The evolution of cis and trans-regulators in eukaryotes

Introduction

Gene regulation plays an essential role in shaping species differences and modulating phenotypes across development and environmental conditions. It essentially works through the recruitment of trans-acting intermediates to cis-acting DNA sequences affecting the expression of the nearby gene.

Importance of Gene Expression Regulation

While gene expression regulation is central in molecular, cellular, developmental, and system biology, its detailed mechanisms have relatively little been incorporated into modern evolutionary theory.

Previous Discoveries

I previously discovered two processes specific to gene expression evolution in diploids:

1. Cis-regulator runaway
2. Divergence

These processes arise because of:

• (i) Transient dominance modifications that automatically occur following the evolution of cis-acting regulatory elements
• (ii) Coevolution of these cis-acting elements with trans-acting regulators.

Implications of Findings

I have shown that accounting for these processes calls into question a half-century of theory on sex chromosome evolution and may rejuvenate empirical and theoretical work in this field.

Project Goals

Here, I will develop the evolutionary theory of cis- and trans-regulators at full scale and empirically test its core features and predictions.

Potential Impact

Specifically, there are sound reasons to believe that this new theory also has the potential to strongly advance our understanding of other fundamental and enigmatic features of eukaryotic life.

Key Questions Addressed

It may be a crucial missing element to explain:

• The origin of eukaryotic regulatory complexity
• How and why sex – asex transitions fail or succeed
• Therefore, why eukaryotic sex is maintained.

Conclusion

RegEvol offers a new and original approach to important problems in evolutionary biology. If successful, it will significantly advance our understanding of eukaryotic life-forms and provide a general framework for gene expression evolution in eukaryotes.