title: A generalized model of gene dosage and dominant negative effects in macromolecular complexes.
abstract: Most genes and their corresponding products are supposed to be involved in genetic or biochemical interactions. A typical example is provided by macromolecular complexes, which may contain tens of proteins in defined stoichiometric proportions. Stoichiometric imbalances in such complexes can be a source of abnormal phenotypes. Comparable effects can also arise from negative dominance/transdominance, even though the underlying mechanisms are different. Here I propose a general yet simple biochemical model accounting for the effects of dosage changes and weak dominant/transdominant negative mutations in macromolecular complexes. The molecular alterations studied are predicted to lead to synergistic effects that can drive total multimer concentration and/or activity in a multiple heterozygote below a critical threshold required to ensure a normal phenotype, thus providing an explanation for the phenomenon of unlinked noncomplementation or nonallelic noncomplementation. The model also helps in understanding the basis of heterosis and the long-term consequences of gene dosage alterations and weak dominant/transdominant negative effects. Indeed, it can explain the observed extensive retention of paralogs in polyploids. Finally, because the effects of weak single-gene alterations can escape selection, they may accumulate in the population. This situation has important evolutionary consequences and may eventually lead to reproductive isolation and speciation.-Veitia, R. A. A generalized model of gene dosage and dominant negative effects in macromolecular complexes.
authors.affiliation: Institut Jacques Monod, Unité Mixte de Recherche 7592, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, and Université Paris-Diderot/Paris 7, Paris, France. reiner.veitia@inserm.fr
authors.forename: Reiner A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Veitia
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018628:Gene Dosage / Q000502:physiology*; D005799:Genes, Dominant / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008957:Models, Genetic; D046912:Multiprotein Complexes / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D046912:Multiprotein Complexes