{"id":270269,"date":"2025-07-17T20:59:11","date_gmt":"2025-07-17T20:59:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/270269\/"},"modified":"2025-07-17T20:59:11","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T20:59:11","slug":"ysph-study-reveals-how-gene-expression-evolves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/270269\/","title":{"rendered":"YSPH Study Reveals How Gene Expression Evolves"},"content":{"rendered":"

Researchers at the Yale School of Public Health have discovered the evolutionary rhythm of gene expression, showing that changes happen at strikingly varied rates. <\/p>\n

In the study, published in Molecular Biology and Evolution,<\/a> \u201cwe found that some genes\u2019 expression patterns remain virtually frozen in place for hundreds of millions of years, while others adapt quickly, evolving their expression rapidly,\u201d said Dr. Jeffrey Townsend<\/a>, PhD, the study\u2019s senior author, Elihu Professor of Biostatistics and Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at YSPH. \u201cKnowing these rates of evolution shows us which genetic functions are the unchanging heartbeat of life\u2014and which are evolution\u2019s improvisations.\u201d <\/p>\n

A Molecular Clock for Gene Expression<\/strong> <\/p>\n

Gene expression<\/a>\u2014the process by which DNA is transcribed into RNA and then translated into proteins\u2014is central to how organisms develop and respond to their environments. Evolutionary shifts in DNA sequence have been documented, but changes in gene expression have been harder to quantify over long periods of time. <\/p>\n

\n

Knowing these rates of evolution shows us which genetic functions are the unchanging heartbeat of life\u2014and which are evolution\u2019s improvisations.<\/p>\n

Dr. Jeffrey Townsend, Yale School of Public Health<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

To tackle this challenge, Townsend led a team of investigators that examined over 3,900 genes in nine fungal species with comparable biological developmental stages. The team used diverse fungi for their analysis because they are easy to grow in a common environment. Because the species were meticulously cultured under identical conditions, it allowed the scientists to measure only genetic, not environmental, differences. <\/p>\n

Lead author Yen-Wen Wang<\/a>, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher in Townsend\u2019s lab, applied sophisticated statistical models to infer how frequently gene expression doubled or halved across millions of years of evolution. For most genes, the time ranged from 400 to 900 million years. But some genes\u2014particularly those involved in early spore germination\u2014evolved much faster, in just 6.9 million years. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis early germination stage is ecologically crucial,\u201d explained Wang. \u201cFungi must adapt rapidly to capitalize on distinct ways to colonize environments and rapidly acquire nutrients. Their early germination genes are under strong pressure to change.\u201d <\/p>\n

At the Heart of Life, Essential Expression Endures<\/strong> <\/p>\n

By analyzing gene function across biological pathways, the researchers found that evolution tends to act more quickly on genes involved in flexible, responsive tasks\u2014such as carbon metabolism\u2014than enduring processes such as meiosis, a key aspect of sexual reproduction. <\/p>\n

\u201cThese findings reveal how the role a gene plays in development affects the pace at which its expression evolves,\u201d Townsend said. \u201cIf a gene is part of an ancient, important, tightly regulated process like meiosis, it can\u2019t accommodate change. But if it\u2019s in a metabolic pathway that responds to environmental shifts, there\u2019s more room for evolutionary experimentation.\u201d <\/p>\n

Unlocking Life\u2019s Potential <\/strong> <\/p>\n

The study establishes a powerful new framework for investigating gene evolution. <\/p>\n

\u201cKnowing which genes evolve quickly or slowly in their expression enables us to precisely target genes that are optimal targets for functional characterization and applications in nearly all fields of life sciences,\u201d Townsend said, adding that it could be useful in biotechnology applications ranging from agriculture to medicine. <\/p>\n

The work was funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health. The data and methodological approach are publicly available. The researchers hope others will be inspired to expand our knowledge of gene expression in other key areas. <\/p>\n

\u201cUltimately,\u201d Townsend said, \u201cwe want to understand how the choreography of gene expression \u2014 its timing, location, and intensity \u2014 has evolved to build the immense diversity of life we see today.\u201d <\/p>\n

Transcriptome data from the study are publicly available in the Gene Expression Omnibus under PRJNA1171587 and PRJNA1177519.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Researchers at the Yale School of Public Health have discovered the evolutionary rhythm of gene expression, showing that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":270270,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3846],"tags":[267,70,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-270269","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-genetics","8":"tag-genetics","9":"tag-science","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114870587753272748","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=270269"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270269\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/270270"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=270269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=270269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=270269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}