The evolution of gene expression QTL in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Understanding the evolutionary forces that influence patterns of gene expression variation will provide insights into the mechanisms of evolutionary change and the molecular basis of phenotypic diversity. To date, studies of gene expression evolution have primarily been made by analyzing how gene ex...

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Main Authors: James Ronald, Joshua M Akey
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2007-08-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0000678
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author James Ronald
Joshua M Akey
author_facet James Ronald
Joshua M Akey
author_sort James Ronald
collection DOAJ
description Understanding the evolutionary forces that influence patterns of gene expression variation will provide insights into the mechanisms of evolutionary change and the molecular basis of phenotypic diversity. To date, studies of gene expression evolution have primarily been made by analyzing how gene expression levels vary within and between species. However, the fundamental unit of heritable variation in transcript abundance is the underlying regulatory allele, and as a result it is necessary to understand gene expression evolution at the level of DNA sequence variation. Here we describe the evolutionary forces shaping patterns of genetic variation for 1206 cis-regulatory QTL identified in a cross between two divergent strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We demonstrate that purifying selection against mildly deleterious alleles is the dominant force governing cis-regulatory evolution in S. cerevisiae and estimate the strength of selection. We also find that essential genes and genes with larger codon bias are subject to slightly stronger cis-regulatory constraint and that positive selection has played a role in the evolution of major trans-acting QTL.
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spelling doaj.art-00ffb4ccc0c848a8867f72505511c8522022-12-21T18:34:40ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032007-08-0127e67810.1371/journal.pone.0000678The evolution of gene expression QTL in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.James RonaldJoshua M AkeyUnderstanding the evolutionary forces that influence patterns of gene expression variation will provide insights into the mechanisms of evolutionary change and the molecular basis of phenotypic diversity. To date, studies of gene expression evolution have primarily been made by analyzing how gene expression levels vary within and between species. However, the fundamental unit of heritable variation in transcript abundance is the underlying regulatory allele, and as a result it is necessary to understand gene expression evolution at the level of DNA sequence variation. Here we describe the evolutionary forces shaping patterns of genetic variation for 1206 cis-regulatory QTL identified in a cross between two divergent strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We demonstrate that purifying selection against mildly deleterious alleles is the dominant force governing cis-regulatory evolution in S. cerevisiae and estimate the strength of selection. We also find that essential genes and genes with larger codon bias are subject to slightly stronger cis-regulatory constraint and that positive selection has played a role in the evolution of major trans-acting QTL.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0000678
spellingShingle James Ronald
Joshua M Akey
The evolution of gene expression QTL in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
PLoS ONE
title The evolution of gene expression QTL in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
title_full The evolution of gene expression QTL in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
title_fullStr The evolution of gene expression QTL in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
title_full_unstemmed The evolution of gene expression QTL in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
title_short The evolution of gene expression QTL in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
title_sort evolution of gene expression qtl in saccharomyces cerevisiae
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0000678
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