Biomedical subjects

Todd J Vision

Publications and source records attributed to Todd J Vision.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Tracking the evolution of alternatively spliced exons within the Dscam family.

BACKGROUND: The Dscam gene in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, contains twenty-four exons, four of which are composed of tandem arrays that each undergo mutually exclusive alternative splicing (4, 6, 9 and 17), potentially generating 38,016 protein isoforms. This degree of transcript diversity has not been found in mammalian homologs of Dscam. We examined the molecular evolution of exons within this gene family to locate the point of divergence for this alternative splicing pattern. RESULTS: Using the fruit fly Dscam exons 4, 6, 9 and 17 as seed sequences, we iteratively searched sixteen genomes for homologs, and then performed phylogenetic analyses of the resulting sequences to examine their evolutionary history. We found homologs in the nematode, arthropod and vertebrate genomes, including homologs in several vertebrates where Dscam had not been previously annotated. Among these, only the arthropods contain homologs arranged in tandem arrays indicative of mutually exclusive splicing. We found no homologs to these exons within the Arabidopsis, yeast, tunicate or sea urchin genomes but homologs to several constitutive exons from fly Dscam were present within tunicate and sea urchin. Comparing the rate of turnover within the tandem arrays of the insect taxa (fruit fly, mosquito and honeybee), we found the variants within exons 4 and 17 are well conserved in number and spatial arrangement despite 248-283 million years of divergence. In contrast, the variants within exons 6 and 9 have undergone considerable turnover since these taxa diverged, as indicated by deeply branching taxon-specific lineages. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that at least one Dscam exon array may be an ancient duplication that predates the divergence of deuterostomes from protostomes but that there is no evidence for the presence of arrays in the common ancestor of vertebrates. The different patterns of conservation and turnover among the Dscam exon arrays provide a striking example of how a gene can evolve in a modular fashion rather than as a single unit.

Alternative Splicing↗

PubMed2006

Phytome: a platform for plant comparative genomics.

Phytome is an online comparative genomics resource that can be applied to functional plant genomics, molecular breeding and evolutionary studies. It contains predicted protein sequences, protein family assignments, multiple sequence alignments, phylogenies and functional annotations for proteins from a large, phylogenetically diverse set of plant taxa. Phytome serves as a glue between disparate plant gene databases both by identifying the evolutionary relationships among orthologous and paralogous protein sequences from different species and by enabling cross-references between different versions of the same gene curated independently by different database groups. The web interface enables sophisticated queries on lineage-specific patterns of gene/protein family proliferation and loss. This rich dataset is serving as a platform for the unification of sequence-anchored comparative maps across taxonomic families of plants. The Phytome web interface can be accessed at the following URL: http://www.phytome.org. Batch homology searches and bulk downloads are available upon free registration.

Databases, Genetic↗

PubMed2005

Improving quantitative trait loci mapping resolution in experimental crosses by the use of genotypically selected samples.

One of the key factors contributing to the success of a quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping experiment is the precision with which QTL positions can be estimated. We show, using simulations, that QTL mapping precision for an experimental cross can be increased by the use of a genotypically selected sample of individuals rather than an unselected sample of the same size. Selection is performed using a previously described method that optimizes the complementarity of the crossover sites within the sample. Although the increase in precision is accompanied by a decrease in QTL detection power at markers distant from QTL, only a modest increase in marker density is needed to obtain equivalent power over the whole map. Selected samples also show a slight reduction in the number of false-positive QTL. We find that two features of selected samples independently contribute to these effects: an increase in the number of crossover sites and increased evenness in crossover spacing. We provide an empirical formula for crossover enrichment in selected samples that is useful in experimental design and data analysis. For QTL studies in which the phenotyping is more of a limiting factor than the generation of individuals and the scoring of genotypes, selective sampling is an attractive strategy for increasing genome-wide QTL map resolution.

Chromosome Mapping↗

PubMed2005

Gene order in plants: a slow but sure shuffle.

Comparative mapping studies have revealed a great deal about the patterns of gene order and gene content evolution in plants. These findings have practical importance for leveraging genomic information from model to nonmodel plant species. However, there is much to be learned about the processes by which gene order and content evolve. The role of gene duplication and loss in the evolution of plant gene order, in particular, appears to be more important than commonly appreciated. An exciting area of current research is the study of gene order and content polymorphism within species. Some recent findings suggest that there may be a functional, and adaptive, relationship between gene order and phenotype that is mediated by the effects of gene order on transcriptional regulation.

Biological Evolution↗

PubMed2004

Contrasting modes of diversification in the Aux/IAA and ARF gene families.

