Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Science 1 May 2009:
Vol. 324. no. 5927, pp. 659 - 662
DOI: 10.1126/science.1169766
Prev | Table of Contents | Next

Reports

A Yeast Hybrid Provides Insight into the Evolution of Gene Expression Regulation

Itay Tirosh,1 Sharon Reikhav,1,2 Avraham A. Levy,2,* Naama Barkai1,*

During evolution, novel phenotypes emerge through changes in gene expression, but the genetic basis is poorly understood. We compared the allele-specific expression of two yeast species and their hybrid, which allowed us to distinguish changes in regulatory sequences of the gene itself (cis) from changes in upstream regulatory factors (trans). Expression divergence between species was generally due to changes in cis. Divergence in trans reflected a differential response to the environment and explained the tendency of certain genes to diverge rapidly. Hybrid-specific expression, deviating from the parental range, occurred through novel cis-trans interactions or, more often, through modified trans regulation associated with environmental sensing. These results provide insights on the regulatory changes in cis and trans during the divergence of species and upon hybridization.

1 Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.
2 Department of Plant Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: avi.levy{at}weizmann.ac.il (A.A.L.); naama.barkai{at}weizmann.ac.il (N.B.)

Read the Full Text


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Transcriptional Regulatory Circuits: Predicting Numbers from Alphabets.
H. D. Kim, T. Shay, E. K. O'Shea, and A. Regev (2009)
Science 325, 429-432
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »


To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)