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The impact of gene expression variation on the robustness and evolvability of a developmental gene regulatory network.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Garfield, DA; Runcie, DE; Babbitt, CC; Haygood, R; Nielsen, WJ; Wray, GA
Published in: PLoS biology
October 2013

Regulatory interactions buffer development against genetic and environmental perturbations, but adaptation requires phenotypes to change. We investigated the relationship between robustness and evolvability within the gene regulatory network underlying development of the larval skeleton in the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus. We find extensive variation in gene expression in this network throughout development in a natural population, some of which has a heritable genetic basis. Switch-like regulatory interactions predominate during early development, buffer expression variation, and may promote the accumulation of cryptic genetic variation affecting early stages. Regulatory interactions during later development are typically more sensitive (linear), allowing variation in expression to affect downstream target genes. Variation in skeletal morphology is associated primarily with expression variation of a few, primarily structural, genes at terminal positions within the network. These results indicate that the position and properties of gene interactions within a network can have important evolutionary consequences independent of their immediate regulatory role.

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Published In

PLoS biology

DOI

EISSN

1545-7885

ISSN

1544-9173

Publication Date

October 2013

Volume

11

Issue

10

Start / End Page

e1001696

Related Subject Headings

  • Strongylocentrotus purpuratus
  • Larva
  • Gene Regulatory Networks
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental
  • Gene Expression Profiling
  • Developmental Biology
  • Bone and Bones
  • Biological Evolution
  • Animals
  • 32 Biomedical and clinical sciences
 

Citation

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Garfield, D. A., Runcie, D. E., Babbitt, C. C., Haygood, R., Nielsen, W. J., & Wray, G. A. (2013). The impact of gene expression variation on the robustness and evolvability of a developmental gene regulatory network. PLoS Biology, 11(10), e1001696. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001696
Garfield, David A., Daniel E. Runcie, Courtney C. Babbitt, Ralph Haygood, William J. Nielsen, and Gregory A. Wray. “The impact of gene expression variation on the robustness and evolvability of a developmental gene regulatory network.PLoS Biology 11, no. 10 (October 2013): e1001696. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001696.
Garfield DA, Runcie DE, Babbitt CC, Haygood R, Nielsen WJ, Wray GA. The impact of gene expression variation on the robustness and evolvability of a developmental gene regulatory network. PLoS biology. 2013 Oct;11(10):e1001696.
Garfield, David A., et al. “The impact of gene expression variation on the robustness and evolvability of a developmental gene regulatory network.PLoS Biology, vol. 11, no. 10, Oct. 2013, p. e1001696. Epmc, doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001696.
Garfield DA, Runcie DE, Babbitt CC, Haygood R, Nielsen WJ, Wray GA. The impact of gene expression variation on the robustness and evolvability of a developmental gene regulatory network. PLoS biology. 2013 Oct;11(10):e1001696.
Journal cover image

Published In

PLoS biology

DOI

EISSN

1545-7885

ISSN

1544-9173

Publication Date

October 2013

Volume

11

Issue

10

Start / End Page

e1001696

Related Subject Headings

  • Strongylocentrotus purpuratus
  • Larva
  • Gene Regulatory Networks
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental
  • Gene Expression Profiling
  • Developmental Biology
  • Bone and Bones
  • Biological Evolution
  • Animals
  • 32 Biomedical and clinical sciences