eLife Assessment: The role of heterochronic gene expression and regulatory architecture in early developmental divergence
Year: 2024
Type: peer-review
Abstract: New developmental programs can evolve through adaptive changes to gene expression.The annelid Streblospio benedicti has a developmental dimorphism, which provides a unique intraspecific framework for understanding the earliest genetic changes that take place during developmental divergence.Using comparative RNAseq through ontogeny, we find that only a small proportion of genes are differentially expressed at any time, despite major differences in larval development and life-history.These genes shift expression profiles across morphs by either turning off any expression in one morph or changing the timing or amount of gene expression.We directly connect the contributions of these mechanisms to differences in developmental processes.We examine F 1 offspring-using reciprocal crosses-to determine maternal mRNA inheritance and the regulatory architecture of gene expression.These results highlight the importance of both novel gene expression and heterochronic shifts in developmental evolution, as well as the trans-acting regulatory factors in initiating divergence. eLife assessmentThis useful study asks how the architecture of gene expression differences relates to the development of two alternative morphs in a marine annelid species.The dataset will be of value to the field and the work has the potential to substantially advance our understanding of life history evolution.However, in its current form, the lack of details for some methods and analyses makes the strength of the evidence incomplete.If suitably improved, the work would be of interest to anyone studying the evolution of development and life histories.
Source: eLife
Author: Detlef Weigel
Institution: Max Planck Institute for Biology
Language: English
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,500
OpenAlex ID: W4391034548