Evolutionary regulation of the blind subterranean mole rat, Spalax, revealed by genome-wide gene expression.

ABSTRACT: We applied genome-wide gene expression analysis to the evolutionary processes of adaptive speciation of the Israeli blind subterranean mole rats of the Spalax ehrenbergi superspecies. The four Israeli allospecies climatically and adaptively radiated into the cooler, mesic northern domain (N) and warmer, xeric southern domain (S). The kidney and brain mRNAs of two N and two S animals were examined through cross-species hybridizations with two types of Affymetrix arrays (mouse and rat) and muscle mRNA of six N and six S animals with spotted cDNA mouse arrays. The initial microarray analysis was hypothesis-free, i.e., conducted without reference to the origin of animals. Principal component analysis revealed that 20-30% of the expression signal variability could be explained by the differenti

SUBMITTER: Brodsky LI 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1287979 | biostudies-literature | 2005 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature