Related papers: New gene formation in hybrid Drosophila
The origins of new genes are among the most fundamental questions in evolutionary biology. Our understanding of the ways that new genetic material appears and how that genetic material shapes population variation remains incomplete. De novo…
We have used whole genome paired-end Illumina sequence data to identify tandem duplications in 20 isofemale lines of D. yakuba, and 20 isofemale lines of D. simulans and performed genome wide validation with PacBio long molecule sequencing.…
Tandem duplications are an essential source of genetic novelty, and their variation in natural populations is expected to influence adaptive walks. Here, we describe evolutionary impacts of recently-derived, segregating tandem duplications…
The genetic basis of phenotypic differences between species is among the most longstanding questions in evolutionary biology. How new genes form and the processes selection acts to produce differences across species are fundamental to…
Drosophila Y chromosomes are composed entirely of silent heterochromatin, while male X chromosomes have highly accessible chromatin and are hypertranscribed due to dosage compensation. Here, we dissect the molecular mechanisms and…
The birth of new genes is an important motor of evolutionary innovation. Whereas many new genes arise by gene duplication, others originate at genomic regions that do not contain any gene or gene copy. Some of these newly expressed genes…
Chromosomal rearrangements, particularly those mediated by transposable elements (TEs), can drive adaptive evolution by creating chimeric genes, inducing de novo gene formation, or altering gene expression. Here, we investigate…
Here, we provide revised gene models for D. ananassae, D. yakuba, and D. simulans, which include UTRs and empirically verified intron-exon boundaries, as well as ortholog groups identified using a fuzzy reciprocal-best-hit blast comparison.…
The X chromosome is present as a single copy in the heterogametic sex, and this hemizygosity is expected to drive unusual patterns of evolution on the X relative to the autosomes. For example, the hemizgosity of the X may lead to a lower…
During development of biological organisms, multiple complex structures are formed. In many instances, these structures need to exhibit a high degree of order to be functional, although many of their constituents are intrinsically…
Phylostratigraphy suggests that new genes are continually born de novo from non-genic sequences, and the genes that persist found new lineages, contributing to the adaptive evolution of organisms. While recent evidence supports the view…
Hybridization between species is an important mechanism for the origin of novel lineages and adaptation to new environments. Increased allelic variation and modification of the transcriptional network are the two recognized forces currently…
Molecular noise in gene regulatory networks has two intrinsic components, one part being due to fluctuations caused by the birth and death of protein or mRNA molecules which are often present in small numbers and the other part arising from…
Drosophila melanogaster, a small dipteran of African origin, represents one of the best-studied model organisms. Early work in this system has uniquely shed light on the basic principles of genetics and resulted in a versatile collection of…
Multiply inverted balancer chromosomes that suppress exchange with their homologs are an essential part of the genetic toolkit in Drosophila melanogaster. Despite their widespread use, the organization of balancer chromosomes has not been…
Genetic linkage may result in the expression of multiple products from a polycistronic transcript, under the control of a single promoter. In animals, protein-coding polycistronic transcripts are rare. However, microRNAs are frequently…
The rate of recombination affects the mode of molecular evolution. In high-recombining sequence, the targets of selection are individual genetic loci; under low recombination, selection collectively acts on large, genetically linked genomic…
Embryonic development is driven by spatial patterns of gene expression that determine the fate of each cell in the embryo. While gene expression is often highly erratic, embryonic development is usually exceedingly precise. In particular,…
Complementary DNA strands in solution reliably hybridize to form stable duplexes. We study the kinetics of the hybridization process and the mechanisms by which two initially isolated strands come together to form a stable double helix. We…
A novel mechanism for sympatric speciation that takes into account complex bio-processes within each individual organism is proposed. According to dynamical systems theory, organisms with identical genotypes can possess differentiated…