Pleiotropy increases with gene age in six model multicellular eukaryotes.

ABSTRACT: Fundamental traits of genes, including function, length, and Guanine-Cytosine (GC) content, all vary with gene age. Pleiotropy, where a single gene affects multiple traits, arises through selection for novel traits and is expected to be removed from the genome through subfunctionalization following duplication events. It is unclear, however, how these opposing forces shape the prevalence of pleiotropy through time. We hypothesized that the prevalence of pleiotropy would be lowest in young genes, peak in middle-aged genes, and then either decrease to a middling level in ancient genes or stay near the middle-aged peak, depending on the balance between exaptation and subfunctionalization. To address this question, we have calculated gene age and pleiotropic status for several model multicellu

SUBMITTER: Martin R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12492131 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature