Rapid evolution of gene expression patterns in flowering plants

Abstract

Phenotypic differences between species are largely driven by changes in both protein-coding sequence and gene expression1. The evolutionary history of angiosperms (flowering plants) is characterised by a highly accelerated rate of diversification, which Darwin referred to as an “abominable mystery”2. Here we show, by analysing the transcriptomes from eight organs across seven species, that angiosperm protein-coding gene expression patterns evolve rapidly: within 45 million years, expression levels of orthologous genes diverged so strongly that they are more similar between different organs within a species than between what are considered homologous organs from different species. This finding differs from previous observations in mammals, which demonstrated that organ-dependent gene expression levels are largely conserved3, 4, 5. Among the angiosperm organs, meristems and leaves show the highest degree of expression conservation, whereas stamen and pollen transcriptomes diverge rapidly. Examining changes in the expression level of functionally related genes, we found low rates for those involved in key cellular, metabolic and developmental processes. In contrast, particularly high rates were observed for genes that are involved in the response to endogenous and external stimuli, presumably reflecting an adaptive response of flowering plants to ever-changing environments. Our work reveals that the evolution of gene expression progresses at different rates in angiosperms and mammals, and provides a comprehensive resource to perform cross-kingdom comparative studies of transcriptome evolution.