PUBLICATION

Regulatory elements retained during chordate evolution: coming across tunicates

Authors
Vassalli, Q.A., Anishchenko, E., Caputi, L., Sordino, P., D'Aniello, S., Locascio, A.
ID
ZDB-PUB-191001-14
Date
2015
Source
Genesis (New York, N.Y. : 2000)   53: 66-81 (Review)
Registered Authors
Caputi, Luigi, D'Aniello, Salvatore, Sordino, Paolo
Keywords
gene clusters, homeobox-containing genes, non-coding elements, phylogenetic footprinting, transcription factors
MeSH Terms
  • Animals
  • Base Sequence
  • Biological Evolution*
  • Chordata/genetics*
  • Conserved Sequence
  • Gene Regulatory Networks
  • Genome
  • Genomics
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Multigene Family
  • Phylogeny
  • Regulatory Sequences, Nucleic Acid*
  • Urochordata/genetics*
PubMed
25394183 Full text @ Genesis
Abstract
Understanding the role of conserved noncoding elements (CNEs) throughout the genome is taking advantage of the improved efficiency of genome-sequencing techniques and bioinformatics tools. Tunicates diverged before the vertebrate whole genome duplications and, therefore, represent an optimal model system to study the evolution of complex regulatory networks. Here, we review the current knowledge on the characterization of CNEs during embryonic development, focusing on the evolutionary similarity and divergence between tunicates and other chordates. Many vertebrate specific CNEs that regulate developmental processes were identified based on high level of sequence conservation, but only few of them have been recognized in tunicates or other invertebrates because of genomic sequences divergence. We discuss recent studies demonstrating that a combination of different methodologies, based not only on high sequence identity, can collectively be used to identify CNEs with regulatory activity in phylogenetically distant species. Here, a low sequence constraints approach was successfully used to search orthologous chordate gene regions for cross-species conserved regulatory elements that control developmental genes.
Genes / Markers
Figures
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping