Molecular Biology and Evolution, Vol 13, 471-482, Copyright © 1996 by Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution
AG Clark, BG Leicht and SV Muse
A nearly universal feature of intron sequences is that even closely related
species exhibit a large number of insertion/deletion differences. The goal
of the analysis described here is to test whether the observed pattern of
insertion/deletion events in the genealogy of the myosin alkali light chain
(Mlc1) gene is consistent with neutrality, and if not, to determine the
underlying forces of evolutionary change. Mlc1 pre-mRNA is alternatively
spliced, and one constraint is that signals necessary for
tissue-specificity of directed splicing must be conserved. If the total
length of an intron is functionally constrained, then the distribution of
indels on branches of the gene genealogy should reflect a departure from
randomness. Here we perform a phylogenetic analysis, inferring ancestral
states wherever possible on a phylogeny of 29 alleles of Mlc1 from six
species of Drosophila. Observed patterns of indels on the genealogy were
compared to those from simulated data, with the result that we cannot
reject the null hypothesis of neutrality. A clear departure from a neutral
prediction was seen in the excess folding free energy predicted for the
introns flanking the alternatively spliced exon. Relative rate tests also
suggest a retardation in the rate of Mlc1 sequence evolution in the
simulans clade.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Length variation and secondary structure of introns in the Mlc1 gene in six species of Drosophila
Department of Biology, Institute of Molecular Evolutionary Genetics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park 16802, USA. c92@psuvm.psu.edu
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