Classical population genetics and evolutionary genetics generally treats genes in isolation. In contrast, most of what we know about gene function from cell and developmental studies indicates that genes depend on physical interactions of diverse kinds that are essential to their function. Remarkably, almost nothing is known about how natural genetic variation affects gene interactions, their impact on regulatory function, and the resulting variation in organismal traits and fitness. We are measuring these properties in the embryonic gene regulatory network of the purple sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus). The detailed information that exists about the organization and molecular function of this network makes it an unusually powerful system for analyzing the heritability of gene expression traits, the influence of network topology on expression trait variation, the relationship between variation in molecular function and organismal traits, and the molecular basis for gene network robustness in the face of environmental perturbations.

POPULATION AND EVOLUTIONARY GENETICS OF A GENE NETWORK

Genetic correlations in expression level in the embryonic gene regulatory network of S. purpuratus. Interactions among genes are not all equal. Shown here is one analysis of correlation coefficients among expression levels for known interactions among 73 genes (line color and thickness indicates correlation coefficient and sign). Some interactions are effectively Boolean in nature, others approximate a linear relationship. A significant portion of variation in some, but not all, interactions is heritable. All of these characteristics change across development.

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