Sex Bias and Maternal Contribution to Gene Expression Divergence in Drosophila Blastoderm Embryos.

ABSTRACT: Early embryogenesis is a unique developmental stage where genetic control of development is handed off from mother to zygote. Yet the contribution of this transition to the evolution of gene expression is poorly understood. Here we study two aspects of gene expression specific to early embryogenesis in Drosophila: sex-biased gene expression prior to the onset of canonical X chromosomal dosage compensation, and the contribution of maternally supplied mRNAs. We sequenced mRNAs from individual unfertilized eggs and precisely staged and sexed blastoderm embryos, and compared levels between D. melanogaster, D. yakuba, D. pseudoobscura and D. virilis. First, we find that mRNA content is highly conserved for a given stage and that studies relying on pooled embryos likely systematically overstate

SUBMITTER: Paris M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4618353 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature