Biology subjects

Pollard, D. A.

Publications and source records attributed to Pollard, D. A..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2022

Natural variation in codon bias and mRNA folding strength interact synergistically to modify protein expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Codon bias and mRNA folding strength (mF) are hypothesized molecular mechanisms by which polymorphisms in genes modify protein expression. Natural patterns of codon bias and mF across genes as well as effects of altering codon bias and mF suggest the influence of these two mechanisms may vary depending on the specific location of polymorphisms within a transcript. Despite the central role codon bias and mF may play in natural trait variation within populations, systematic studies of how polymorphic codon bias and mF relate to protein expression variation are lacking. To address this need, we analyzed genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic data for 22 Saccharomyces cerevisiae isolates, estimated protein accumulation for each allele of 1620 genes as the log of protein molecules per RNA molecule (logPPR), and built linear mixed effects models associating allelic variation in codon bias and mF with allelic variation in logPPR. We found codon bias and mF interact synergistically in a positive association with logPPR and this interaction explains almost all the effect of codon bias and mF. We examined how the locations of polymorphisms within transcripts influence their effects and found that codon bias primarily acts through polymorphisms in domain encoding and 3 coding sequences while mF acts most significantly through coding sequences with weaker effects from UTRs. Our results present the most comprehensive characterization to date of how polymorphisms in transcripts influence protein expression.

genetics↗

bioRxiv2021

Diversification of small RNA pathways underlies germline RNAi incompetence in wild C. elegans strains

The discovery that experimental delivery of dsRNA can induce gene silencing at target genes revolutionized genetics research, by both uncovering essential biological processes and creating new tools for developmental geneticists. However, the efficacy of exogenous RNAi varies dramatically within the C. elegans population, raising questions about our understanding of RNAi in the lab relative to its activity and significance in nature. Here, we investigate why some wild-type strains fail to mount a robust RNAi response to germline targets. We observe diversity in mechanism: in some strains, the response is stochastic, either on or off among individuals, while in others the response is consistent but delayed. Increased activity of the Argonaute PPW-1, which is required for germline RNAi in the laboratory strain N2, rescues the response in some strains, but dampens it further in others. Among wild-type strains, genes known to mediate RNAi exhibited very high expression variation relative to other genes in the genome as well as allelic divergence and strain-specific instances of pseudogenization at the sequence level. Our results demonstrate functional diversification in the small RNA pathways in C. elegans, and suggest that RNAi processes are evolving rapidly and dynamically in nature.

evolutionary biology↗

bioRxiv2016

Natural Genetic Variation Modifies Gene Expression Dynamics at the Protein Level During Pheromone Response in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Heritable variation in gene expression patterns plays a fundamental role in trait variation and evolution, making understanding the mechanisms by which genetic variation acts on gene expression patterns a major goal for biology. Both theoretical and empirical work have largely focused on variation in steady-state mRNA levels and mRNA synthesis rates, particularly of protein-coding genes. Yet in order for this variation to affect higher order traits it must lead to differences at the protein level. Variation in protein-specific processes including protein synthesis rates and protein decay rates could amplify, mask, or even reverse effects transmitted from the transcript level, but the extent to which this happens is unclear. Moreover, mechanisms that underlie protein expression variation under dynamic conditions have not been examined. To address this challenge, we analyzed how mRNA and protein expression dynamics covary between two strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae during mating pheromone response. Although divergent steady-state mRNA expression levels explained divergent steady-state protein levels for four out of five genes in our study, the same was true for only one out of five genes for expression dynamics. By integrating decay rate and allele-specific protein expression analyses, we resolved that expression divergence for Fig1p was caused by genetic variation acting in trans on protein synthesis rate, expression divergence for Ina1p was caused by cis-by-trans epistatic effects on transcript level and protein synthesis rate, and expression divergence for Fus3p and Tos6p were caused by divergence in protein synthesis rates. Our study demonstrates that steady-state analysis of gene expression is insufficient to understand the impact of genetic variation on gene expression variation. An integrated and dynamic approach to gene expression analysis - comparing mRNA levels, protein levels, protein decay rates, and allele-specific protein expression - allows for a detailed analysis of the genetic mechanisms underlying protein expression divergences.

genetics↗