New genes are drivers of evolutionary innovation and phenotypic evolution. Expression of new genes in early development raises the possibility that new genes could originate and be recruited for functions in embryonic...New genes are drivers of evolutionary innovation and phenotypic evolution. Expression of new genes in early development raises the possibility that new genes could originate and be recruited for functions in embryonic development, but this remains undocu- mented. Here, based on temporal gene expression at different developmental stages in Xenopus tropicolis, we found that young protein-coding genes were significantly enriched for expression in developmental stages occurring after the midblastula trans- ition （MBT）, and displayed a decreasing trend in abundance in the subsequent stages after MBT. To complement the finding, we demonstrate essential functional attributes of a young orphan gene, named as Fog2, in morphological development. Our data indicate that new genes could originate after MBT and be recruited for functions in embryonic development, and thus provide insights for better understanding of the origin, evolution, and function of new genes.展开更多
基金This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China （31671325 and 31271339）. N.O.O. thanks the CAS-TWAS President＇s Fellowship Program for Doctoral Candidates for support.
文摘New genes are drivers of evolutionary innovation and phenotypic evolution. Expression of new genes in early development raises the possibility that new genes could originate and be recruited for functions in embryonic development, but this remains undocu- mented. Here, based on temporal gene expression at different developmental stages in Xenopus tropicolis, we found that young protein-coding genes were significantly enriched for expression in developmental stages occurring after the midblastula trans- ition （MBT）, and displayed a decreasing trend in abundance in the subsequent stages after MBT. To complement the finding, we demonstrate essential functional attributes of a young orphan gene, named as Fog2, in morphological development. Our data indicate that new genes could originate after MBT and be recruited for functions in embryonic development, and thus provide insights for better understanding of the origin, evolution, and function of new genes.
