Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25778704›Full record

ArticleNature2015

Selection on noise constrains variation in a eukaryotic promoter.

Brian P H Metzger, David C Yuan, Jonathan D Gruber, Fabien Duveau, Patricia J Wittkopp

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 103 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
103citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
18.5field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

103 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 168 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  7. bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026
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  10. bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025
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  13. ASPEN: Robust detection of allelic dynamics in single cell RNA-seq.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025
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  14. Article
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43 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Brian P H MetzgerDepartment of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA.
David C YuanDepartment of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA.
Jonathan D GruberDepartment of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA.
Fabien DuveauDepartment of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA.
Patricia J Wittkopp1] Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA [2] Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA.
University of Michigan–Ann Arbor · US

Funding

University of Michigan Training Program in Genomic ScienceT32HG000040 · NHGRI · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · PI Sebastian Zoellner · 1995 to 2026
$16.4M
PREDOCTORAL TRAINING IN GENETICST32GM007544 · NIGMS · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · PI MORAN, JOHN V. · 1985 to 2022
$11.3M
Evolution of Gene Expression in YeastR01GM108826 · NIGMS · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · PI WITTKOPP, PATRICIA JEAN · 2013 to 2015
$865k
Investigating compensatory mechanisms for gene expression in the yeast genomeF32GM083513 · NIGMS · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · PI GRUBER, JONATHAN DAVID · 2008 to 2010
$143k
NHGRI NIH HHS T32 HG000040NHGRI NIH HHS T32HG000040NIGMS NIH HHS 1 F32 GM083513-0NIGMS NIH HHS 1R01GM108826NIGMS NIH HHS F32 GM083513NIGMS NIH HHS R01 GM108826NIGMS NIH HHS T32 GM007544
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Genetic variation segregating within a species reflects the combined activities of mutation, selection, and genetic drift. In the absence of selection, polymorphisms are expected to be a random subset of new mutations; thus, comparing the effects of polymorphisms and new mutations provides a test for selection. When evidence of selection exists, such comparisons can identify properties of mutations that are most likely to persist in natural populations. Here we investigate how mutation and selection have shaped variation in a cis-regulatory sequence controlling gene expression by empirically determining the effects of polymorphisms segregating in the TDH3 promoter among 85 strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and comparing their effects to a distribution of mutational effects defined by 236 point mutations in the same promoter. Surprisingly, we find that selection on expression noise (that is, variability in expression among genetically identical cells) appears to have had a greater impact on sequence variation in the TDH3 promoter than selection on mean expression level. This is not necessarily because variation in expression noise impacts fitness more than variation in mean expression level, but rather because of differences in the distributions of mutational effects for these two phenotypes. This study shows how systematically examining the effects of new mutations can enrich our understanding of evolutionary mechanisms. It also provides rare empirical evidence of selection acting on expression noise.

Indexed as

Evolution, MolecularGene Expression Regulation, FungalGlyceraldehyde-3-Phosphate Dehydrogenase (Phosphorylating)MutationPhenotypePolymorphism, GeneticPromoter Regions, GeneticSaccharomyces cerevisiaeSaccharomyces cerevisiae ProteinsSelection, GeneticGlyceraldehyde-3-Phosphate Dehydrogenase (Phosphorylating)Saccharomyces cerevisiae ProteinsTDH3 protein, S cerevisiae

Identifiers

PMID25778704
PMCPMC4455047
OpenAlexW1969274403

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.