PUBLICATION

Dissecting the transcriptional regulatory properties of human chromosome 16 highly conserved non-coding regions

Authors
Royo, J.L., Hidalgo, C., Roncero, Y., Seda, M.A., Akalin, A., Lenhard, B., Casares, F., and Gómez-Skarmeta, J.L.
ID
ZDB-PUB-110922-4
Date
2011
Source
PLoS One   6(9): e24824 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Casares, Fernando, Gómez-Skarmeta, José Luis, Royo, Jose Luis
Keywords
none
MeSH Terms
  • Animals
  • Animals, Genetically Modified
  • Chromosomes, Human, Pair 16/genetics*
  • Conserved Sequence/genetics*
  • DNA/genetics*
  • Humans
  • Zebrafish/genetics
PubMed
21935474 Full text @ PLoS One
Abstract
Non-coding DNA conservation across species has been often used as a predictor for transcriptional enhancer activity. However, only a few systematic analyses of the function of these highly conserved non-coding regions (HCNRs) have been performed. Here we use zebrafish transgenic assays to perform a systematic study of 113 HCNRs from human chromosome 16. By comparing transient and stable transgenesis, we show that the first method is highly inefficient, leading to 40% of false positives and 20% of false negatives. When analyzed in stable transgenic lines, a great majority of HCNRs were active in the central nervous system, although some of them drove expression in other organs such as the eye and the excretory system. Finally, by testing a fraction of the HCNRs lacking enhancer activity for in vivo insulator activity, we find that 20% of them may contain enhancer-blocking function. Altogether our data indicate that HCNRs may contain different types of cis-regulatory activity, including enhancer, insulators as well as other not yet discovered functions.
Genes / Markers
Figures
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Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping