Meeting Abstract
The evolution of novel organ systems necessitates the evolution of regulatory architecture to facilitate the function of the new organ. Understanding the processes by which this architecture evolves can provide broad insight into the evolution of phenotypic and physiological novelty and demonstrate previously unknown genomic features important for gene regulation. However, most organ systems are exceptionally complex and are driven by the coordinated regulation of thousands of genes located throughout the genome, making detailed interrogation of regulatory mechanisms exceedingly challenging. The snake venom gland represents an ideal system in which interrogate hypotheses about the evolution of novel regulatory architecture as it exhibits precise and high-magnitude regulation of a comparatively small set of principal genes, evolved relatively recently, and is physiologically distinct from other snake organ tissues. Here, we leverage the snake venom gland system and multiple integrative genomic analyses including Hi-C sequencing to investigate the evolution of venom gene regulatory machinery and provide new perspectives on the interplay between the evolution of regulatory sequences and the three-dimensional regulation of genome architecture in driving novel patterns of gene expression. Specifically, we identify transcription factors and regulatory pathways that have likely been co-opted from non-venom tissues and rewired to regulate venom gene expression, in conjunction with new insight into the role of three-dimensional organization and interaction of chromosomes during venom gene regulation.
