New genes often acquire male-specific functions but rarely become essential in Drosophila

Kondo, S., Vedanayagam, J., Mohammed, J., Eizadshenass, S., Kan, L., Pang, N., Aradhya, R., Siepel, A., Steinhauer, J., Lai, E. C. (September 2017) New genes often acquire male-specific functions but rarely become essential in Drosophila. Genes Dev, 31 (18). pp. 1841-1846. ISSN 0890-9369

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URL: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29051389
DOI: 10.1101/gad.303131.117

Abstract

Relatively little is known about the in vivo functions of newly emerging genes, especially in metazoans. Although prior RNAi studies reported prevalent lethality among young gene knockdowns, our phylogenomic analyses reveal that young Drosophila genes are frequently restricted to the nonessential male reproductive system. We performed large-scale CRISPR/Cas9 mutagenesis of "conserved, essential" and "young, RNAi-lethal" genes and broadly confirmed the lethality of the former but the viability of the latter. Nevertheless, certain young gene mutants exhibit defective spermatogenesis and/or male sterility. Moreover, we detected widespread signatures of positive selection on young male-biased genes. Thus, young genes have a preferential impact on male reproductive system function.

Item Type: Paper
Uncontrolled Keywords: Drosophila gene evolution spermatogenesis testis
Subjects: organism description > animal > insect > Drosophila
evolution
bioinformatics > genomics and proteomics > genetics & nucleic acid processing > DNA, RNA structure, function, modification > genes, structure and function
CSHL Authors:
Communities: CSHL labs > Siepel lab
Depositing User: Matt Covey
Date: 15 September 2017
Date Deposited: 25 Oct 2017 20:09
Last Modified: 06 Jul 2021 20:56
PMCID: PMC5695085
Related URLs:
URI: https://repository.cshl.edu/id/eprint/35576

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