The ontogeny and evolution of sex-biased gene expression in Drosophila melanogaster.

ABSTRACT: Sexually dimorphic phenotypes are thought to largely result from sex differences in gene expression, and genes with sex-biased expression have been well characterized in adults of many species. Although most sexual dimorphisms manifest in adults, many result from sex-specific developmental trajectories, implying that juveniles may exhibit significant levels of sex-biased expression. However, it is unclear how much sex-biased expression occurs before reproductive maturity and whether preadult sex-biased genes should exhibit the same evolutionary dynamics observed for adult sex-biased genes. In order to understand the continuity, or lack thereof, and evolutionary dynamics of sex-biased expression throughout the life cycle, we examined sex-biased genes in pre-gonad tissue of two preadult stag

SUBMITTER: Perry JC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3995337 | biostudies-literature | 2014 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature