Genes Integral to the Reproductive Function of Male Reproductive Tissues Drive Heterogeneity in Evolutionary Rates in Japanese Quail.

ABSTRACT: Early comparative genomics studies originally uncovered a nonintuitive pattern; genes involved in reproduction appeared to evolve more rapidly than other classes of genes. Currently, the emerging consensus is that genes encoding reproductive proteins evolve under variable selective pressures, producing more heterogeneous divergence patterns than previously appreciated. Here, we investigate a facet of that heterogeneity and explore the factors that drive male reproductive tissue-based heterogeneity in evolutionary rates. In Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica), genes with enriched expression in the testes evolve much more rapidly than those enriched in the foam gland (FG), a novel gland that secretes an airy foam that males transfer to females during mating. We compared molecular evolu

SUBMITTER: Finseth FR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5765365 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature