Transcript Abundance in Drosophila Populations
Author Information
Author(s): Hsieh Wen-Ping, Passador-Gurgel Gisele, Stone Eric A, Gibson Greg
Primary Institution: North Carolina State University
Hypothesis
How do evolutionary factors influence the structure of transcriptional variation in natural populations?
Conclusion
Population surveys of gene expression may complement genetical genomics as a general approach to quantifying sources of transcriptional variation.
Supporting Evidence
- Differential expression of transcripts among individuals is due to a complex interplay of cis- and trans-acting factors.
- Power studies indicate that sample sizes of 50 individuals will generally be sufficient to detect divergent transcript abundance classes.
- The distribution of transcript abundance classes is skewed toward low frequency minor classes.
Takeaway
Scientists studied how genes are expressed differently in fruit flies from two places, finding that some genes have more than one level of expression.
Methodology
Expression profiling using cDNA microarrays was conducted in Drosophila melanogaster adult female heads for 58 nearly isogenic lines from a North Carolina population and 50 from a California population.
Potential Biases
Potential ascertainment bias in the empirical distribution of transcript abundance classes.
Limitations
Batch effects confounded the comparison of the two populations, limiting the ability to apply alternative analytical approaches.
Participant Demographics
Drosophila melanogaster adult female heads from North Carolina and California populations.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p=0.03 for one SNP associated with transcript abundance.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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