Rapid evolution of female-biased genes among four species of <i>Anopheles</i> malaria mosquitoes.

ABSTRACT: Understanding how phenotypic differences between males and females arise from the sex-biased expression of nearly identical genomes can reveal important insights into the biology and evolution of a species. Among Anopheles mosquito species, these phenotypic differences include vectorial capacity, as it is only females that blood feed and thus transmit human malaria. Here, we use RNA-seq data from multiple tissues of four vector species spanning the Anopheles phylogeny to explore the genomic and evolutionary properties of sex-biased genes. We find that, in these mosquitoes, in contrast to what has been found in many other organisms, female-biased genes are more rapidly evolving in sequence, expression, and genic turnover than male-biased genes. Our results suggest that this at

SUBMITTER: Papa F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5580713 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature