Modular evolution of DNA-binding preference of a Tbrain transcription factor provides a mechanism for modifying gene regulatory networks.

ABSTRACT: Gene regulatory networks (GRNs) describe the progression of transcriptional states that take a single-celled zygote to a multicellular organism. It is well documented that GRNs can evolve extensively through mutations to cis-regulatory modules (CRMs). Transcription factor proteins that bind these CRMs may also evolve to produce novelty. Coding changes are considered to be rarer, however, because transcription factors are multifunctional and hence are more constrained to evolve in ways that will not produce widespread detrimental effects. Recent technological advances have unearthed a surprising variation in DNA-binding abilities, such that individual transcription factors may recognize both a preferred primary motif and an additional secondary motif. This provides a source of modularity in

SUBMITTER: Cheatle Jarvela AM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4166925 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature