Evolution and Expression of Overlapping Genes in Drosophila
Open Access
Author:
Wo, Luyi
Graduate Program:
Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Biosciences
Degree:
Master of Science
Document Type:
Master Thesis
Date of Defense:
October 18, 2024
Committee Members:
Stephen Wade Schaeffer, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor Kateryna Dmytrivna Makova, Committee Member Melissa Rolls, Program Head/Chair
Keywords:
overlapping genes Drosophila evolution gene distribution nested genes expression
Abstract:
In D. melanogaster, over 30% of the protein coding genes overlap and yet we are not clear about the evolution and regulation of overlapping genes. Using the 12 Drosophila (fruit fly) genome sequences and strand specific sequencing data in D. melanogaster, we found they are generally more conserved than non-overlapping genes and the conservation degree correlates with overlapping configuration, namely, relative orientation and overlapping proportion. This conservation might relate to their transcriptional regulation during development and are not due to functional relationship between the partners. Different overlapping configurations also show different evolutionary patterns with gene gains and losses being the dominant mechanisms of change rather than rearrangements. Therefore, we showed that overlapping genes have distinctive expression and evolutionary patterns compared to physically close gene clusters and they are not a neutral phenomenon, which supports the non-random gene distribution hypothesis.
