Functional Diversification, Redundancy, and Epistasis among Paralogs of the Drosophila melanogaster Obp50a-d Gene Cluster.

ABSTRACT: Large multigene families, such as the insect odorant-binding proteins (OBPs), are thought to arise through functional diversification after repeated gene duplications. Whereas many OBPs function in chemoreception, members of this family are also expressed in tissues outside chemosensory organs. Paralogs of the Obp50 gene cluster are expressed in metabolic and male reproductive tissues, but their functions and interrelationships remain unknown. Here, we report the genetic dissection of four members of the Obp50 cluster, which are in close physical proximity without intervening genes. We used CRISPR technology to excise the entire cluster while introducing a PhiC31 reintegration site to reinsert constructs in which different combinations of the constituent Obp genes were either intact or ren

SUBMITTER: Johnstun JA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8097280 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature