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Hailstock T, Terry D, Wardwell-Ozgo J, Robinson BV, Moberg KH, Lerit DA. Colorimetric Synchronization of Drosophila Larvae. Curr Protoc 2023; 3:e924. [PMID: 37861353 PMCID: PMC10608261 DOI: 10.1002/cpz1.924] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2023]
Abstract
The rapid succession of events during development poses an inherent challenge to achieve precise synchronization required for rigorous, quantitative phenotypic and genotypic analyses in multicellular model organisms. Drosophila melanogaster is an indispensable model for studying the development and function of higher order organisms due to extensive genome homology, tractability, and its relatively short lifespan. Presently, nine Nobel prizes serve as a testament to the utility of this elegant model system. Ongoing advancements in genetic and molecular tools allow for the underlying mechanisms of human disease to be investigated in Drosophila. However, the absence of a method to precisely age-match tissues during larval development prevents further capitalization of this powerful model organism. Drosophila spends nearly half of its life cycle progressing through three morphologically distinct larval instar stages, during which the imaginal discs, precursors of mature adult external structures (e.g., eyes, legs, wings), grow and develop distinct cell fates. Other tissues, such as the central nervous system, undergo massive morphological changes during larval development. While these three larval stages and subsequent pupal stages have historically been identified based on the number of hours post egg-laying under standard laboratory conditions, a reproducible, efficient, and inexpensive method is required to accurately age-match larvae within the third instar. The third instar stage is of particular interest, as this developmental stage spans a 48-hr window during which larval tissues switch from proliferative to differentiation programs. Moreover, some genetic manipulations can lead to developmental delays, further compounding the need for precise age-matching between control and experimental samples. This article provides a protocol optimized for synchronous staging of Drosophila third instar larvae by colorimetric characterization and is useful for age-matching a variety of tissues for numerous downstream applications. We also provide a brief discussion of the technical challenges associated with successful application of this protocol. © 2023 Wiley Periodicals LLC. Basic Protocol: Synchronization of third instar Drosophila larvae.
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Affiliation(s)
- Taylor Hailstock
- Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Cell Biology, 615 Michael St. Atlanta, GA 30322
- equal contributors
| | - Douglas Terry
- Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Cell Biology, 615 Michael St. Atlanta, GA 30322
- equal contributors
| | - Joanna Wardwell-Ozgo
- Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Cell Biology, 615 Michael St. Atlanta, GA 30322
- equal contributors
- Kennesaw State University, College of Science and Maths, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, 370 Paulding Avenue Kennesaw, GA 30144
| | - Beverly V. Robinson
- Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Cell Biology, 615 Michael St. Atlanta, GA 30322
| | - Kenneth H. Moberg
- Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Cell Biology, 615 Michael St. Atlanta, GA 30322
| | - Dorothy A. Lerit
- Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Cell Biology, 615 Michael St. Atlanta, GA 30322
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Titus-McQuillan JE, Nanni AV, McIntyre LM, Rogers RL. Estimating transcriptome complexities across eukaryotes. BMC Genomics 2023; 24:254. [PMID: 37170194 PMCID: PMC10173493 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-023-09326-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2023] [Accepted: 04/20/2023] [Indexed: 05/13/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Genomic complexity is a growing field of evolution, with case studies for comparative evolutionary analyses in model and emerging non-model systems. Understanding complexity and the functional components of the genome is an untapped wealth of knowledge ripe for exploration. With the "remarkable lack of correspondence" between genome size and complexity, there needs to be a way to quantify complexity across organisms. In this study, we use a set of complexity metrics that allow for evaluating changes in complexity using TranD. RESULTS We ascertain if complexity is increasing or decreasing across transcriptomes and at what structural level, as complexity varies. In this study, we define three metrics - TpG, EpT, and EpG- to quantify the transcriptome's complexity that encapsulates the dynamics of alternative splicing. Here we compare complexity metrics across 1) whole genome annotations, 2) a filtered subset of orthologs, and 3) novel genes to elucidate the impacts of orthologs and novel genes in transcript model analysis. Effective Exon Number (EEN) issued to compare the distribution of exon sizes within transcripts against random expectations of uniform exon placement. EEN accounts for differences in exon size, which is important because novel gene differences in complexity for orthologs and whole-transcriptome analyses are biased towards low-complexity genes with few exons and few alternative transcripts. CONCLUSIONS With our metric analyses, we are able to quantify changes in complexity across diverse lineages with greater precision and accuracy than previous cross-species comparisons under ortholog conditioning. These analyses represent a step toward whole-transcriptome analysis in the emerging field of non-model evolutionary genomics, with key insights for evolutionary inference of complexity changes on deep timescales across the tree of life. We suggest a means to quantify biases generated in ortholog calling and correct complexity analysis for lineage-specific effects. With these metrics, we directly assay the quantitative properties of newly formed lineage-specific genes as they lower complexity.
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Affiliation(s)
- James E Titus-McQuillan
- Department of Bioinformatics and Genomics, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC, 28223, USA.
| | - Adalena V Nanni
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
- University of Florida Genetics Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
| | - Lauren M McIntyre
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
- University of Florida Genetics Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
| | - Rebekah L Rogers
- Department of Bioinformatics and Genomics, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC, 28223, USA
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Albecker MA, Wilkins LGE, Krueger-Hadfield SA, Bashevkin SM, Hahn MW, Hare MP, Kindsvater HK, Sewell MA, Lotterhos KE, Reitzel AM. Does a complex life cycle affect adaptation to environmental change? Genome-informed insights for characterizing selection across complex life cycle. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20212122. [PMID: 34847763 PMCID: PMC8634620 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.2122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Complex life cycles, in which discrete life stages of the same organism differ in form or function and often occupy different ecological niches, are common in nature. Because stages share the same genome, selective effects on one stage may have cascading consequences through the entire life cycle. Theoretical and empirical studies have not yet generated clear predictions about how life cycle complexity will influence patterns of adaptation in response to rapidly changing environments or tested theoretical predictions for fitness trade-offs (or lack thereof) across life stages. We discuss complex life cycle evolution and outline three hypotheses—ontogenetic decoupling, antagonistic ontogenetic pleiotropy and synergistic ontogenetic pleiotropy—for how selection may operate on organisms with complex life cycles. We suggest a within-generation experimental design that promises significant insight into composite selection across life cycle stages. As part of this design, we conducted simulations to determine the power needed to detect selection across a life cycle using a population genetic framework. This analysis demonstrated that recently published studies reporting within-generation selection were underpowered to detect small allele frequency changes (approx. 0.1). The power analysis indicates challenging but attainable sampling requirements for many systems, though plants and marine invertebrates with high fecundity are excellent systems for exploring how organisms with complex life cycles may adapt to climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Molly A Albecker
- Department of Biology, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84321, USA
| | - Laetitia G E Wilkins
- Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology (MPIMM), Celsiusstrasse 1, 28209 Bremen, Germany
| | - Stacy A Krueger-Hadfield
- Department of Biology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1300 University Blvd, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA
| | - Samuel M Bashevkin
- Delta Science Program, Delta Stewardship Council, 715 P Street 15-300, Sacramento, CA 95814, USA
| | - Matthew W Hahn
- Department of Biology and Department of Computer Science, Indiana University, 1001 E. 3rd St., Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
| | - Matthew P Hare
- Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, Cornell University, 205 Fernow Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Holly K Kindsvater
- Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
| | - Mary A Sewell
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland 1010, New Zealand
| | - Katie E Lotterhos
- Northeastern University Marine Science Center, 430 Nahant Rd., Nahant, MA 01918, USA
| | - Adam M Reitzel
- University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 9201 University City Blvd., Charlotte, NC 28223, USA
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Liu J, Viales RR, Khoueiry P, Reddington JP, Girardot C, Furlong E, Robinson-Rechavi M. The hourglass model of evolutionary conservation during embryogenesis extends to developmental enhancers with signatures of positive selection. Genome Res 2021; 31:1573-1581. [PMID: 34266978 PMCID: PMC8415374 DOI: 10.1101/gr.275212.121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2021] [Accepted: 06/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Inter-species comparisons of both morphology and gene expression within a phylum have revealed a period in the middle of embryogenesis with more similarity between species compared to earlier and later time-points. This "developmental hourglass" pattern has been observed in many phyla, yet the evolutionary constraints on gene expression, and underlying mechanisms of how this is regulated, remains elusive. Moreover, the role of positive selection on gene regulation in the more diverged earlier and later stages of embryogenesis remains unknown. Here, using DNase-seq to identify regulatory regions in two distant Drosophila species (D. melanogaster and D. virilis), we assessed the evolutionary conservation and adaptive evolution of enhancers throughout multiple stages of embryogenesis. This revealed a higher proportion of conserved enhancers at the phylotypic period, providing a regulatory basis for the hourglass expression pattern. Using an in silico mutagenesis approach, we detect signatures of positive selection on developmental enhancers at early and late stages of embryogenesis, with a depletion at the phylotypic period, suggesting positive selection as one evolutionary mechanism underlying the hourglass pattern of animal evolution.
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Liu J, Frochaux M, Gardeux V, Deplancke B, Robinson-Rechavi M. Inter-embryo gene expression variability recapitulates the hourglass pattern of evo-devo. BMC Biol 2020; 18:129. [PMID: 32950053 PMCID: PMC7502200 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-020-00842-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2020] [Accepted: 08/07/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The evolution of embryological development has long been characterized by deep conservation. In animal development, the phylotypic stage in mid-embryogenesis is more conserved than either early or late stages among species within the same phylum. Hypotheses to explain this hourglass pattern have focused on purifying the selection of gene regulation. Here, we propose an alternative-genes are regulated in different ways at different stages and have different intrinsic capacities to respond to perturbations on gene expression. RESULTS To eliminate the influence of natural selection, we quantified the expression variability of isogenetic single embryo transcriptomes throughout fly Drosophila melanogaster embryogenesis. We found that the expression variability is lower at the phylotypic stage, supporting that the underlying regulatory architecture in this stage is more robust to stochastic variation on gene expression. We present evidence that the phylotypic stage is also robust to genetic variations on gene expression. Moreover, chromatin regulation appears to play a key role in the variation and evolution of gene expression. CONCLUSIONS We suggest that a phylum-level pattern of embryonic conservation can be explained by the intrinsic difference of gene regulatory mechanisms in different stages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jialin Liu
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland.
- Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland.
| | - Michael Frochaux
- Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Laboratory of Systems Biology and Genetics, Institute of Bioengineering, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Vincent Gardeux
- Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Laboratory of Systems Biology and Genetics, Institute of Bioengineering, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Bart Deplancke
- Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Laboratory of Systems Biology and Genetics, Institute of Bioengineering, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Marc Robinson-Rechavi
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland.
- Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland.
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Abstract
New species arise as the genomes of populations diverge. The developmental 'alarm clock' of speciation sounds off when sufficient divergence in genetic control of development leads hybrid individuals to infertility or inviability, the world awoken to the dawn of new species with intrinsic post-zygotic reproductive isolation. Some developmental stages will be more prone to hybrid dysfunction due to how molecular evolution interacts with the ontogenetic timing of gene expression. Considering the ontogeny of hybrid incompatibilities provides a profitable connection between 'evo-devo' and speciation genetics to better link macroevolutionary pattern, microevolutionary process, and molecular mechanisms. Here, we explore speciation alongside development, emphasizing their mutual dependence on genetic network features, fitness landscapes, and developmental system drift. We assess models for how ontogenetic timing of reproductive isolation can be predictable. Experiments and theory within this synthetic perspective can help identify new rules of speciation as well as rules in the molecular evolution of development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Asher D Cutter
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of TorontoTorontoCanada
| | - Joanna D Bundus
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Wisconsin – MadisonMadisonUnited States
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Santagata S. Genes with evidence of positive selection as potentially related to coloniality and the evolution of morphological features among the lophophorates and entoprocts. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL ZOOLOGY PART B-MOLECULAR AND DEVELOPMENTAL EVOLUTION 2020; 336:267-280. [PMID: 32638536 DOI: 10.1002/jez.b.22975] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2019] [Revised: 05/14/2020] [Accepted: 06/03/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Evolutionary mechanisms that underlie the origins of coloniality among organisms are diverse. Some animal colonies may be comprised strictly of clonal individuals formed from asexual budding or comprised of a chimera of clonal and sexually produced individuals that fuse secondarily. This investigation focuses on select members of the lophophorates and entoprocts whose evolutionary relationships remain enigmatic even in the age of genomics. Using transcriptomic data sets, two coloniality-based hypotheses are tested in a phylogenetic context to find candidate genes showing evidence of positive selection and potentially convergent molecular signatures among solitary species and taxa-forming colonies from aggregate groups or clonal budding. Approximately 22% of the 387 orthogroups tested showed evidence of positive selection in at least one of the three branch-site tests (CODEML, BUSTED, and aBSREL). Only 12 genes could be reliably associated with a developmental function related to traits linked with coloniality, neuroanatomy, or ciliary fields. Genes testing for both positive selection and convergent molecular characters include orthologues of Radial spoke head, Elongation translation initiation factors, SEC13, and Immediate early response gene5. Maximum likelihood analyses included here resulted in tree topologies typical of other phylogenetic investigations based on wider genomic information. Further genomic and experimental evidence will be needed to resolve whether a solitary ancestor with multiciliated cells that formed aggregate groups gave rise to colonial forms in bryozoans (and perhaps the entoprocts) or that the morphological differences exhibited by phoronids and brachiopods represent trait modifications from a colonial ancestor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Scott Santagata
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Long Island University, Greenvale, New York
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8
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Cutter AD, Garrett RH, Mark S, Wang W, Sun L. Molecular evolution across developmental time reveals rapid divergence in early embryogenesis. Evol Lett 2019; 3:359-373. [PMID: 31388446 PMCID: PMC6675142 DOI: 10.1002/evl3.122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2019] [Accepted: 05/30/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Ontogenetic development hinges on the changes in gene expression in time and space within an organism, suggesting that the demands of ontogenetic growth can impose or reveal predictable pattern in the molecular evolution of genes expressed dynamically across development. Here, we characterize coexpression modules of the Caenorhabditis elegans transcriptome, using a time series of 30 points from early embryo to adult. By capturing the functional form of expression profiles with quantitative metrics, we find fastest evolution in the distinctive set of genes with transcript abundance that declines through development from a peak in young embryos. These genes are highly enriched for oogenic function and transient early zygotic expression, are nonrandomly distributed in the genome, and correspond to a life stage especially prone to inviability in interspecies hybrids. These observations conflict with the "early conservation model" for the evolution of development, although expression-weighted sequence divergence analysis provides some support for the "hourglass model." Genes in coexpression modules that peak toward adulthood also evolve fast, being hyper-enriched for roles in spermatogenesis, implicating a history of sexual selection and relaxation of selection on sperm as key factors driving rapid change to ontogenetically distinguishable coexpression modules of genes. We propose that these predictable trends of molecular evolution for dynamically expressed genes across ontogeny predispose particular life stages, early embryogenesis in particular, to hybrid dysfunction in the speciation process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Asher D. Cutter
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyUniversity of TorontoTorontoONM6G1W3Canada
| | - Rose H. Garrett
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyUniversity of TorontoTorontoONM6G1W3Canada
- Division of Biostatistics, Dalla Lana School of Public HealthUniversity of TorontoTorontoONM6G1W3Canada
- Department of Statistical SciencesUniversity of TorontoTorontoONM6G1W3Canada
| | - Stephanie Mark
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyUniversity of TorontoTorontoONM6G1W3Canada
| | - Wei Wang
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyUniversity of TorontoTorontoONM6G1W3Canada
| | - Lei Sun
- Division of Biostatistics, Dalla Lana School of Public HealthUniversity of TorontoTorontoONM6G1W3Canada
- Department of Statistical SciencesUniversity of TorontoTorontoONM6G1W3Canada
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