Diversification of fasting regulated transcription in a cluster of duplicated nuclear hormone receptors in C. elegans
Abstract
The evolutionary pressures that leads to the expansion of nuclear receptors (NHRs) in nematodes, as well as the function of the majority of them are not known. We analyzed a cluster of seven NHR genes for an analysis of their expression and function.
We found that all seven genes of this cluster are expressed and five have partially overlapping expression pattern including pharynx, intestine, certain neurons, the anal sphincter muscle, and male specific cells. Four genes from this cluster are conserved between C. elegans and C. briggsae.
We also found that a subset of genes in this cluster respond transcriptionally to fasting in tissue-specific patterns. These results reveal the diversification of the temporal, spatial, and metabolic gene expression patterns coupled with evolutionary drift within family of supplementary nuclear receptors.