Evolution of parent-of-origin placental expression in house mice
The study was design to identify how placental tissue specialization influence the evolution of gene expression and genomic imprinting in the mouse placenta. We generated gene expression and DNA methylation data from three functionally distinct placental layers in three mouse species (M. musculus musculus, M. musculus domesticus, and M. spreuts). Using this data we identified changes in gene expression and genomic imprinting between species, as well as conserved patterns of imprinted expression across placental layers. This results uncover important links between core functional elements of placental biology and the evolution of imprinted gene expression among closely related rodent species.