Sex-dependent gene expression and evolution of the Drosophila transcriptome.
Comparison of the gene-expression profiles between adults of Drosophila melanogaster and Drosophila simulans has uncovered the evolution of genes that exhibit sex-dependent regulation. Approximately half the genes showed differences in expression between the species, and among these, approximately 83% involved a gain, loss, increase, decrease, or reversal of sex-biased expression. Most of the interspecific differences in messenger RNA abundance affect male-biased genes. Genes that differ in expression between the species showed functional clustering only if they were sex-biased. Our results suggest that sex-dependent selection may drive changes in expression of many of the most rapidly evolving genes in the Drosophila transcriptome.
Ranz
José M
JM
Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
Castillo-Davis
Cristian I
CI
Meiklejohn
Colin D
CD
Hartl
Daniel L
DL
D000818:Animals; D001499:Bayes Theorem; D004330:Drosophila / Q000235:genetics*; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005260:Female; D015870:Gene Expression; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D017344:Genes, Insect; D016678:Genome; D008297:Male; D009154:Mutation; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012641:Selection, Genetic; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D013045:Species Specificity; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D014960:X Chromosome / Q000235:genetics
D012333:RNA, Messenger