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Abstract Detail



Genomics / Proteomics

Landis, Jacob Brian [1], Carey, Sarah B. [2], Payton, Adam C. [3], Woodruff, Emily D. [4], Conrad, Roth E. [4], Barry, Kerrie [5], Jenkins, Jerry [5], Grimwood, Jane [5], Schmutz, Jeremy [5], McDaniel, Stuart F. [3].

Sexual dimorphic expression patterns in the transcriptome of juvenile tissue of Ceratodon purpureus.

Sexual dimorphism is common across the tree of life, suggesting that selection favors different trait optima in males and females. Yet, with the exception of sex chromosomes, the two sexes share a common genome. A critical step in understanding the evolution of sexual dimorphism is to identify the transcriptional architecture that differentiates the male and female developmental programs. Here we examined the transcriptional basis of sexual dimorphism in early gametophyte development (protonema) of the dioecious moss Ceratodon purpureus. Although protonema contain relatively few and subtly differentiated cell types, female plants nonetheless grow faster than males at this stage. We used RNAseq to survey protonemal gene expression in ten male-female sibling pairs (i.e., two gametophytes from the same sporophyte) isolated from seven populations spanning the geographic distribution of the species (Alaska, New York, Connecticut, Oregon, North Carolina, Ecuador, and Southern Chile). To avoid biases introduced by variable levels of divergence from the reference genome, we used a de novo assembly approach across all sibling pairs. We identified a core set of genes that were consistently differentially expressed between female and male protonema, including genes expressed in core metabolism as well as genes involved in sexual differentiation in mature tissues. The de novo approach sacrifices power of genome-guided approaches but allows us to map and compare all reads in the dataset. Taken as a whole, this analysis of sexually dimorphic gene expression highlights the challenges inherent in transcriptomic analyses of polymorphic species but lays a solid foundation for directly linking sexually antagonistic selection to its molecular targets.


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1 - University Of Florida, Dept Of Biology, Florida Museum Of Natural History - Dickinson Hall, Museum Road And Newell Drive, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
2 - University of Florida, Biology, P.O. Box 118525, Gainesville, Fl, 32611, USA
3 - University of Florida, Biology Department, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
4 - University of Florida, Biology, P.O. Box 118525, Gainesville, Fl, 32611
5 - Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, Walnut Creek, CA, USA

Keywords:
comparative transcriptome
RNAseq
de novo
Trinity
moss
sex-specific expression.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 19, Genomics & Proteomics I
Location: 105/Savannah International Trade and Convention Center
Date: Tuesday, August 2nd, 2016
Time: 9:30 AM
Number: 19007
Abstract ID:463
Candidate for Awards:Margaret Menzel Award


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