Identification of maternally-loaded RNA transcripts in unfertilized eggs of Tribolium castaneum.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Maternal RNAs play a critical role in early development. Variation in the diversity and levels of maternally derived gene transcripts may be central to the origin of phenotypic novelty -- a longstanding problem in evolution and development. By studying maternal transcriptomes within and between divergent species, a better understanding of the evolutionary forces acting on maternal RNA allocation is possible.

Results

We present the first maternal transcriptome of the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum. Using a tiled whole-genome microarray, we found that 58.2% of T. castaneum genes are maternally loaded into eggs. Comparison of known Drosophila melanogaster maternal genes to our results showed widespread conservation of maternal expression with T. castaneum. Add

SUBMITTER: Preuss KM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3536564 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature