Patterns of Gene Family Evolution and Selection Across <i>Daphnia</i>.

ABSTRACT: Gene family expansion underlies a host of biological innovations across the tree of life. Understanding why specific gene families expand or contract requires comparative genomic investigations clarifying further how species adapt in the wild. This study investigates the gene family change dynamics within several species of Daphnia, a group of freshwater microcrustaceans that are insightful model systems for evolutionary genetics' research. We employ comparative genomics approaches to understand the forces driving gene evolution and draw upon candidate gene families that change gene numbers across Daphnia. Our results suggest that genes related to stress responses and glycoproteins generally expand across taxa, and we investigate evolutionary hypotheses of adaptation that may

SUBMITTER: Murray CS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12102780 | biostudies-literature | 2025 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature