Role of noncoding regions in de novo gene birth

 Anne Lopes (I2BC – Univ. Paris-Saclay)

Résumé/Short abstract

The model of duplication-divergence has long been recognized as a major contributor to novel eukaryotic genes, and therefore to eukaryote evolution. However, recent advances in OMICS technologies and comparative genomics have revealed a new role of noncoding regions in genome evolution. It is now evident that noncoding regions are extensively expressed and provide a significant source of novel protein products. While a substantial fraction of this “transient translatome” lacks a selective signal and is expected to have a short lifespan in evolution, some of these newly expressed peptides likely affect the biology, fitness, and phenotype of the organism and may be fixed by evolution, thus contributing to the emergence of novel genes (i.e., de novo genes). However, the sequence and structural properties of these unevolved products and the mechanisms governing their production until fixation remain poorly understood. In the team, we have developed integrative approaches based on comparative genomics, structural bioinformatics and OMICS data to characterize these freely evolving ORFs and the transitory stages underlying the emergence of novel protein products. In my presentation, I will discuss how our approaches, combined with ancestral reconstruction of hundreds of de novo gene sequences, have allowed us to propose a model for the emergence of de novo genes from noncoding regions

Mini-biographie/Short bio

As an Associate Professor at Université Paris-Saclay - I2BC, my research aims to explore the strategies undertaken by organisms to adapt to their environments. Roughly, molecular innovation involves different parts of biological networks: novel nodes, such as new genes and their associated protein products, or novel edges that reflect the emergence of new protein interactions. Therefore, in the team, we develop integrative computational methods that combine structural, evolutionary, and OMICS data to investigate the role of (i) noncoding regions in the emergence of novel coding products and (ii) protein surfaces in the formation of novel protein interactions.

jeudi 25 mai 2023, 11h

Auditorium 442