Global variability in gene expression and alternative splicing is modulated by mitochondrial content.

ABSTRACT: Noise in gene expression is a main determinant of phenotypic variability. Increasing experimental evidence suggests that genome-wide cellular constraints largely contribute to the heterogeneity observed in gene products. It is still unclear, however, which global factors affect gene expression noise and to what extent. Since eukaryotic gene expression is an energy demanding process, differences in the energy budget of each cell could determine gene expression differences. Here, we quantify the contribution of mitochondrial variability (a natural source of ATP variation) to global variability in gene expression. We find that changes in mitochondrial content can account for ∼50% of the variability observed in protein levels. This is the combined result of the effect of mitochondria dosage on

SUBMITTER: Guantes R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4417112 | biostudies-literature | 2015 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature