EVOBOOSTER - Impact of transposable elements on gene regulatory networks: application to fast-evolving biological pathways in fish

由于其重复和移动的性质，转座元件有可能通过快速传播随时可用的调控序列来促进进化，这些调控序列可以产生新的基因调控并重新连接宿主调控网络，这可能促进快速的多样性、适应性和物种形成。鱼类代表了一个非常有吸引力的模型来检验这一假说，因为它们表现出高度的多样性，几乎影响到它们生物学的各个方面。此外，鱼类的基因组中含有比哺乳动物和其他脊椎动物多得多的转座子家族。在这个项目中，我们的目标是研究转座元件对性发育和色素沉着的影响，这两个因素在鱼类中都是高度可变的。我们将在功能水平上系统地识别和分析与男性和女性性腺中表达的基因或在正常和恶性色素细胞发育过程中表达的基因相关的顺式调控序列，或者与在性发育和色素沉着中具有主要功能的转录因子结合的顺式调控序列。来自转座元件并在性腺和色素细胞中表达的调节性非编码RNA也将被识别和研究。该项目涉及两个具有互补专业知识的团队(伙伴1，M Schartl，维尔茨堡：性发育和色素沉着的生物学；伙伴2，JN Volff，里昂：转座元件和基因组变异性)，将重新阐明移动组在生物体内调节变异性方面的作用，评估转座元件在促进快速物种形成和对环境变化的适应性反应方面的潜在作用。

Because of their repeated and mobile nature, transposable elements have the potential to boost evolution through the fast spreading of ready-to-use regulatory sequences that can generate new gene regulations and rewire host regulatory networks, this potentially promoting rapid diversity, adaptation and speciation. Fish represent a very attractive model to test this hypothesis, since they show a high level of diversity affecting almost all facets of their biology. In addition, fish contain in their genomes many more families of transposable elements than mammals and other vertebrates. In this project, we aim to investigate the impact of transposable elements on sexual development and pigmentation, which are both hypervariable in fish. We will systematically identify and analyze at the functional level cis-regulatory sequences that are associated with genes expressed in male and female gonads or during the development of normal and malignant pigment cells, or that are bound by transcription factors with major functions in sexual development and pigmentation. Regulatory non-coding RNAs derived from transposable elements and expressed in gonads and pigment cells will also be identified and studied. This project, which involves two teams with complementary expertise (Partner 1, M Schartl, Würzburg: biology of sexual development and pigmentation; Partner 2, JN Volff, Lyon: transposable elements and genome variability) will shed a new light on the role of the mobilome on regulatory variability in living organisms, with an assessment of the potential role of transposable elements to promote rapid speciation and adaptive responses to environmental changes.