Allele-specific gene expression can underlie altered transcript abundance in zebrafish mutants.

ABSTRACT: In model organisms, RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) is frequently used to assess the effect of genetic mutations on cellular and developmental processes. Typically, animals heterozygous for a mutation are crossed to produce offspring with different genotypes. Resultant embryos are grouped by genotype to compare homozygous mutant embryos to heterozygous and wild-type siblings. Genes that are differentially expressed between the groups are assumed to reveal insights into the pathways affected by the mutation. Here we show that in zebrafish, differentially expressed genes are often over-represented on the same chromosome as the mutation due to different levels of expression of alleles from different genetic backgrounds. Using an incross of haplotype-resolved wild-type fish, we found evidence of wide

SUBMITTER: White RJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8884726 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature