Drosophila functional elements are embedded in structurally constrained sequences.

ABSTRACT: Modern functional genomics uncovered numerous functional elements in metazoan genomes. Nevertheless, only a small fraction of the typical non-exonic genome contains elements that code for function directly. On the other hand, a much larger fraction of the genome is associated with significant evolutionary constraints, suggesting that much of the non-exonic genome is weakly functional. Here we show that in flies, local (30-70 bp) conserved sequence elements that are associated with multiple regulatory functions serve as focal points to a pattern of punctuated regional increase in G/C nucleotide frequencies. We show that this pattern, which covers a region tenfold larger than the conserved elements themselves, is an evolutionary consequence of a shift in the balance between gain and loss of

SUBMITTER: Kenigsberg E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3671938 | biostudies-literature | 2013 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature