Polyphenism of a Novel Trait Integrated Rapidly Evolving Genes into Ancestrally Plastic Networks.
Mol Biol Evol
; 38(2): 331-343, 2021 01 23.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-32931588
ABSTRACT
Developmental polyphenism, the ability to switch between phenotypes in response to environmental variation, involves the alternating activation of environmentally sensitive genes. Consequently, to understand how a polyphenic response evolves requires a comparative analysis of the components that make up environmentally sensitive networks. Here, we inferred coexpression networks for a morphological polyphenism, the feeding-structure dimorphism of the nematode Pristionchus pacificus. In this species, individuals produce alternative forms of a novel trait-moveable teeth, which in one morph enable predatory feeding-in response to environmental cues. To identify the origins of polyphenism network components, we independently inferred coexpression modules for more conserved transcriptional responses, including in an ancestrally nonpolyphenic nematode species. Further, through genome-wide analyses of these components across the nematode family (Diplogastridae) in which the polyphenism arose, we reconstructed how network components have changed. To achieve this, we assembled and resolved the phylogenetic context for five genomes of species representing the breadth of Diplogastridae and a hypothesized outgroup. We found that gene networks instructing alternative forms arose from ancestral plastic responses to environment, specifically starvation-induced metabolism and the formation of a conserved diapause (dauer) stage. Moreover, loci from rapidly evolving gene families were integrated into these networks with higher connectivity than throughout the rest of the P. pacificus transcriptome. In summary, we show that the modular regulatory outputs of a polyphenic response evolved through the integration of conserved plastic responses into networks with genes of high evolutionary turnover.
Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Fenótipo
/
Caenorhabditis elegans
/
Evolução Biológica
/
Redes Reguladoras de Genes
Limite:
Animals
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Mol Biol Evol
Assunto da revista:
BIOLOGIA MOLECULAR
Ano de publicação:
2021
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Índia