Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Heger P
PROVIDER: S-EPMC3491479 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Oct
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Heger Peter P Marin Birger B Bartkuhn Marek M Schierenberg Einhard E Wiehe Thomas T
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20121008 43
The great majority of metazoans belong to bilaterian phyla. They diversified during a short interval in Earth's history known as the Cambrian explosion, ~540 million years ago. However, the genetic basis of these events is poorly understood. Here we argue that the vertebrate genome organizer CTCF (CCCTC-binding factor) played an important role for the evolution of bilaterian animals. We provide evidence that the CTCF protein and a genome-wide abundance of CTCF-specific binding motifs are unique ...[more]