scott-sexspecificexpression-2006.pdf (435.27 kB)
Sex-specific expression of alternative transcripts in Drosophila
journal contribution
posted on 2006-08-25, 00:00 authored by L M McIntyre, L M Bono, A Genissel, R Westerman, D Junk, Marina Telonis-ScottMarina Telonis-Scott, L Harshman, M L Wayne, A Kopp, S V NuzhdinBACKGROUND: Many genes produce multiple transcripts due to alternative splicing or utilization of alternative transcription initiation/termination sites. This ’transcriptome expansion’ is thought to increase phenotypic complexity by allowing a single locus to produce several functionally distinct proteins. However, sex, genetic and developmental variation in the representation of alternative transcripts has never been examined systematically. Here, we describe a genome-wide analysis of sex-specific expression of alternative transcripts in Drosophila melanogaster. RESULTS: We compared transcript profiles in males and females from eight Drosophila lines (OregonR and 2b, and 6 RIL) using a newly designed 60-mer oligonucleotide microarray that allows us to distinguish a large proportion of alternative transcripts. The new microarray incorporates 7,207 oligonucleotides, satisfying stringent binding and specificity criteria that target both the common and the unique regions of 2,768 multi-transcript genes, as well as 12,912 oligonucleotides that target genes with a single known transcript. We estimate that up to 22% of genes that produce multiple transcripts show a sex-specific bias in the representation of alternative transcripts. Sexual dimorphism in overall transcript abundance was evident for 53% of genes. The X chromosome contains a significantly higher proportion of genes with female-biased transcription than the autosomes. However, genes on the X chromosome are no more likely to have a sexual bias in alternative transcript representation than autosomal genes. CONCLUSION: Widespread sex-specific expression of alternative transcripts in Drosophila suggests that a new level of sexual dimorphism at the molecular level exists.
History
Journal
Genome biologyVolume
7Issue
8Article number
R79Publisher
BioMed CentralLocation
London, Eng.Publisher DOI
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ISSN
1474-760XeISSN
1474-760XLanguage
engPublication classification
C1.1 Refereed article in a scholarly journalCopyright notice
2006, McIntyre et al.Usage metrics
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Alternative SplicingAnalysis of VarianceAnimalsDrosophila melanogasterFemaleGene ExpressionGene Expression ProfilingGenomicsMaleOligonucleotide Array Sequence AnalysisSex CharacteristicsScience & TechnologyLife Sciences & BiomedicineBiotechnology & Applied MicrobiologyGenetics & HeredityQUANTITATIVE TRAIT LOCIBIASED GENE-EXPRESSIONWHOLE-GENOME ANALYSISFALSE DISCOVERY RATEAXON GUIDANCERNA INTERFERENCEMELANOGASTERDIVERSITYDIFFERENTIATIONEVOLUTION
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