Gene networks controlling development: convergent evolution or how network function shapes network structure

par Prof. Olivier MARTIN (INRA)

mercredi 11 févr. 2015, 11:00 → 12:00 Europe/Paris

Amphithéâtre Léon Motchane (IHES)

Many cellular and developmental processes are tightly controlled by regulatory logic that is similar across different species. Is this similarity the result of common ancestry or is it due to convergent evolution?
We address this question using in silico modeling of genetic networks controlling organ development in flowers. First, we determine the number of networks implementing a given logic and point to an open mathematical problem. Second, we take a computational approach based on Markov Chain Monte Carlo and sample uniformity that highly constrained space of networks. The production of a large number of samples in that ensemble reveals how structural features of genetic networks are shaped by the imposed regulatory logic. Thus, network structural features are expected to be shared across different species through convergent evolution.