The fate of recent duplicated genes following a fourth-round whole genome duplication in a tetraploid fish, common carp (Cyprinus carpio).

Whole genome duplication (WGD) results in extensive genetic redundancy. In plants and yeast, WGD is followed by rapid gene deletions and intense expression differentiation with slow functional divergence. However, the early evolution of the gene differentiation processes is poorly understood in vertebrates because almost all studied WGDs are extremely ancient, and the genomes have returned to a diploid status. Common carp had a very recent fourth round of WGD dated to 8 million years ago. It therefore constitutes an ideal model to study early-stage functional divergence and expression differentiation in vertebrates. We identified 1,757 pairs of recently duplicated genes (RDGs) originating from this specific WGD and found that most ancestral genes were retained in duplicate. Most RDGs were conserved and under selective pressure. Gene expression analysis across six tissues revealed that 92.5% of RDG pairs were co-expressed in at least one tissue and that the expression of nearly half pairs ceased to be strongly correlated, indicating slow spatial divergence but rapid expression dissociation. Functional comparison revealed that 25% of pairs had functional divergence, of which neo- and sub-functionalization were the main outcomes. Our analysis revealed slow gene loss but rapid and intense expression and function differentiation after WGD.