Ultraconserved cDNA segments in the human transcriptome exhibit resistance to folding and implicate function in translation and alternative splicing.

ABSTRACT: Ultraconservation, defined as perfect human-to-rodent sequence identity at least 200-bp long, is a strong indicator of evolutionary and functional importance and has been explored extensively at the genome level. However, it has not been investigated at the transcript level, where such extreme conservation might highlight loci with important post-transcriptional regulatory roles. We present 96 ultraconserved cDNA segments (UCSs), stretches of human mature mRNAs that match identically with orthologous regions in the mouse and rat genomes. UCSs can span multiple exons, a feature we leverage here to elucidate the role of ultraconservation in post-transcriptional regulation. UCS sites are implicated in functions at essentially every post-transcriptional stage: pre-mRNA splicing and degradation

SUBMITTER: Sathirapongsasuti JF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3064809 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature