The Spontaneous Rate of Gene Duplication and Deletion in Caenorhabditis elegans.

University Of New Mexico, Albuquerque NM

Investigators

Abstract

Gene duplications are the primary source of new genes and novel functions in evolution and contribute to heritable diseases and cancer. Most of the recent progress in elucidating the role of gene duplications in the history of life has been the result of comparative analysis of sequenced genomes. Although these studies can provide a rich record of the history of gene duplications and gene loss, the early evolutionary dynamics and selection pressures on duplicated genes remain poorly understood. In order to measure the genome-wide rate of spontaneous gene duplications and deletions, this project uses Comparative Genome Hybridization to detect spontaneous duplications and deletions in experimental populations of the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans that have been subjected to (i) mutation accumulation and (ii) adaptation. Gene duplications and deletions will be independently verified by alternative analytical methods. In addition, the effect of local DNA sequence context on gene duplications and deletions will be investigated. Furthermore, the fitness effects of gene duplications and deletions that are detected in the adapted populations will be tested in competition experiments. The rate at which new genes appear in populations greatly influences their population dynamics with important consequences for the evolutionary potential of organisms, genetic variation and susceptibility to heritable diseases. Moreover, these results should significantly further our understanding of how new genes evolve. This project will train undergraduate and graduate students and will emphasize significant participation of underrepresented minorities, especially at the undergraduate level.