Dear Colleagues,

Gene expression represents an important link between the information stored in the genome sequence and organismal phenotypes, such as physiology, development, or behaviour. Regulation of this process relies on a complex interplay of different mechanisms, such as genome architecture, chromatin accessibility, epigenetic DNA and histone modifications, transcription factor-DNA interactions and post-transcriptional regulation. Therefore, mechanisms of gene regulation can be studied using various experimental and computational approaches. Many studies focus on one aspect of gene regulation, for example differential gene expression or methylation between different sexes or developmental stages. However, the increasing accessibility of genome wide datasets and the constant development of bioinformatic tools now facilitate investigating different gene regulatory mechanisms simultaneously.

In this Special Issue, we aim to compile review and perspective articles, as well as original research that highlight the power of data integration to address timely questions in arthropod biology. We encourage submissions that report or discuss the application of multiple methods and datasets, such as comparative and functional genomics, functional bioinformatics, molecular evolution, and quantitative and population genetics. While pure theoretical population or phylogenetic approaches are out of scope for this special issue, we welcome submissions that integrate such theoretical methods to study the evolution of gene regulation and function in arthropods.

Dr. Nico Posnien
Dr. Sonja Grath
Guest Editors

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• molecular evolution
• functional genomics
• functional bioinformatics
• multi-omics data integration
• gene expression
• gene regulation