Author response: Evidence for a common evolutionary rate in metazoan transcriptional networks
Year: 2015
Type: peer-review
Abstract: The genetic information that makes each individual unique is encoded in DNA molecules. Cells read this molecular instruction manual by a process called transcription, in which proteins called transcription factors bind to DNA in specific places and regulate which sections of the DNA will be expressed. These 'transcripts' are active molecules that determine the cell’s – and ultimately the individual’s – characteristics. However, it is not well understood how alterations in the DNA of different individuals or species can lead to changes in where the transcription factors bind, and in which transcripts are expressed. Carvunis, Wang, Skola et al. set out to determine if there is a relationship between how often DNA changes and how often transcription changes during the evolution of animals. The experiments examined the abundance of transcripts in the cells of a variety of animal species with close or distant evolutionary relationships. For example, the house mouse was compared to a close relative called the Algerian mouse, to another species of rodent (rat) and to humans. The experiments show that the changes in transcript abundances are happening at similar rates in mammals, birds and insects, even though DNA changes at very different rates in these groups of animals. This similarity was also observed for other aspects of transcription, such as in changes to where transcription factors bind to DNA. The next challenges are to find out what makes transcription evolve at such similar rates in these groups of animals, and whether these findings extend to other species and to other processes in cells.
Source: eLife
Authors: Anne-Ruxandra Carvunis, Tina Wang, Dylan Skola, Alice Yu, Jonathan Chen, Jason F Kreisberg, Trey Ideker
Institution: University of California San Diego
Language: English
Subfield: Genetics
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,500
OpenAlex ID: W2985867134