Unknown to Known: Advancing Knowledge of Coral Gene Function

Publication date: Available online 24 December 2019Source: Trends in GeneticsAuthor(s): Phillip A. Cleves, Alexander Shumaker, JunMo Lee, Hollie M. Putnam, Debashish BhattacharyaGiven the catastrophic changes befalling coral reefs, understanding coral gene function is essential to advance reef conservation. This has proved challenging due to the paucity of genomic data and genetic tools available for corals. Recently, CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing was applied to these species; however, a major bottleneck is the identification and prioritization of candidate genes for manipulation. This issue is exacerbated by the many unknown (‘dark’) coral genes that may play key roles in the stress response. We review the use of gene coexpression networks that incorporate both known and unknown genes to identify targets for reverse genetic analysis. This approach also provides a framework for the annotation of dark genes in established interaction networks to improve our fundamental knowledge of coral gene function.

Source: Trends in Genetics - December 25, 2019 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Source Type: research