Correlated variation and population differentiation in satellite DNA abundance among lines of Drosophila melanogaster.

ABSTRACT: Tandemly repeating satellite DNA elements in heterochromatin occupy a substantial portion of many eukaryotic genomes. Although often characterized as genomic parasites deleterious to the host, they also can be crucial for essential processes such as chromosome segregation. Adding to their interest, satellite DNA elements evolve at high rates; among Drosophila, closely related species often differ drastically in both the types and abundances of satellite repeats. However, due to technical challenges, the evolutionary mechanisms driving this rapid turnover remain unclear. Here we characterize natural variation in simple-sequence repeats of 2-10 bp from inbred Drosophila melanogaster lines derived from multiple populations, using a method we developed called k-Seek that analyzes unassembled I

SUBMITTER: Wei KH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4284603 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature