SCID ESF and SF bulkRNASeq
Changes in transcriptional gene expression is a dominant mode of evolution, mostly driven by mutations at cis-regulatory regions. Mutations can affect gene expression in multiple cell types if the same cis-regulatory elements are active in different cell types. As a consequence, changes in gene expression in one cell type may be associated with similar gene expression changes in another cell type. Correlated gene expression change can explain correlated character evolution, as for instance the correlation between placental invasion and vulnerability to cancer malignancy both of which are related to the respective resident fibroblasts. Here we test this hypothesis using a comparative and an experimental data set. Specifically, we investigate gene expression in dermal skin fibroblasts (SF) and uterine endometrial stomal fibroblasts (ESF). The experimental data set derives from a SCID mouse strain that was selected for slow cancer growth which led to substantial changes in the SF compared to wild type SCID mice. We isolated SF and ESF from wild type and evolved SCID mice and compared their gene expression profiles. We find a significant correlation between the gene expression contrasts of SF and ESF, which supports the hypothesis that gene expression variation in SF and ESF is correlated.