The complete genomic sequence for Arabidopsis provides the opportunity to combine phylogenetic and genomic approaches to study the evolution of gene families in plants. The Aux/IAA and ARF gene families, consisting of 29 and 23 loci in Arabidopsis, respectively, encode proteins that interact to mediate auxin responses and regulate various aspects of plant morphological development. We developed scenarios for the genomic proliferation of the Aux/IAA and ARF families by combining phylogenetic analysis with information on the relationship between each locus and the previously identified duplicated genomic segments in Arabidopsis. This analysis shows that both gene families date back at least to the origin of land plants and that the major Aux/IAA and ARF lineages originated before the monocot-eudicot divergence. We found that the extant Aux/IAA loci arose primarily through segmental duplication events, in sharp contrast to the ARF family and to the general pattern of gene family proliferation in Arabidopsis. Possible explanations for the unusual mode of Aux/IAA duplication include evolutionary constraints imposed by complex interactions among proteins and pathways, or the presence of long-distance cis-regulatory sequences. The antiquity of the two gene families and the unusual mode of Aux/IAA diversification have a number of potential implications for understanding both the functional and evolutionary roles of these genes.

Arabidopsis↗

PubMed2003

Identification and characterization of aluminum tolerance loci in Arabidopsis (Landsberg erecta x Columbia) by quantitative trait locus mapping. A physiologically simple but genetically complex trait.

Aluminum (Al) toxicity, which is caused by the solubilization of Al3+ in acid soils resulting in inhibition of root growth and nutrient/water acquisition, is a serious limitation to crop production, because up to one-half of the world's potentially arable land is acidic. To date, however, no Al tolerance genes have yet been cloned. The physiological mechanisms of tolerance are somewhat better understood; the major documented mechanism involves the Al-activated release of Al-binding organic acids from the root tip, preventing uptake into the primary site of toxicity. In this study, a quantitative trait loci analysis of Al tolerance in Arabidopsis was conducted, which also correlated Al tolerance quantitative trait locus (QTL) with physiological mechanisms of tolerance. The analysis identified two major loci, which explain approximately 40% of the variance in Al tolerance observed among recombinant inbred lines derived from Landsberg erecta (sensitive) and Columbia (tolerant). We characterized the mechanism by which tolerance is achieved, and we found that the two QTL cosegregate with an Al-activated release of malate from Arabidopsis roots. Although only two of the QTL have been identified, malate release explains nearly all (95%) of the variation in Al tolerance in this population. Al tolerance in Landsberg erecta x Columbia is more complex genetically than physiologically, in that a number of genes underlie a single physiological mechanism involving root malate release. These findings have set the stage for the subsequent cloning of the genes responsible for the Al tolerance QTL, and a genomics-based cloning strategy and initial progress on this are also discussed.

Aluminum↗

PubMed2003

Fast identification and statistical evaluation of segmental homologies in comparative maps.

MOTIVATION: Chromosomal segments that share common ancestry, either through genomic duplication or species divergence, are said to be segmental homologs of one another. Their identification allows researchers to leverage knowledge of model organisms for use in other systems and is of value for studies of genome evolution. However, identification and statistical evaluation of segmental homologies can be a challenge when the segments are highly diverged. RESULTS: We describe a flexible dynamic programming algorithm for the identification of segments having multiple homologous features. We model the probability of observing putative segmental homologies by chance and incorporate our findings into the parameterization of the algorithm and the statistical evaluation of its output. Combined, these findings allow segmental homologies to be identified in comparisons within and between genomic maps in a rigorous, rapid, and automated fashion.

Algorithms↗

PubMed2002

Patterns of nucleotide substitution among simultaneously duplicated gene pairs in Arabidopsis thaliana.

We characterized rates and patterns of synonymous and nonsynonymous substitution in 242 duplicated gene pairs on chromosomes 2 and 4 of Arabidopsis thaliana. Based on their collinear order along the two chromosomes, the gene pairs were likely duplicated contemporaneously, and therefore comparison of genetic distances among gene pairs provides insights into the distribution of nucleotide substitution rates among plant nuclear genes. Rates of synonymous substitution varied 13.8-fold among the duplicated gene pairs, but 90% of gene pairs differed by less than 2.6-fold. Average nonsynonymous rates were approximately fivefold lower than average synonymous rates; this rate difference is lower than that of previously studied nonplant lineages. The coefficient of variation of rates among genes was 0.65 for nonsynonymous rates and 0.44 for synonymous rates, indicating that synonymous and nonsynonymous rates vary among genes to roughly the same extent. The causes underlying rate variation were explored. Our analyses tentatively suggest an effect of physical location on synonymous substitution rates but no similar effect on nonsynonymous rates. Nonsynonymous substitution rates were negatively correlated with GC content at synonymous third codon positions, and synonymous substitution rates were negatively correlated with codon bias, as observed in other systems. Finally, the 242 gene pairs permitted investigation of the processes underlying divergence between paralogs. We found no evidence of positive selection, little evidence that paralogs evolve at different rates, and no evidence of differential codon usage or third position GC content.

Arabidopsis↗