Project description:Cryptic genetic variants exert minimal or no phenotypic effects alone but have long been hypothesized to form a vast, hidden reservoir of genetic diversity that drives trait evolvability through epistatic interactions. This classical theory has been reinvigorated by pan-genome sequencing, which is continually exposing cis-regulatory variation, along with widespread gene duplications and paralog diversification as an underappreciated source of cryptic variation within gene families and the regulatory networks in which they function. However, empirical testing of this hypothesis has been hindered by intractable genetics, limited allelic diversity, and inadequate phenotypic resolution. Here, guided by natural and engineered cis-cryptic variants in a recently evolved paralogous pair, we identified an additional pair of redundant trans regulators, establishing a regulatory network that controls tomato inflorescence architecture. Exploiting an allelic spectrum of network components allowed a high-resolution dissection of a genotype-to-phenotype map, revealing how cryptic variants potentiate trait diversification. We combined coding mutations with a cis-regulatory allelic series in populations segregating for all four genes, systematically constructing gene dosage combinations across 216 genotypes and quantifying their effects on branching in 27,000 inflorescences. Our analysis revealed dose-dependent interactions within paralog pairs enhance branching, culminating in strong, synergistic, effects. However, modeling uncovered an unexpected layer of antagonism between paralog pairs, where accumulating mutations in one pair progressively diminished the effects of mutations in the other. Our results demonstrate how gene regulatory network architecture and complex dosage effects from paralog diversification converge to shape phenotypic space. Given the prevalence of paralog evolution in genomes, we propose that paralogous cryptic variation within regulatory networks elicits hierarchies of epistatic interactions, catalyzing bursts of phenotypic change.

Project description:Copy number variants (CNVs) reshape gene structure, modulate gene expression, and contribute to significant phenotypic variation. Previous studies have revealed CNV patterns in natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster and suggested that selection and mutational bias shape genomic patterns of CNV. While previous CNV studies focused on heterogeneous strains, here we established a number of second-chromosome substitution lines to uncover CNV characteristics when homozygous. The percentage of genes harboring CNVs is higher than found in previous studies. More CNVs are detected in homozygous than heterozygous substitution strains, suggesting the comparative genomic hybridization arrays underestimate CNV owing to heterozygous masking. We incorporated previous gene expression data collected from some of the same substitution lines to investigate relationships between CNV gene dosage and expression. Most genes present in CNVs show no evidence of increased or diminished transcription, and the fraction of such dosage-insensitive CNVs is greater in heterozygotes. More than 70% of the dosage-sensitive CNVs are recessive with undetectable effects on transcription in heterozygotes. A deficiency of singletons in recessive dosage-sensitive CNVs supports the hypothesis that most CNVs are subject to negative selection. On the other hand, relaxed purifying selection might account for the higher number of protein-protein interactions in dosage insensitive CNVs than in dosage-sensitive CNVs. Dosage-sensitive CNVs that are up-regulated and down-regulated coincide with copy number increases and decreases. Our results help clarify the relation between CNV dosage and gene expression in the D. melanogaster genome. To determine copy number variation, the genomic DNA from five homozygous and two heterozygous second chromosome substitution lines were extracted and compared to another second chromosome substitution line. Gene expression levels can be referred to at Series GSE12191 (Lemos et al. (2008) PMID:18791071).

