Sex-dependent gene expression and evolution of the Drosophila transcriptome

José M. Ranz, Cristian I. Castillo-Davis, Colin D. Meiklejohn, Daniel L. Hartl

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

523 Scopus citations

Abstract

Comparison of the gene-expression profiles between adults of Drosophila melanogaster and Drosophila simulans has uncovered the evolution of genes that exhibit sex-dependent regulation. Approximately half the genes showed differences in expression between the species, and among these, ∼83% involved a gain, loss, increase, decrease, or reversal of sex-biased expression. Most of the interspecific differences in messenger RNA abundance affect male-biased genes. Genes that differ in expression between the species showed functional clustering only if they were sex-biased. Our results suggest that sex-dependent selection may drive changes in expression of many of the most rapidly evolving genes in the Drosophila transcriptome.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1742-1745
Number of pages4
JournalScience
Volume300
Issue number5626
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 13 2003
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General

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