PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - David L. Des Marais
AU  - Rafael F. Guerrero
AU  - Jesse R. Lasky
AU  - Samuel V. Scarpino
TI  - Topological features of gene regulatory networks predict patterns of natural diversity in environmental response
AID  - 10.1101/080804
DP  - 2016 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 080804
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2016/10/13/080804.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2016/10/13/080804.full
AB  - Molecular interactions affect the evolution of complex traits. For instance, adaptation may be constrained by pleiotropic or epistatic effects, both of which will be reflected in the structure of molecular interaction networks. To date, empirical studies investigating the role of molecular interactions in phenotypic evolution have been idiosyncratic, offering no clear patterns. Here, we investigated the network topology of genes putatively involved in local adaptation to two abiotic stressors—drought and cold—in Arabidopsis thaliana. Our findings suggest that the gene-interaction topologies for both cold and drought stress response are non-random, with genes that show genetic variation in drought response (GxE) being significantly more peripheral and cold response genes being significantly more central than genes not involved in either response. We suggest that the observed topologies reflect different constraints on the genetic pathways involved in the assayed phenotypes. The approach presented here may inform predictive models linking genetic variation in molecular signaling networks with phenotypic variation, specifically traits involved in environmental response.