Project description:Background: Banana (Musa) is one of the most important crops grown in tropical and sub-tropical areas. Cavendish, the most widely grown banana cultivar, is a triploid derived from an intra-species cross. Cavendish is relatively resistant to Race 1 of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. Cubense (Foc1) which caused wide spread Panama disease during 1960s but is susceptible to Race 4 of Foc (Foc4) which has been causing epidemics in large areas of banana fields in Asia and Australia in the last decade and is threatening world banana production. The genome of the diploid species Musa acuminata (AA) which is the ancestor of a majority of cultivated banana has recently been sequenced. Availability of banana transcriptomes will be highly useful for improving banana genome annotation and assembly and for banana biological research. The knowledge of global gene expression patterns influenced by infection by different Foc races will help to understand the pathogenesis processes and the host responses to the infection. Results: RNA samples extracted from different organs of the Cavendish cultivar were pooled for deep sequencing using the Illumina sequencing technology. The assembled reads were aligned with the genome of M. accuminata and with sequences in the Genbank databases. The analysis led to identification of 842 genes that were not annotated by the Musa genome project. A large number of simple nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and short insertions and deletion (indels) were identified from the transcriptome data. GFP-expressing Foc1 and Foc4 was generated and used to monitor the infection process. Digital gene expression (DGE) profiling analysis was carried out to obtain transcriptome profiles influenced by infection with Foc1 and Foc4 in banana roots at 3, 27, and 51 hours post-inoculation. Both Foc1 and Foc4 were found to be able to invade banana roots and spread to root vascular tissues in the first two days following inoculation. The profiling analysis revealed that inoculation with Foc1 and Foc4 caused similar changes in the gene expression profiles in the infected banana roots. The Foc infection led to induction of many well-known defense-related genes including PATHOGENESIS-RELATED 5 (PR5), PAL, and a lignin-forming peroxidase. The WRKY40 gene, which is a negative regulator of the defense pathway in Arabidopsis, was quickly and strongly suppressed by the infection. Two genes encoding the ethylene biosynthetic enzyme ACC oxidase and several ethylene-responsive transcription factors were among strongly induced genes by both Foc1 and Foc4 Conclusions: Both Foc1 and Foc4 are able to spread into the vascular system of banana roots during the first two days of the infection process and their infection led to similar gene expression profiles in banana roots. The transcriptome profiling analysis indicates that the ethylene synthetic and signalling pathways were activated in response to the Foc infection. Digital gene expression (DGE) profiling analysis was carried out to obtain transcriptome profiles influenced by infection with Foc1 and Foc4 in banana roots at 3, 27, and 51 hours post-inoculation. The plants whose roots were immersed in the culture medium without the pathogen (mock inoculation) were used as a control.

Project description:Background: Banana (Musa) is one of the most important crops grown in tropical and sub-tropical areas. Cavendish, the most widely grown banana cultivar, is a triploid derived from an intra-species cross. Cavendish is relatively resistant to Race 1 of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. Cubense (Foc1) which caused wide spread Panama disease during 1960s but is susceptible to Race 4 of Foc (Foc4) which has been causing epidemics in large areas of banana fields in Asia and Australia in the last decade and is threatening world banana production. The genome of the diploid species Musa acuminata (AA) which is the ancestor of a majority of cultivated banana has recently been sequenced. Availability of banana transcriptomes will be highly useful for improving banana genome annotation and assembly and for banana biological research. The knowledge of global gene expression patterns influenced by infection by different Foc races will help to understand the pathogenesis processes and the host responses to the infection. Results: RNA samples extracted from different organs of the Cavendish cultivar were pooled for deep sequencing using the Illumina sequencing technology. The assembled reads were aligned with the genome of M. accuminata and with sequences in the Genbank databases. The analysis led to identification of 842 genes that were not annotated by the Musa genome project. A large number of simple nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and short insertions and deletion (indels) were identified from the transcriptome data. GFP-expressing Foc1 and Foc4 was generated and used to monitor the infection process. Digital gene expression (DGE) profiling analysis was carried out to obtain transcriptome profiles influenced by infection with Foc1 and Foc4 in banana roots at 3, 27, and 51 hours post-inoculation. Both Foc1 and Foc4 were found to be able to invade banana roots and spread to root vascular tissues in the first two days following inoculation. The profiling analysis revealed that inoculation with Foc1 and Foc4 caused similar changes in the gene expression profiles in the infected banana roots. The Foc infection led to induction of many well-known defense-related genes including PATHOGENESIS-RELATED 5 (PR5), PAL, and a lignin-forming peroxidase. The WRKY40 gene, which is a negative regulator of the defense pathway in Arabidopsis, was quickly and strongly suppressed by the infection. Two genes encoding the ethylene biosynthetic enzyme ACC oxidase and several ethylene-responsive transcription factors were among strongly induced genes by both Foc1 and Foc4 Conclusions: Both Foc1 and Foc4 are able to spread into the vascular system of banana roots during the first two days of the infection process and their infection led to similar gene expression profiles in banana roots. The transcriptome profiling analysis indicates that the ethylene synthetic and signalling pathways were activated in response to the Foc infection.

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Dosage-dependent phenotypic variation in banana

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