Asymmetric interactions between doublesex and tissue- and sex-specific target genes mediate sexual dimorphism in beetles.
Asymmetric interactions between doublesex and tissue- and sex-specific target genes mediate sexual dimorphism in beetles.
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DOI：
10.1038/ncomms14593
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发表时间：
2017-02-27
影响因子：
16.6
通讯作者：
Moczek AP
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Ledón-Rettig CC;Zattara EE;Moczek AP
性别二态性促进了显着的种内变异和进化多样化。然而，性别特异性发育背后的发育遗传机制仍然知之甚少。在这里，我们通过结合系统性 dsx 敲低、不同组织的高通量测序和 Dsx 结合位点的全基因组分析，重点研究保守的性别决定基因 doublesex (dsx) 及其介导角甲虫物种性别特异性发育的机制。我们发现，Dsx 主要在男性中调节性别偏向的表达，Dsx 的目标库具有高度的性别和组织特异性，并且 Dsx 可以通过两种不同的机制发挥其调节作用：作为性别特异性调节剂，通过严格调节性别特异性目标，或作为开关，通过相反方向调节男性和女性中的相同基因。更一般地说，我们的结果表明，Dsx 可以快速获得新的靶基因库，以适应进化上的新颖性状，头角中发现的大量且独特的基因库就证明了这一点，这是最近的一项形态创新。性别二态性可能是基因表达差异的结果。在这里，作者研究了 dsx 基因在甲虫中的作用，发现该基因以性别和组织特异性方式发挥作用，要么通过调节性别特异性目标，要么通过在雄性和雌性中以相反的方向发挥作用。
Sexual dimorphisms fuel significant intraspecific variation and evolutionary diversification. Yet the developmental-genetic mechanisms underlying sex-specific development remain poorly understood. Here, we focus on the conserved sex-determination gene doublesex (dsx) and the mechanisms by which it mediates sex-specific development in a horned beetle species by combining systemic dsx knockdown, high-throughput sequencing of diverse tissues and a genome-wide analysis of Dsx-binding sites. We find that Dsx regulates sex-biased expression predominantly in males, that Dsx's target repertoires are highly sex- and tissue-specific and that Dsx can exercise its regulatory role via two distinct mechanisms: as a sex-specific modulator by regulating strictly sex-specific targets, or as a switch by regulating the same genes in males and females in opposite directions. More generally, our results suggest Dsx can rapidly acquire new target gene repertoires to accommodate evolutionarily novel traits, evidenced by the large and unique repertoire identified in head horns, a recent morphological innovation. Sexual dimorphism is likely the result of differential gene expression. Here, the authors examine the role of the dsx gene in beetles and find that this gene acts in a sex- and tissue-specific manner, either by regulating sex-specific targets or by acting in opposite directions in males and females.