Genome-wide identification of the mutation uderlying fleece variation and discriminating ancestral hairy species from modern woolly sheep
The composition and structure of fleece variation observedin mammals is a consequence of a strong selective pressure for fiber production after domestication. In sheep, fleece variation discriminates ancestral species carrying a long and hairy fleece from modern domestic sheep (Ovis aries) owning a...
| Autores principales: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Formato: | info:ar-repo/semantics/artículo |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
| Publicado: |
Oxford university press
2017
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/1007 https://academic.oup.com/mbe/article/34/7/1722/3091105 https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msx114 |
| Sumario: | The composition and structure of fleece variation observedin mammals is a consequence of a strong selective pressure for fiber production after domestication. In sheep, fleece variation discriminates ancestral species carrying a long and hairy fleece from modern domestic sheep (Ovis aries) owning a short and woolly fleece.Here, we report that the “woolly” allele results from the insertion of an antisenseEIF2S2retrogene (calledasEIF2S2)intothe3 0 UTR of theIRF2BP2 gene leading to an abnormal IRF2BP2 transcript. We provide evidence that this chimeric IRF2BP2/asEIF2S2 messenger 1) targets the genuine sense EIF2S2 RNA and 2) creates a long endogenous double-stranded RNA which alters the expression of both EIF2S2 and IRF2BP2 mRNA. This represents a unique example of a phenotype arising via a RNA-RNA hybrid, itself generated through a retroposition mechanism. Our results bring new insights on the sheep population history thanks to the identification of the molecular origin of an evolutionary phenotypic variation. |
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