Gene regulatory network plasticity predates a switch in function of a conserved transcription regulator.
The rewiring of gene regulatory networks can generate phenotypic novelty. It remains an open question, however, how the large number of connections needed to form a novel network arise over evolutionary time. Here, we address this question using the network controlled by the fungal transcription regulator Ndt80. This conserved protein has undergone a dramatic switch in function-from an ancestral role regulating sporulation to a derived role regulating biofilm formation. This switch in function corresponded to a large-scale rewiring of the genes regulated by Ndt80. However, we demonstrate that the Ndt80-target gene connections were undergoing extensive rewiring prior to the switch in Ndt80's regulatory function. We propose that extensive drift in the Ndt80 regulon allowed for the exploration of alternative network structures without a loss of ancestral function, thereby facilitating the formation of a network with a new function.
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of California, San Francisco, United States.|Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, United States.
Isabel
0000-0002-4706-1113
I
Nocedal
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of California, San Francisco, United States.|Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, United States.
Eugenio
E
Mancera
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of California, San Francisco, United States.|Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, United States.
Alexander D
AD
Johnson
D018441:Biofilms / Q000254:growth & development; D005075:Biological Evolution; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D005658:Fungi / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D053263:Gene Regulatory Networks; D018085:Regulon; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D013172:Spores, Fungal / Q000254:growth & development; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; C097071:NDT80 protein, S cerevisiae; C495215:Ndt80 protein, Candida albicans; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors
C. albicans; C. lusitaniae; K. lactis; P. pastoris; S. cerevisiae; S. stipitis; evolutionary biology; genomics; regulatory network