Pervasive divergence of transcriptional gene regulation in Caenorhabditis nematodes.

ABSTRACT: Because there is considerable variation in gene expression even between closely related species, it is clear that gene regulatory mechanisms evolve relatively rapidly. Because primary sequence conservation is an unreliable proxy for functional conservation of cis-regulatory elements, their assessment must be carried out in vivo. We conducted a survey of cis-regulatory conservation between C. elegans and closely related species C. briggsae, C. remanei, C. brenneri, and C. japonica. We tested enhancers of eight genes from these species by introducing them into C. elegans and analyzing the expression patterns they drove. Our results support several notable conclusions. Most exogenous cis elements direct expression in the same cells as their C. elegans orthologs, confirming gross conservation

SUBMITTER: Barriere A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4072541 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature