| Title: | Do changes in gene expression contribute to sexual isolation and reinforcement in the house mouse? |
| Author(s): | Loire E; Tusso S; Caminade P; Severac D; Boursot P; Ganem G; Smadja CM; |
| Address: | "Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution UMR 5554, Institut pour la Recherche et le Developpement (IRD), EPHE, Universite de Montpellier, Montpellier, France. Montpellier GenomiX (MGX), Institut de Genomique Fonctionnelle, Montpellier Cedex 5, France" |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1365-294X (Electronic) 0962-1083 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Expression divergence, rather than sequence divergence, has been shown to be important in speciation, particularly in the early stages of divergence of traits involved in reproductive isolation. In the two European subspecies of house mice, Mus musculus musculus and Mus musculus domesticus, earlier studies have demonstrated olfactory-based assortative mate preference in populations close to their hybrid zone. It has been suggested that this behaviour evolved following the recent secondary contact between the two taxa (~3,000 years ago) in response to selection against hybridization. To test for a role of changes in gene expression in the observed behavioural shift, we conducted a RNA sequencing experiment on mouse vomeronasal organs. Key candidate genes for pheromone-based subspecies recognition, the vomeronasal receptors, are expressed in these organs. Overall patterns of gene expression varied significantly between samples from the two subspecies, with a large number of differentially expressed genes between the two taxa. In contrast, only ~200 genes were found repeatedly differentially expressed between populations within M. m. musculus that did or did not display assortative mate preferences (close to or more distant from the hybrid zone, respectively), with an overrepresentation of genes belonging to vomeronasal receptor family 2. These receptors are known to play a key role in recognition of chemical cues that handle information about genetic identity. Interestingly, four of five of these differentially expressed receptors belong to the same phylogenetic cluster, suggesting specialization of a group of closely related receptors in the recognition of odorant signals that may allow subspecies recognition and assortative mating" |
| Keywords: | "Animals Denmark Gene Expression Genetics, Population Hybridization, Genetic *Mating Preference, Animal Mice/*genetics Phylogeny Receptors, Odorant/genetics *Reproductive Isolation Vomeronasal Organ/metabolism RNA-seq assortative mate preference hybrid zon;" |
| Notes: | "MedlineLoire, Etienne Tusso, Sergio Caminade, Pierre Severac, Dany Boursot, Pierre Ganem, Guila Smadja, Carole M eng England 2017/06/20 Mol Ecol. 2017 Oct; 26(19):5189-5202. doi: 10.1111/mec.14212. Epub 2017 Jul 16" |
