Wild worm embryogenesis harbors ubiquitous polygenic modifier variation

Abstract
Article and author information
Metrics

Abstract

Embryogenesis is an essential and stereotypic process that nevertheless evolves among species. Its essentiality may favor the accumulation of cryptic genetic variation (CGV) that has no effect in the wild-type but that enhances or suppresses the effects of rare disruptions to gene function. Here, we adapted a classical modifier screen to interrogate the alleles segregating in natural populations of C. elegans: we induced gene knockdowns and used quantitative genetic methodology to examine how segregating variants modify the penetrance of embryonic lethality. Each perturbation revealed CGV, indicating that wild-type genomes harbor myriad genetic modifiers that may have little effect individually but which in aggregate can dramatically influence penetrance. Phenotypes were mediated by many modifiers, indicating high polygenicity, but the alleles tend to act very specifically, indicating low pleiotropy. Our findings demonstrate the extent of conditional functionality in complex trait architecture.

Article and author information

Author details

Annalise B Paaby

Department of Biology and Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, New York University, New York, United States

For correspondence
apaaby@nyu.edu

Competing interests
The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
Amelia G White

Department of Biology and Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, New York University, New York, United States

Competing interests
The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
David D Riccardi

Department of Biology and Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, New York University, New York, United States

Competing interests
The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
Kristin C Gunsalus

Department of Biology and Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, New York University, New York, United States

Competing interests
The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
Fabio Piano

Department of Biology and Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, New York University, New York, United States

Competing interests
The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
Matthew V Rockman

Department of Biology and Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, New York University, New York, United States

Competing interests
The authors declare that no competing interests exist.

Copyright

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.