Detecting selection with a null model of gene order evolution

AlexanderMoffett

Northeastern University

"Detecting selection with a null model of gene order evolution"

Recent progress in genome assembly techniques has led to an explosion in chromosome-length genome sequences. These unfragmented assemblies have enabled biologists to study molecular evolution at unprecedented scales, providing insight into the evolution of genome architecture. Microsynteny, the conservation of gene order, has proven to be a key concept in our understanding of genome evolution. However, it remains unclear when microsynteny occurs due to random chance or selection. Here, we develop a mathematical model to discriminate between these two cases. Our model describes the dynamics of synteny block size distributions in the absence of selection or other biases. By fitting this null model to data from a comparative analysis of mammalian genomes, we identify synteny blocks larger than expected in the absence of selection. This approach allows us to rigorously determine which sets of genes are likely to have selection on their ordering in a lineage-specific manner. Our model presents a powerful tool for uncovering functional relationships between genes based on their ordering and for understanding the evolution of gene co-regulation.
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