为了解决这个问题，该研究团队推导了一个新的系统发育模型，并将其应用于多物种哺乳动物数据。他们的分析揭示了(1)在宏观进化过程中蛋白质丰度的强大稳定选择，(2)影响mRNA丰度的突变对蛋白质丰度的影响最小，(3)mRNA丰度在选择下进化以与蛋白质丰度保持一致，(4)mRNA丰度由于更大的突变机会而比蛋白质丰度适应得更快。这些结论得到了模型参数与独立功能基因组数据的比较的支持。通过分解突变和选择对mRNA-蛋白动力学的影响，他们的方法为发现驱动基因表达分化的进化规则提供了一个框架。
据悉，信使RNA（mRNA）和蛋白质丰度的调控已经得到了很好的研究，但对形成它们之间关系的进化过程知之甚少。
附：英文原文
Title: Macroevolutionary divergence of gene expression driven by selection on protein abundance
Author: Alexander L. Cope, Joshua G. Schraiber, Matt Pennell
Issue&Volume: 2025-03-07
Abstract: The regulation of messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein abundances is well-studied, but less is known about the evolutionary processes shaping their relationship. To address this, we derived a new phylogenetic model and applied it to multispecies mammalian data. Our analyses reveal (i) strong stabilizing selection on protein abundances over macroevolutionary time, (ii) mutations affecting mRNA abundances minimally impact protein abundances, (iii) mRNA abundances evolve under selection to align with protein abundances, and (iv) mRNA abundances adapt faster than protein abundances owing to greater mutational opportunity. These conclusions are supported by comparisons of model parameters with independent functional genomic data. By decomposing mutational and selective influences on mRNA-protein dynamics, our approach provides a framework for discovering the evolutionary rules that drive divergence in gene expression.
DOI: ads2658
Source: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ads2658