Imprinted gene expression in hybrids: perturbed mechanisms and evolutionary implications.

ABSTRACT: Diverse mechanisms contribute to the evolution of reproductive barriers, a process that is critical in speciation. Amongst these are alterations in gene products and in gene dosage that affect development and reproductive success in hybrid offspring. Because of its strict parent-of-origin dependence, genomic imprinting is thought to contribute to the aberrant phenotypes observed in interspecies hybrids in mammals and flowering plants, when the abnormalities depend on the directionality of the cross. In different groups of mammals, hybrid incompatibility has indeed been linked to loss of imprinting. Aberrant expression levels have been reported as well, including imprinted genes involved in development and growth. Recent studies in humans emphasize that genetic diversity within a species ca

SUBMITTER: Wolf JB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4105451 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature