A micro-RNA is the effector gene of a classic evolutionary hotspot locus.
Shen TianYoshimasa AsanoTirtha Das BanerjeeJocelyn Liang Qi WeeAbigail LambYehan WangSuriya Narayanan MurugesanKumiko Ui-TeiPatricia J WittkoppAntonia MonteiroPublished in: bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology (2024)
In Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths), the genomic region around the gene cortex is a 'hotspot' locus, repeatedly used to generate intraspecific melanic wing color polymorphisms across 100-million-years of evolution. However, the identity of the effector gene regulating melanic wing color within this locus remains unknown. Here, we show that none of the four candidate protein-coding genes within this locus, including cortex , serve as major effectors. Instead, a micro-RNA (miRNA), mir-193 , serves as the major effector across three deeply diverged lineages of butterflies, and its function is conserved in Drosophila . In Lepidoptera, mir-193 is derived from a gigantic long non-coding RNA, ivory , and it functions by directly repressing multiple pigmentation genes. We show that a miRNA can drive repeated instances of adaptive evolution in animals.
Keyphrases
- long non coding rna
- genome wide
- genome wide identification
- copy number
- poor prognosis
- type iii
- regulatory t cells
- genome wide association study
- dendritic cells
- cell proliferation
- dna methylation
- transcription factor
- genome wide analysis
- functional connectivity
- long noncoding rna
- immune response
- nucleic acid
- bioinformatics analysis
- binding protein