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The relationship between gene network structure and expression variation among individuals and species

ABSTRACT: The relationship between gene network structure and expression variation among individuals and species: Variation among individuals is a prerequisite of evolution by natural selection. As such, identifying the origins of variation is a fundamental goal of biology. We investigated the link between gene interactions and variation in gene expression among individuals and species, using the mammalian limb as a model system. We first built interaction networks for key genes regulating early (outgrowth; E9.5-11) and late (expansion and elongation; E11-13) limb development in mouse. This resulted in an Early (ESN) and Late (LSN) Stage Network. Computational perturbations of these networks suggest that the ESN is more robust. We then quantified levels of the same key genes among mouse individuals, and found that they vary less at earlier limb stages and that variation in gene expression is heritable. Finally, we quantified variation in gene expression levels among four mammals with divergent limbs (bat, opossum, mouse and pig), and found that levels vary less among species at earlier limb stages. We also found that variation in gene expression levels among individuals and species are correlated for earlier and later limb development. In conclusion, results are consistent with the robustness of the ESN buffering among-individual variation in gene expression levels early in mammalian limb development, and constraining the evolution of early limb development among mammalian species. Transcriptomic insights into the genetic basis of mammalian limb diversity: From bat wings to whale flippers, limb diversification has been crucial to the evolutionary success of mammals. We performed the first transcriptome-wide study of limb development in multiple species to explore the hypothesis that mammalian limb diversification has proceeded through the differential expression of conserved shared genes, rather than by major changes to limb patterning. Specifically, we investigated the manner in which the expression of shared genes has evolved within and among mammalian species. We assembled and compared transcriptomes of bat, mouse, opossum, and pig fore- and hind limbs at the ridge, bud, and paddle stages of development. Results suggest that gene expression patterns exhibit larger variation among species during later than earlier stages of limb development, while within species results are more mixed. Consistent with the former, results also suggest that genes expressed at later developmental stages tend to have a younger evolutionary age than genes expressed at earlier stages. A suite of key limb-patterning genes was identified as being differentially expressed among the homologous limbs of all species. However, only a small subset of shared genes is differentially expressed in the fore- and hind limbs of all examined species. Similarly, a small subset of shared genes is differentially expressed within the fore- and hind limb of a single species and among the forelimbs of different species. Taken together, results of this study do not support the existence of a phylotypic period of limb development ending at chondrogenesis, but do support the hypothesis that the hierarchical nature of development translates into increasing variation among species as development progresses.

ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus Sus scrofa Carollia perspicillata Monodelphis domestica

PROVIDER: GSE71390 | GEO | 2015/08/24

SECONDARY ACCESSION(S): PRJNA291081

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:Detailed information about stage-specific changes in gene expression is crucial for understanding the gene regulatory networks underlying development and the various signal transduction pathways contributing to morphogenesis. Here, we describe the global gene expression dynamics during early murine limb development, when cartilage, tendons, muscle, joints, vasculature, and nerves are specified and the musculoskeletal system of the limbs is established. We used whole-genome microarrays to identify genes with differential expression at 5 stages of limb development (E9.5 to 13.5), during fore-limb and hind-limb patterning. We found that the onset of limb formation is characterized by an up-regulation of transcription factors, which is followed by a massive activation of genes during E10.5 and E11.5 which tampers off at later time points. Among 3520 genes identified as significantly up-regulated in the limb, we find ~30% to be novel, dramatically expanding the repertoire of candidate genes likely to function in the limb. Hierarchical and stage-specific clustering identified expression profiles that correlate with functional programs during limb development and are likely to provide new insights into specific tissue patterning processes. Here we provide for the first time, a comprehensve analysis of developmentally regulated genes during murine limb development, and provide some novel insights into the expression dynamics governing limb morphogenesis. Fifty- one arrays were analyzed, consisting of whole fore-limb and hind-limb bud RNA (experimental) and whole embryo RNA (reference) samples from E9.5 to E13.5 DPC mouse (FVB strain). Embryos were not pooled to generate samples. Each time point has 3 to 5 biological replicates for limb bud samples, duplicates for whole embryos. Comparisons were made between limb bud samples and whole embryo at the same stage, fore-limb samples of different stages, hind-limb samples of different stages, and fore-limb samples compared to hind-limb samples at the same or the next stage.

Project description:WNT signaling is critical in most aspects of skeletal development and homeostasis, and antagonists of WNT signaling are emergning as key regulatory proteins with great promise as therapeutic agents for bone disorders. Until recently Sost and its paralog Sostdc1 have been described as growth factors with highly restricted expression in the adult where Sost was assumed 'osteocyte-' and Sostdc1 'kidney-' specific. Here we show that these two proteins emerged throgh ancestral genome duplication and their expression patterns have diverged to span complimentary domains in most organ systems including musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, nervous, digestive, reproductive and respiratory. In the developing limb, Sost and Sostdc1 display dynamic expression patterns with Sost being restricted to the distal ectoderm and Sostdc1 to the proximal ectoderm and the mesenchyme. While Sostdc1-/- mice lack any obvious limb and skeletal defects, Sost-/- mice recapitulate the hand defects described for sclerosteosis patients. However, elevated WNT signaling in Sost-/-; Sostdc1-/- mice causes misregulation of SHH signaling, ectopic activation of Sox9 in the digit 1 field and ultimately preaxial polydactyly. In addition, we show that the syndactyly documented in Sclerosteosis is present in both Sost-/- and Sost-/-; Sostdc1-/- mice, and is driven by misregulation of Fgf8 in the AER, a region lacking Sost and Sostdc1 expression. This study highlights the complexity of WNT signaling in skeletal biology and disease and emphasizes how redundant mechanisms and non-cell autonomous effects can synergize to unveil new intricate phenotypes caused by elevated WNT signaling. Five arrays were analyzed, consisting of two total embryonic fore-limb RNA (experimental) and three total embryonic forelimb RNA (reference) samples at E11.5 DPC mouse (C57Bl6 strain). Embryos were not pooled to generate samples. Each time point has 3 to 5 biological replicates for limb bud samples, duplicates for whole embryos. Comparisons were made between limb bud samples and whole embryo at the same stage, fore-limb samples of different stages, hind-limb samples of different stages, and fore-limb samples compared to hind-limb samples at the same or the next stage.

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The relationship between gene network structure and expression variation among individuals and species

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