The origin and evolution of maternal genes

Abstract

Proteins and RNA molecules are deposited into the developing egg by the mother. These gene products will drive the first stages of development and are coded by maternal genes. Maternal genes are essential, yet, despite their importance, their evolutionary dynamics is largely unknown. Here I review the current knowledge of maternal gene evolution. The evolutionary origin of maternal genes tends to be more recent than that of zygotic genes. Some studies support the theoretical prediction that maternal genes evolve faster than zygotic genes. However, most studies were done on a limited set of species and genes. I also discuss the way forward to understand the evolution of maternal genes by combining high-throughput genomics and theoretical evolutionary approaches.