Nature Genetics 38, 824 - 829 (2006)
Published online: 18 June 2006; | doi:10.1038/ng1823
Pleiotropic fitness effects of the Tre1-Gr5a region in Drosophila melanogasterStephanie M Rollmann1, 2, Michael M Magwire2, 3, Theodore J Morgan2, 3, Ergi D Özsoy2, 3, 4, Akihiko Yamamoto2, 3, Trudy F C Mackay2, 3 & Robert R H Anholt1, 2, 31
Department of Zoology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695-7617, USA. 2
W. M. Keck Center for Behavioral Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695-7617, USA. 3
Department of Genetics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695-7617, USA. 4
Department of Biology, Hacettepe University, 06800 Beytepe Ankara, Turkey.
Correspondence should be addressed to Stephanie M Rollmann stephanie_rollmann@ncsu.edu or Robert R H Anholt anholt@ncsu.edu The abundance of transposable elements and DNA repeat sequences in mammalian genomes raises the question of whether such insertions represent passive evolutionary baggage or may influence the expression of complex traits. We addressed this question in Drosophila melanogaster, in which the effects of single transposable elements on complex traits can be assessed in genetically identical individuals reared in controlled environments1. Here we demonstrate that single P-element insertions in the intergenic region between the gustatory receptor 5a (Gr5a, also known as Tre)2,
3,
4 and trapped in endoderm 1 (Tre1)5, which encodes an orphan receptor, exert complex pleiotropic effects on fitness traits, including selective nutrient intake, life span, and resistance to starvation and heat stress. Mutations in this region interact epistatically with downstream components of the insulin signaling pathway. Transposon-induced sex-specific and sex-antagonistic effects further accentuate the complex influences that intergenic transposable elements can contribute to quantitative trait phenotypes.
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