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Heritable variation of mRNA decay rates in yeast

ABSTRACT: Gene expression levels are determined by the balance between rates of mRNA transcription and decay, and genetic variation in either of these processes can result in heritable differences in transcript abundance. Although the genetics of gene expression has been the subject of intense interest, the contribution of heritable variation in mRNA decay rates to gene expression variation has received far less attention. To this end, we developed a novel statistical framework and measured allele-specific differences in mRNA decay rates in a diploid yeast hybrid created by mating two genetically diverse parental strains. In total, we estimate that 31% of genes exhibit allelic differences in mRNA decay rate, of which 350 can be identified at a false discovery rate of 10%. Genes with significant allele-specific differences in mRNA decay rate have higher levels of polymorphism compared to other genes, with all gene regions contributing to allelic differences in mRNA decay rate. Strikingly, we find widespread evidence for compensatory evolution, such that variants influencing transcriptional initiation and decay having opposite effects, suggesting steady-state gene expression levels are subject to pervasive stabilizing selection. Our results demonstrate that heritable differences in mRNA decay rates are widespread, and are an important target for natural selection to maintain or fine-tune steady-state gene expression levels.

ORGANISM(S): Saccharomyces cerevisiae

PROVIDER: GSE60617 | GEO | 2014/09/16

SECONDARY ACCESSION(S): PRJNA258654

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:Gene expression levels are determined by the balance between rates of mRNA transcription and decay, and genetic variation in either of these processes can result in heritable differences in transcript abundance. Although the genetics of gene expression has been the subject of intense interest, the contribution of heritable variation in mRNA decay rates to gene expression variation has received far less attention. To this end, we developed a novel statistical framework and measured allele-specific differences in mRNA decay rates in a diploid yeast hybrid created by mating two genetically diverse parental strains. In total, we estimate that 31% of genes exhibit allelic differences in mRNA decay rate, of which 350 can be identified at a false discovery rate of 10%. Genes with significant allele-specific differences in mRNA decay rate have higher levels of polymorphism compared to other genes, with all gene regions contributing to allelic differences in mRNA decay rate. Strikingly, we find widespread evidence for compensatory evolution, such that variants influencing transcriptional initiation and decay having opposite effects, suggesting steady-state gene expression levels are subject to pervasive stabilizing selection. Our results demonstrate that heritable differences in mRNA decay rates are widespread, and are an important target for natural selection to maintain or fine-tune steady-state gene expression levels. We measured rates of allele-specific mRNA decay (ASD) in a diploid yeast produced by mating two genetically diverse haploid Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains: the laboratory strain BY4716 (BY), which is isogenic to the reference sequence strain S288C, and the wild Californian vineyard strain RM11-1a (RM). Briefly, we introduced rpb1-1, a temperature sensitive mutation in an RNA polymerase II subunit, to each of the haploid yeast strains, mated the strains, and grew the resulting hybrid diploid to mid-log phase at 24 M-BM-0C, before rapidly shifting the culture to 37 M-BM-0C to inhibit transcription. RNA-seq was performed on culture samples taken at 0, 6, 12, 18, 24, and 42 minutes subsequent to the temperature shift. To identify ASD, we used transcribed polymorphisms to distinguish between parental transcripts, and compared the relative levels of transcript abundance over the time course. Note, this experimental design internally controls for trans-acting regulatory variation as well as environmental factors. Under the null hypothesis of no ASD, the proportion of reads from the BY transcript (p_BY = N_BY / (N_BY + N_RM)) observed over the time course remains unchanged. However, genes with ASD will exhibit an increasing or decreasing proportion of BY reads as a function of time. In total, we measured ASD from three independent biological replicates.

Project description:The data set submitted here contains the raw SNP genotyping data obtained from the analysis of 24 biparental segregating maize (Zea mays L.) populations and their respective parents. The processed and filtered data were used to construct genetic linkage maps which we used in our study of variation of recombination rate in maize. In sexually reproducing organisms, meiotic crossovers ensure the proper segregation of chromosomes and contribute to genetic diversity by shuffling allelic combinations. Such genetic reassortment is exploited in breeding to combine favorable alleles, and in genetic research to identify genetic factors underlying traits of interest via linkage or association-based approaches. Crossover numbers and distributions along chromosomes vary between species, but little is known about their intraspecies variation. In our study, we report on the variation of recombination rates between 22 European maize inbred lines that belong to the Dent and Flint gene pools. We genotyped 23 doubled-haploid populations derived from crosses between these lines with a 50k-SNP array and constructed high-density genetic maps, showing good correspondence with the maize B73 genome sequence assembly. By aligning each genetic map to the B73 sequence, we obtained the recombination rates along chromosomes specific to each population. We identified significant differences in recombination rates at the genome-wide, chromosome, and intrachromosomal levels between populations, as well as significant variation for genome-wide recombination rates among maize lines. Crossover interference analysis using a two-pathway modeling framework revealed a negative association between recombination rate and interference strength. To our knowledge, the present work provides the most comprehensive study on intraspecific variation of recombination rates and crossover interference strength in eukaryotes. Differences found in recombination rates will allow for selection of high or low recombining lines in crossing programs. Our methodology should pave the way for precise identification of genes controlling recombination rates in maize and other organisms.

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Heritable variation of mRNA decay rates in yeast

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