island populations, can be useful to shed light on evolutionary plasticity as a process affecting animals' populations in general.
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Affiliation(s)
- Domenico Fulgione
- Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, 80126 Naples, Italy; (D.F.); (S.A.); (M.S.); (M.B.)
| | - Valeria Maselli
- Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, 80126 Naples, Italy; (D.F.); (S.A.); (M.S.); (M.B.)
| | - Eleonora Rivieccio
- Department of Humanities Studies, University of Naples Federico II, 80138 Naples, Italy;
| | - Serena Aceto
- Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, 80126 Naples, Italy; (D.F.); (S.A.); (M.S.); (M.B.)
| | - Marco Salvemini
- Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, 80126 Naples, Italy; (D.F.); (S.A.); (M.S.); (M.B.)
| | - Maria Buglione
- Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, 80126 Naples, Italy; (D.F.); (S.A.); (M.S.); (M.B.)
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39
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Zhang K, Yang Q, Du M, Zhang Z, Wang W, Zhang G, Li A, Li L. Genome-wide mapping of regulatory variants for temperature- and salinity-adaptive genes reveals genetic basis of genotype-by-environment interaction in Crassostrea ariakensis. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2023; 236:116614. [PMID: 37442261 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.116614] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2023] [Revised: 06/14/2023] [Accepted: 07/09/2023] [Indexed: 07/15/2023]
Abstract
Regulatory variants in gene expression serve as bridges linking genetic variation and phenotypic plasticity. Environmental conditions typically influence the effects of regulatory variants on phenotypic plasticity; however, such genotype-by-environment interactions (G × E) are poorly understood. This study aimed to investigate the genetic basis of G × E in estuarine oyster (Crassostrea ariakensis), which is an important model animal for studying environmental adaption owing to its high plasticity and large intraspecific divergence. Genome-wide mapping of expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) for 23 environmental adaptive genes was performed for 256 estuarine oysters. We identified 1194 eQTL single nucleotide polymorphisms (eSNPs), including 433 cis-eSNPs in four genes and 722 trans-eSNPs in eight genes. The expression variation explanation of cis-eSNPs (9.95%) was significantly higher than that of trans-eSNPs (9.15%). We specifically showed cis- and trans-eSNPs with high linkage disequilibrium (LD) for Traf7, Slc6a5, Ggt, and Dap3. For example, we identified a cis-regulatory LD block containing 68 cis-eSNP and a trans-regulatory LD block, including 20 trans-eSNPs in Traf7. A high proportion (85%) of 40 vital eSNPs exhibited significant G × E effects. We identified crossing and nonparallel interactions of G × E, with the tag cis-eSNPs of Baat and Slc6a5 as representatives. Our results indicated that cis-eQTLs are highly conserved. This study provides insights into the understanding of adaptive evolutionary mechanisms and phenotypic response prediction to variable environments, as well as the genetic improvement for superior adaptive traits for genetic resource conservation and aquaculture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kexin Zhang
- CAS and Shandong Province Key Laboratory of Experimental Marine Biology, Center for Ocean Mega-Science, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, China; Laboratory for Marine Biology and Biotechnology, Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao 266237, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Qi Yang
- CAS and Shandong Province Key Laboratory of Experimental Marine Biology, Center for Ocean Mega-Science, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, China
| | - Mingyang Du
- CAS and Shandong Province Key Laboratory of Experimental Marine Biology, Center for Ocean Mega-Science, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, China; Laboratory for Marine Biology and Biotechnology, Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao 266237, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Ziyan Zhang
- CAS and Shandong Province Key Laboratory of Experimental Marine Biology, Center for Ocean Mega-Science, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, China; Laboratory for Marine Biology and Biotechnology, Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao 266237, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Wei Wang
- CAS and Shandong Province Key Laboratory of Experimental Marine Biology, Center for Ocean Mega-Science, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, China; Key Laboratory of Breeding Biotechnology and Sustainable Aquaculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, China; National and Local Joint Engineering Laboratory of Ecological Mariculture, Qingdao 266071, China
| | - Guofan Zhang
- CAS and Shandong Province Key Laboratory of Experimental Marine Biology, Center for Ocean Mega-Science, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, China; Laboratory for Marine Biology and Biotechnology, Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao 266237, China; National and Local Joint Engineering Laboratory of Ecological Mariculture, Qingdao 266071, China
| | - Ao Li
- CAS and Shandong Province Key Laboratory of Experimental Marine Biology, Center for Ocean Mega-Science, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, China; Key Laboratory of Breeding Biotechnology and Sustainable Aquaculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, China; National and Local Joint Engineering Laboratory of Ecological Mariculture, Qingdao 266071, China.
| | - Li Li
- CAS and Shandong Province Key Laboratory of Experimental Marine Biology, Center for Ocean Mega-Science, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, China; Key Laboratory of Breeding Biotechnology and Sustainable Aquaculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; National and Local Joint Engineering Laboratory of Ecological Mariculture, Qingdao 266071, China; Shandong Technology Innovation Center of Oyster Seed Industry, Qingdao 266000, China.
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40
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Dwivedi SL, Quiroz LF, Reddy ASN, Spillane C, Ortiz R. Alternative Splicing Variation: Accessing and Exploiting in Crop Improvement Programs. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:15205. [PMID: 37894886 PMCID: PMC10607462 DOI: 10.3390/ijms242015205] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2023] [Revised: 10/09/2023] [Accepted: 10/10/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Alternative splicing (AS) is a gene regulatory mechanism modulating gene expression in multiple ways. AS is prevalent in all eukaryotes including plants. AS generates two or more mRNAs from the precursor mRNA (pre-mRNA) to regulate transcriptome complexity and proteome diversity. Advances in next-generation sequencing, omics technology, bioinformatics tools, and computational methods provide new opportunities to quantify and visualize AS-based quantitative trait variation associated with plant growth, development, reproduction, and stress tolerance. Domestication, polyploidization, and environmental perturbation may evolve novel splicing variants associated with agronomically beneficial traits. To date, pre-mRNAs from many genes are spliced into multiple transcripts that cause phenotypic variation for complex traits, both in model plant Arabidopsis and field crops. Cataloguing and exploiting such variation may provide new paths to enhance climate resilience, resource-use efficiency, productivity, and nutritional quality of staple food crops. This review provides insights into AS variation alongside a gene expression analysis to select for novel phenotypic diversity for use in breeding programs. AS contributes to heterosis, enhances plant symbiosis (mycorrhiza and rhizobium), and provides a mechanistic link between the core clock genes and diverse environmental clues.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Luis Felipe Quiroz
- Agriculture and Bioeconomy Research Centre, Ryan Institute, University of Galway, University Road, H91 REW4 Galway, Ireland
| | - Anireddy S N Reddy
- Department of Biology and Program in Cell and Molecular Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Charles Spillane
- Agriculture and Bioeconomy Research Centre, Ryan Institute, University of Galway, University Road, H91 REW4 Galway, Ireland
| | - Rodomiro Ortiz
- Department of Plant Breeding, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 23053 Alnarp, SE, Sweden
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41
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Su P, Wu H, Huang Y, Lu X, Yin J, Zhang Q, Lan X. The Hoof Color of Australian White Sheep Is Associated with Genetic Variation of the MITF Gene. Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:3218. [PMID: 37893942 PMCID: PMC10603658 DOI: 10.3390/ani13203218] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2023] [Revised: 09/28/2023] [Accepted: 10/06/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Studying the characteristics of mammalian hoof colors is important for genetic improvements in animals. A deeper black hoof color is the standard for breeding purebred Australian White (AUW) sheep and this phenotype could be used as a phenotypic marker of purebred animals. We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) analysis using restriction site associated DNA sequencing (RAD-seq) data from 577 Australian White sheep (black hoof color = 283, grey hoof color = 106, amber hoof color = 186) and performed association analysis utilizing the mixed linear model in EMMAX. The results of GWAS demonstrated that a specific single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP; g. 33097911G>A) in intron 14 of the microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF) gene was significantly associated with the hoof color in AUW sheep (p = 9.40 × 10-36). The MITF gene plays a key role in the development, differentiation, and functional regulation of melanocytes. Furthermore, the association between this locus and hoof color was validated in a cohort of 212 individuals (black hoof color = 122, grey hoof color = 38, amber hoof color = 52). The results indicated that the hoof color of AUW sheep with GG, AG, and AA genotypes tended to be black, grey, and amber, respectively. This study provided novel insights into hoof color genetics in AUW sheep, enhancing our comprehension of the genetic mechanisms underlying the diverse range of hoof colors. Our results agree with previous studies and provide molecular markers for marker-assisted selection for hoof color in sheep.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peng Su
- Tianjin Aoqun Animal Husbandry Co., Ltd., Tianjin 301607, China; (P.S.)
- Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics Breeding and Reproduction of Shanxi Province, College Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
- National Germplasm Center of Domestic Animal Resources, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing 100193, China
| | - Hui Wu
- College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Yangming Huang
- Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics Breeding and Reproduction of Shanxi Province, College Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
| | - Xiaofang Lu
- Tianjin Aoqun Animal Husbandry Co., Ltd., Tianjin 301607, China; (P.S.)
- Tianjin Aoqun Sheep Industry Academy Company, Tianjin 301607, China
| | - Jing Yin
- Tianjin Aoqun Animal Husbandry Co., Ltd., Tianjin 301607, China; (P.S.)
- Tianjin Aoqun Sheep Industry Academy Company, Tianjin 301607, China
| | - Qingfeng Zhang
- Tianjin Aoqun Animal Husbandry Co., Ltd., Tianjin 301607, China; (P.S.)
- Tianjin Aoqun Sheep Industry Academy Company, Tianjin 301607, China
| | - Xianyong Lan
- Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics Breeding and Reproduction of Shanxi Province, College Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
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42
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Herbert AL, Allard CAH, McCoy MJ, Wucherpfennig JI, Krueger SP, Chen HI, Gourlay AN, Jackson KD, Abbo LA, Bennett SH, Sears JD, Rhyne AL, Bellono NW, Kingsley DM. The genetic basis of novel trait gain in walking fish. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.10.14.562356. [PMID: 37873105 PMCID: PMC10592820 DOI: 10.1101/2023.10.14.562356] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2023]
Abstract
A major goal in biology is to understand how organisms evolve novel traits. Multiple studies have identified genes contributing to regressive evolution, the loss of structures that existed in a recent ancestor. However, fewer examples exist for genes underlying constructive evolution, the gain of novel structures and capabilities in lineages that previously lacked them. Sea robins are fish that have evolved enlarged pectoral fins, six mobile locomotory fin rays (legs) and six novel macroscopic lobes in the central nervous system (CNS) that innervate the corresponding legs. Here, we establish successful husbandry and use a combination of transcriptomics, CRISPR-Cas9 editing, and behavioral assays to identify key transcription factors that are required for leg formation and function in sea robins. We also generate hybrids between two sea robin species with distinct leg morphologies and use allele-specific expression analysis and gene editing to explore the genetic basis of species-specific trait diversity, including a novel sensory gain of function. Collectively, our study establishes sea robins as a new model for studying the genetic basis of novel organ formation, and demonstrates a crucial role for the conserved limb gene tbx3a in the evolution of chemosensory legs in walking fish.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy L Herbert
- Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford CA 94305 USA
| | - Corey AH Allard
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge MA 02138 USA
| | - Matthew J McCoy
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford CA 94305 USA
| | - Julia I Wucherpfennig
- Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford CA 94305 USA
| | - Stephanie P Krueger
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge MA 02138 USA
| | - Heidi I Chen
- Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford CA 94305 USA
| | | | - Kohle D Jackson
- Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford CA 94305 USA
| | - Lisa A Abbo
- Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA, 02543 USA
| | | | | | | | - Nicholas W Bellono
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge MA 02138 USA
| | - David M Kingsley
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford CA 94305 USA
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43
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Oliveira DS, Fablet M, Larue A, Vallier A, Carareto CA, Rebollo R, Vieira C. ChimeraTE: a pipeline to detect chimeric transcripts derived from genes and transposable elements. Nucleic Acids Res 2023; 51:9764-9784. [PMID: 37615575 PMCID: PMC10570057 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkad671] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2022] [Revised: 07/25/2023] [Accepted: 08/09/2023] [Indexed: 08/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Transposable elements (TEs) produce structural variants and are considered an important source of genetic diversity. Notably, TE-gene fusion transcripts, i.e. chimeric transcripts, have been associated with adaptation in several species. However, the identification of these chimeras remains hindered due to the lack of detection tools at a transcriptome-wide scale, and to the reliance on a reference genome, even though different individuals/cells/strains have different TE insertions. Therefore, we developed ChimeraTE, a pipeline that uses paired-end RNA-seq reads to identify chimeric transcripts through two different modes. Mode 1 is the reference-guided approach that employs canonical genome alignment, and Mode 2 identifies chimeras derived from fixed or insertionally polymorphic TEs without any reference genome. We have validated both modes using RNA-seq data from four Drosophila melanogaster wild-type strains. We found ∼1.12% of all genes generating chimeric transcripts, most of them from TE-exonized sequences. Approximately ∼23% of all detected chimeras were absent from the reference genome, indicating that TEs belonging to chimeric transcripts may be recent, polymorphic insertions. ChimeraTE is the first pipeline able to automatically uncover chimeric transcripts without a reference genome, consisting of two running Modes that can be used as a tool to investigate the contribution of TEs to transcriptome plasticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel S Oliveira
- São Paulo State University (Unesp), Institute of Biosciences, Humanities and Exact Sciences, São José do Rio Preto, SP, Brazil
- Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, Université Lyon 1, CNRS, UMR5558, Villeurbanne, Rhone-Alpes, 69100, France
| | - Marie Fablet
- Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, Université Lyon 1, CNRS, UMR5558, Villeurbanne, Rhone-Alpes, 69100, France
- Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), Paris, Île-de-FranceF-75231, France
| | - Anaïs Larue
- Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, Université Lyon 1, CNRS, UMR5558, Villeurbanne, Rhone-Alpes, 69100, France
- Univ Lyon, INRAE, INSA-Lyon, BF2I, UMR 203, 69621 Villeurbanne, France
| | - Agnès Vallier
- Univ Lyon, INRAE, INSA-Lyon, BF2I, UMR 203, 69621 Villeurbanne, France
| | - Claudia M A Carareto
- São Paulo State University (Unesp), Institute of Biosciences, Humanities and Exact Sciences, São José do Rio Preto, SP, Brazil
| | - Rita Rebollo
- Univ Lyon, INRAE, INSA-Lyon, BF2I, UMR 203, 69621 Villeurbanne, France
| | - Cristina Vieira
- Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, Université Lyon 1, CNRS, UMR5558, Villeurbanne, Rhone-Alpes, 69100, France
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Adam H, Gutiérrez A, Couderc M, Sabot F, Ntakirutimana F, Serret J, Orjuela J, Tregear J, Jouannic S, Lorieux M. Genomic introgressions from African rice (Oryza glaberrima) in Asian rice (O. sativa) lead to the identification of key QTLs for panicle architecture. BMC Genomics 2023; 24:587. [PMID: 37794325 PMCID: PMC10548634 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-023-09695-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2023] [Accepted: 09/21/2023] [Indexed: 10/06/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Developing high yielding varieties is a major challenge for breeders tackling the challenges of climate change in agriculture. The panicle (inflorescence) architecture of rice is one of the key components of yield potential and displays high inter- and intra-specific variability. The genus Oryza features two different crop species: Asian rice (Oryza sativa L.) and the African rice (O. glaberrima Steud.). One of the main morphological differences between the two independently domesticated species is the structure (or complexity) of the panicle, with O. sativa displaying a highly branched panicle, which in turn produces a larger number of grains than that of O. glaberrima. The gene regulatory network that governs intra- and interspecific panicle diversity is still under-studied. RESULTS To identify genetic factors linked to panicle architecture diversity in the two species, we used a set of 60 Chromosome Segment Substitution Lines (CSSLs) issued from third generation backcross (BC3DH) and carrying genomic segments from O. glaberrima cv. MG12 in the genetic background of O. sativa Tropical Japonica cv. Caiapó. Phenotypic data were collected for rachis and primary branch length, primary, secondary and tertiary branch number and spikelet number. A total of 15 QTLs were localized on chromosomes 1, 2, 3, 7, 11 and 12, QTLs associated with enhanced secondary and tertiary branch numbers were detected in two CSSLs. Furthermore, BC4F3:5 lines carrying different combinations of substituted segments were produced to decipher the effects of the identified QTL regions on variations in panicle architecture. A detailed analysis of phenotypes versus genotypes was carried out between the two parental genomes within these regions in order to understand how O. glaberrima introgression events may lead to alterations in panicle traits. CONCLUSION Our analysis led to the detection of genomic variations between O. sativa cv. Caiapó and O. glaberrima cv. MG12 in regions associated with enhanced panicle traits in specific CSSLs. These regions contain a number of key genes that regulate panicle development in O. sativa and their interspecific genomic variations may explain the phenotypic effects observed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hélène Adam
- UMR DIADE, University of Montpellier, IRD, Cirad, Montpellier, France.
| | | | - Marie Couderc
- UMR DIADE, University of Montpellier, IRD, Cirad, Montpellier, France
| | - François Sabot
- UMR DIADE, University of Montpellier, IRD, Cirad, Montpellier, France
| | | | - Julien Serret
- UMR DIADE, University of Montpellier, IRD, Cirad, Montpellier, France
| | - Julie Orjuela
- UMR DIADE, University of Montpellier, IRD, Cirad, Montpellier, France
| | - James Tregear
- UMR DIADE, University of Montpellier, IRD, Cirad, Montpellier, France
| | - Stefan Jouannic
- UMR DIADE, University of Montpellier, IRD, Cirad, Montpellier, France.
| | - Mathias Lorieux
- UMR DIADE, University of Montpellier, IRD, Cirad, Montpellier, France.
- Agrobiodiversity Unit, Alliance Bioversity-CIAT, Cali, Colombia.
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Ballinger MA, Mack KL, Durkin SM, Riddell EA, Nachman MW. Environmentally robust cis-regulatory changes underlie rapid climatic adaptation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2214614120. [PMID: 37725649 PMCID: PMC10523592 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2214614120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2022] [Accepted: 07/26/2023] [Indexed: 09/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Changes in gene expression are thought to play a major role in adaptive evolution. While it is known that gene expression is highly sensitive to the environment, very few studies have determined the influence of genetic and environmental effects on adaptive gene expression differences in natural populations. Here, we utilize allele-specific expression to characterize cis and trans gene regulatory divergence in temperate and tropical house mice in two metabolic tissues under two thermal conditions. First, we show that gene expression divergence is pervasive between populations and across thermal conditions, with roughly 5 to 10% of genes exhibiting genotype-by-environment interactions. Second, we found that most expression divergence was due to cis-regulatory changes that were stable across temperatures. In contrast, patterns of expression plasticity were largely attributable to trans-effects, which showed greater sensitivity to temperature. Nonetheless, we found a small subset of temperature-dependent cis-regulatory changes, thereby identifying loci underlying expression plasticity. Finally, we performed scans for selection in wild house mice to identify genomic signatures of rapid adaptation. Genomic outliers were enriched in genes with evidence for cis-regulatory divergence. Notably, these genes were associated with phenotypes that affected body weight and metabolism, suggesting that cis-regulatory changes are a possible mechanism for adaptive body size evolution between populations. Our results show that gene expression plasticity, largely controlled in trans, may facilitate the colonization of new environments, but that evolved changes in gene expression are largely controlled in cis, illustrating the genetic and nongenetic mechanisms underlying the establishment of populations in new environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mallory A. Ballinger
- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, CA94720
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA94720
- Department of Biology, Utah State University, Logan, UT84322
| | - Katya L. Mack
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA94305
| | - Sylvia M. Durkin
- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, CA94720
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA94720
| | - Eric A. Riddell
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA50011
| | - Michael W. Nachman
- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, CA94720
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA94720
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46
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Lee H, Boor SA, Hilbert ZA, Meisel JD, Park J, Wang Y, McKeown R, Fischer SEJ, Andersen EC, Kim DH. Genetic Variants That Modify the Neuroendocrine Regulation of Foraging Behavior in C. elegans. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.09.09.556976. [PMID: 37745484 PMCID: PMC10515746 DOI: 10.1101/2023.09.09.556976] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/26/2023]
Abstract
The molecular mechanisms underlying diversity in animal behavior are not well understood. A major experimental challenge is determining the contribution of genetic variants that affect neuronal gene expression to differences in behavioral traits. The neuroendocrine TGF-beta ligand, DAF-7, regulates diverse behavioral responses of Caenorhabditis elegans to bacterial food and pathogens. The dynamic neuron-specific expression of daf-7 is modulated by environmental and endogenous bacteria-derived cues. Here, we investigated natural variation in the expression of daf-7 from the ASJ pair of chemosensory neurons and identified common variants in gap-2, encoding a GTPase-Activating Protein homologous to mammalian SynGAP proteins, which modify daf-7 expression cell-non-autonomously and promote exploratory foraging behavior in a DAF-7-dependent manner. Our data connect natural variation in neuron-specific gene expression to differences in behavior and suggest that genetic variation in neuroendocrine signaling pathways mediating host-microbe interactions may give rise to diversity in animal behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Harksun Lee
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School; Boston, 02115, USA
| | - Sonia A. Boor
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School; Boston, 02115, USA
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Cambridge, 02139, USA
| | - Zoë A. Hilbert
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Cambridge, 02139, USA
| | - Joshua D. Meisel
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Cambridge, 02139, USA
| | - Jaeseok Park
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School; Boston, 02115, USA
| | - Ye Wang
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University; Evanston, 60208, USA
| | - Ryan McKeown
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University; Evanston, 60208, USA
| | - Sylvia E. J. Fischer
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School; Boston, 02115, USA
| | - Erik C. Andersen
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University; Evanston, 60208, USA
| | - Dennis H. Kim
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School; Boston, 02115, USA
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47
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Zhang J, Xiong H, Burguener GF, Vasquez-Gross H, Liu Q, Debernardi JM, Akhunova A, Garland-Campbell K, Kianian SF, Brown-Guedira G, Pozniak C, Faris JD, Akhunov E, Dubcovsky J. Sequencing 4.3 million mutations in wheat promoters to understand and modify gene expression. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2306494120. [PMID: 37703281 PMCID: PMC10515147 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2306494120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2023] [Accepted: 08/03/2023] [Indexed: 09/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Wheat is an important contributor to global food security, and further improvements are required to feed a growing human population. Functional genetics and genomics tools can help us to understand the function of different genes and to engineer beneficial changes. In this study, we used a promoter capture assay to sequence 2-kb regions upstream of all high-confidence annotated genes from 1,513 mutagenized plants from the tetraploid wheat variety Kronos. We identified 4.3 million induced mutations with an accuracy of 99.8%, resulting in a mutation density of 41.9 mutations per kb. We also remapped Kronos exome capture reads to Chinese Spring RefSeq v1.1, identified 4.7 million mutations, and predicted their effects on annotated genes. Using these predictions, we identified 59% more nonsynonymous substitutions and 49% more truncation mutations than in the original study. To show the biological value of the promoter dataset, we selected two mutations within the promoter of the VRN-A1 vernalization gene. Both mutations, located within transcription factor binding sites, significantly altered VRN-A1 expression, and one reduced the number of spikelets per spike. These publicly available sequenced mutant datasets provide rapid and inexpensive access to induced variation in the promoters and coding regions of most wheat genes. These mutations can be used to understand and modulate gene expression and phenotypes for both basic and commercial applications, where limited governmental regulations can facilitate deployment. These mutant collections, together with gene editing, provide valuable tools to accelerate functional genetic studies in this economically important crop.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junli Zhang
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA95616
| | - Hongchun Xiong
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA95616
- Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing100081, China
| | - Germán F. Burguener
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA95616
- HHMI, Chevy Chase, MD20815
| | - Hans Vasquez-Gross
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA95616
- Nevada Bioinformatics Center, University of Nevada, Reno, NV89557
| | - Qiujie Liu
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA95616
- HHMI, Chevy Chase, MD20815
| | - Juan M. Debernardi
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA95616
- HHMI, Chevy Chase, MD20815
| | - Alina Akhunova
- Department of Plant Pathology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS66506
| | - Kimberly Garland-Campbell
- United States Department of Agriculture - Agricultural Research Service, Wheat Health, Genetics and Quality Research Unit, Pullman, WA99164
| | - Shahryar F. Kianian
- United States Department of Agriculture - Agricultural Research Service, Cereal Disease Laboratory, Saint Paul, MN55108-6086
| | - Gina Brown-Guedira
- United States Department of Agriculture - Agricultural Research Service, Plant Science Research Unit, Raleigh, NC27695
| | - Curtis Pozniak
- Crop Development Centre, University of Saskatchewan, SaskatoonS7N 5A8, Canada
| | - Justin D. Faris
- United States Department of Agriculture - Agricultural Research Service, Cereal Crops Research Unit, Northern Crop Science Laboratory, Fargo, ND58102
| | - Eduard Akhunov
- Department of Plant Pathology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS66506
| | - Jorge Dubcovsky
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA95616
- HHMI, Chevy Chase, MD20815
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Fablet M, Salces-Ortiz J, Jacquet A, Menezes BF, Dechaud C, Veber P, Rebollo R, Vieira C. A Quantitative, Genome-Wide Analysis in Drosophila Reveals Transposable Elements' Influence on Gene Expression Is Species-Specific. Genome Biol Evol 2023; 15:evad160. [PMID: 37652057 PMCID: PMC10492446 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evad160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2023] [Revised: 08/21/2023] [Accepted: 08/25/2023] [Indexed: 09/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Transposable elements (TEs) are parasite DNA sequences that are able to move and multiply along the chromosomes of all genomes. They can be controlled by the host through the targeting of silencing epigenetic marks, which may affect the chromatin structure of neighboring sequences, including genes. In this study, we used transcriptomic and epigenomic high-throughput data produced from ovarian samples of several Drosophila melanogaster and Drosophila simulans wild-type strains, in order to finely quantify the influence of TE insertions on gene RNA levels and histone marks (H3K9me3 and H3K4me3). Our results reveal a stronger epigenetic effect of TEs on ortholog genes in D. simulans compared with D. melanogaster. At the same time, we uncover a larger contribution of TEs to gene H3K9me3 variance within genomes in D. melanogaster, which is evidenced by a stronger correlation of TE numbers around genes with the levels of this chromatin mark in D. melanogaster. Overall, this work contributes to the understanding of species-specific influence of TEs within genomes. It provides a new light on the considerable natural variability provided by TEs, which may be associated with contrasted adaptive and evolutionary potentials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie Fablet
- Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, Université de Lyon; Université Lyon 1; CNRS; UMR 5558, Villeurbanne, France
- Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), Paris, France
| | - Judit Salces-Ortiz
- Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, Université de Lyon; Université Lyon 1; CNRS; UMR 5558, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Angelo Jacquet
- Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, Université de Lyon; Université Lyon 1; CNRS; UMR 5558, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Bianca F Menezes
- Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, Université de Lyon; Université Lyon 1; CNRS; UMR 5558, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Corentin Dechaud
- Institut de Génomique Fonctionnelle de Lyon, Univ Lyon, CNRS UMR 5242, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Lyon, France
| | - Philippe Veber
- Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, Université de Lyon; Université Lyon 1; CNRS; UMR 5558, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Rita Rebollo
- Univ Lyon, INRAE, INSA-Lyon, BF2I, UMR 203, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Cristina Vieira
- Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, Université de Lyon; Université Lyon 1; CNRS; UMR 5558, Villeurbanne, France
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49
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Mendieta JP, Sangra A, Yan H, Minow MAA, Schmitz RJ. Exploring plant cis-regulatory elements at single-cell resolution: overcoming biological and computational challenges to advance plant research. THE PLANT JOURNAL : FOR CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2023; 115:1486-1499. [PMID: 37309871 PMCID: PMC10598807 DOI: 10.1111/tpj.16351] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2023] [Revised: 06/06/2023] [Accepted: 06/08/2023] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Cis-regulatory elements (CREs) are important sequences for gene expression and for plant biological processes such as development, evolution, domestication, and stress response. However, studying CREs in plant genomes has been challenging. The totipotent nature of plant cells, coupled with the inability to maintain plant cell types in culture and the inherent technical challenges posed by the cell wall has limited our understanding of how plant cell types acquire and maintain their identities and respond to the environment via CRE usage. Advances in single-cell epigenomics have revolutionized the field of identifying cell-type-specific CREs. These new technologies have the potential to significantly advance our understanding of plant CRE biology, and shed light on how the regulatory genome gives rise to diverse plant phenomena. However, there are significant biological and computational challenges associated with analyzing single-cell epigenomic datasets. In this review, we discuss the historical and foundational underpinnings of plant single-cell research, challenges, and common pitfalls in the analysis of plant single-cell epigenomic data, and highlight biological challenges unique to plants. Additionally, we discuss how the application of single-cell epigenomic data in various contexts stands to transform our understanding of the importance of CREs in plant genomes.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ankush Sangra
- Department of Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, 30602, Georgia, USA
| | - Haidong Yan
- Department of Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, 30602, Georgia, USA
| | - Mark A A Minow
- Department of Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, 30602, Georgia, USA
| | - Robert J Schmitz
- Department of Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, 30602, Georgia, USA
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50
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Dimayacyac JR, Wu S, Jiang D, Pennell M. Evaluating the Performance of Widely Used Phylogenetic Models for Gene Expression Evolution. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.02.09.527893. [PMID: 37645857 PMCID: PMC10461906 DOI: 10.1101/2023.02.09.527893] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/31/2023]
Abstract
Phylogenetic comparative methods are increasingly used to test hypotheses about the evolutionary processes that drive divergence in gene expression among species. However, it is unknown whether the distributional assumptions of phylogenetic models designed for quantitative phenotypic traits are realistic for expression data and importantly, the reliability of conclusions of phylogenetic comparative studies of gene expression may depend on whether the data is well-described by the chosen model. To evaluate this, we first fit several phylogenetic models of trait evolution to 8 previously published comparative expression datasets, comprising a total of 54,774 genes with 145,927 unique gene-tissue combinations. Using a previously developed approach, we then assessed how well the best model of the set described the data in an absolute (not just relative) sense. First, we find that Ornstein-Uhlenbeck models, in which expression values are constrained around an optimum, were the preferred model for 66% of gene-tissue combinations. Second, we find that for 61% of gene-tissue combinations, the best fit model of the set was found to perform well; the rest were found to be performing poorly by at least one of the test statistics we examined. Third, we find that when simple models do not perform well, this appears to be typically a consequence of failing to fully account for heterogeneity in the rate of the evolution. We advocate that assessment of model performance should become a routine component of phylogenetic comparative expression studies; doing so can improve the reliability of inferences and inspire the development of novel models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jose Rafael Dimayacyac
- Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Canada
- Michael Smith Laboratories, University of British Columbia, Canada
| | - Shanyun Wu
- Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Canada
- Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, USA
| | - Daohan Jiang
- Department of Quantitative and Computational Biology, University of Southern California, USA
| | - Matt Pennell
- Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Canada
- Department of Quantitative and Computational Biology, University of Southern California, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, USA
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