Sex-Specific Selection Drives the Evolution of Alternative Splicing in Birds.
Mol Biol Evol
; 38(2): 519-530, 2021 01 23.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-32977339
Males and females of the same species share the majority of their genomes, yet they are frequently exposed to conflicting selection pressures. Gene regulation is widely assumed to resolve these conflicting sex-specific selection pressures, and although there has been considerable focus on elucidating the role of gene expression level in sex-specific adaptation, other regulatory mechanisms have been overlooked. Alternative splicing enables different transcripts to be generated from the same gene, meaning that exons which have sex-specific beneficial effects can in theory be retained in the gene product, whereas exons with detrimental effects can be skipped. However, at present, little is known about how sex-specific selection acts on broad patterns of alternative splicing. Here, we investigate alternative splicing across males and females of multiple bird species. We identify hundreds of genes that have sex-specific patterns of splicing and establish that sex differences in splicing are correlated with phenotypic sex differences. Additionally, we find that alternatively spliced genes have evolved rapidly as a result of sex-specific selection and suggest that sex differences in splicing offer another route to sex-specific adaptation when gene expression level changes are limited by functional constraints. Overall, our results shed light on how a diverse transcriptional framework can give rise to the evolution of phenotypic sexual dimorphism.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Aves
/
Caracteres Sexuales
/
Empalme Alternativo
/
Evolución Biológica
/
Selección Sexual
Tipo de estudio:
Prognostic_studies
Límite:
Animals
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Mol Biol Evol
Asunto de la revista:
BIOLOGIA MOLECULAR
Año:
2021
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Reino Unido
Pais de publicación:
Estados Unidos