Gene-expression signatures of Atlantic salmon’s plastic life cycle
How genomic expression differs as a function of life history variation is largely unknown. Atlantic salmon exhibits extreme alternative life histories. We defined the gene-expression signatures of wild-caught salmon at two different life stages by comparing the brain expression profiles of mature sn...
Published in: | General and Comparative Endocrinology |
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Main Authors: | , , |
Format: | Text |
Language: | English |
Published: |
2009
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Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2706306 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19401203 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ygcen.2009.04.021 |
Summary: | How genomic expression differs as a function of life history variation is largely unknown. Atlantic salmon exhibits extreme alternative life histories. We defined the gene-expression signatures of wild-caught salmon at two different life stages by comparing the brain expression profiles of mature sneaker males and immature males, and early migrants and late migrants. In addition to life-stage-specific signatures, we discovered a surprisingly large gene set that was differentially regulated - at similar magnitudes, yet in opposite direction - in both life history transitions. We suggest that this co-variation is not a consequence of many independent cellular and molecular switches in the same direction but rather represents the molecular equivalent of a physiological shift orchestrated by one or very few master regulators. |
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