Evolution under canalization and the dual roles of microRNAs-A hypothesis
Evolution under canalization and the dual roles of microRNAs-A hypothesis
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DOI：
10.1101/gr.084640.108
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发表时间：
2009-05-01
期刊：
影响因子：
7
通讯作者：
Tang, Tian
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Wu, Chung-I;Shen, Yang;Tang, Tian
通道化是指物种内表型稳定的过程。只有当表型通道化时，自然选择的进化才能有效地进行。因此，管道化基因的存在和身份一直是一个重要但有争议的话题。最近的证据越来越多地暗示，microRNAs可能参与了基因表达的管道化。它们自相矛盾的性质(例如，高度保守，但在功能上是可有可无的)表明了非传统的调节作用。我们综合了已发表和未发表的结果，并假设miRNAs可能具有双重功能-在基因表达调节和表达缓冲中。在调整时，miRNAs修改其目标的平均表达水平，但在缓冲中，它们仅降低预设平均值附近的方差。鉴于新的miRNAs的不断出现，我们进一步讨论了这两个功能在进化中的相对重要性。
Canalization refers to the process by which phenotypes are stabilized within species. Evolution by natural selection can proceed efficiently only when phenotypes are canalized. The existence and identity of canalizing genes have thus been an important, but controversial topic. Recent evidence has increasingly hinted that microRNAs may be involved in canalizing gene expression. Their paradoxical properties (e. g., strongly conserved but functionally dispensable) suggest unconventional regulatory roles. We synthesized published and unpublished results and hypothesize that miRNAs may have dual functions-in gene expression tuning and in expression buffering. In tuning, miRNAs modify the mean expression level of their targets, but in buffering they merely reduce the variance around a preset mean. In light of the constant emergence of new miRNAs, we further discuss the relative importance of these two functions in evolution.