Chen, S., Ni, X., Krinsky, B.H., Zhang, Y.E., Vibranovski, M.D., White, K.P., Long, M. (2012). Reshaping of global gene expression networks and sex-biased gene expression by integration of a young gene. EMBO J. 31(12): 2798--2809.
FlyBase ID
FBrf0218712
Publication Type
Research paper
Abstract
New genes originate frequently across diverse taxa. Given that genetic networks are typically comprised of robust, co-evolved interactions, the emergence of new genes raises an intriguing question: how do new genes interact with pre-existing genes? Here, we show that a recently originated gene rapidly evolved new gene networks and impacted sex-biased gene expression in Drosophila. This 4-6 million-year-old factor, named Zeus for its role in male fecundity, originated through retroposition of a highly conserved housekeeping gene, Caf40. Zeus acquired male reproductive organ expression patterns and phenotypes. Comparative expression profiling of mutants and closely related species revealed that Zeus has recruited a new set of downstream genes, and shaped the evolution of gene expression in germline. Comparative ChIP-chip revealed that the genomic binding profile of Zeus diverged rapidly from Caf40. These data demonstrate, for the first time, how a new gene quickly evolved novel networks governing essential biological processes at the genomic level.
