Widespread gene duplication and adaptive evolution in the RNA interference pathways of the Drosophila obscura group.

ABSTRACT:

Background

RNA interference (RNAi) related pathways provide defense against viruses and transposable elements, and have been implicated in the suppression of meiotic drive elements. Genes in these pathways often exhibit high levels of adaptive substitution, and over longer timescales show gene duplication and loss-most likely as a consequence of their role in mediating conflict with these parasites. This is particularly striking for Argonaute 2 (Ago2), which is ancestrally the key effector of antiviral RNAi in insects, but has repeatedly formed new testis-specific duplicates in the recent history of the obscura species-group of Drosophila.

Results

Here we take advantage of publicly available genomic and transcriptomic data to identify six further RNAi-pathway genes that have

SUBMITTER: Crysnanto D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6505081 | biostudies-literature | 2019 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature