No Accelerated Rate of Protein Evolution in Male-Biased Drosophila pseudoobscura Genes

• Published in: Genetics (Austin) Vol. 174; no. 1; pp. 411 - 420
• Main Authors: Metta, Muralidhar, Gudavalli, Rambabu, Gibert, Jean-Michel, Schlötterer, Christian
• Format: Journal Article Web Resource
• Language: English
• Published: United States Genetics Society of America 01.09.2006; Copyright © 2006 by the Genetics Society of America
• Subjects: Amino Acid Substitution; Amino acids; Animals; Chromosomes - chemistry; Comparative analysis; Competition; Data analysis; DNA polymerase; Drosophila - genetics; Drosophila - metabolism; Drosophila melanogaster - genetics; Drosophila melanogaster - metabolism; Drosophila melanogaster/genetics/metabolism; Drosophila pseudoobscura; Drosophila/genetics/metabolism; Evolution, Molecular; Female; Females; Gene Expression; Genes, Insect; Genetics; Genetics & genetic processes; Genomic Library; Génétique & processus génétiques; Insect Proteins - genetics; Insect Proteins - metabolism; Insect Proteins/genetics/metabolism; Investigations; Life sciences; Male; Sciences du vivant; Sex Factors; Software; Synteny
• ISSN: 1943-2631; 0016-6731; 1943-2631
• DOI: 10.1534/genetics.106.057414

Sexually dimorphic traits are often subject to diversifying selection. Genes with a male-biased gene expression also are probably affected by sexual selection and have a high rate of protein evolution. We used SAGE to measure sex-biased gene expression in Drosophila pseudoobscura. Consistent with previous results from D. melanogaster, a larger number of genes were male biased (402 genes) than female biased (138 genes). About 34% of the genes changed the sex-related expression pattern between D. melanogaster and D. pseudoobscura. Combining gene expression with protein divergence between both species, we observed a striking difference in the rate of evolution for genes with a male-biased gene expression in one species only. Contrary to expectations, D. pseudoobscura genes in this category showed no accelerated rate of protein evolution, while D. melanogaster genes did. If sexual selection is driving molecular evolution of male-biased genes, our data imply a radically different selection regime in D. pseudoobscura.