Patterns of gene co-expression evolution throughout development in the Drosophila pseudoobscura group. Kawther Abdilleh, Carlos Machado. Department of Biology, Univ Maryland, College Park, MD.

   Gene co-expression analyses are proven methods used to determine correlated expression patterns from high-throughput gene expression data. Here, using a developmental time-course microarray dataset for D. pseudoobscura and D. persimilis, we compare the expression profiles of genes expressed throughout development in both males and females of these species. We find that genes showing patterns of statistically correlated expression profiles cluster together and share common molecular functions and participate in similar biological processes. Further, our results suggest that clusters consisting of housekeeping genes more often than not also physically cluster together on chromosomes. Intraspecific comparisons between the sexes suggests a correlation between expression level, sex-bias and cluster membership such that genes highly expressed in one sex are overrepresented in certain clusters. Taken together, our results here provide further insights into interspecific and sex-biased gene co-expression evolution.