Functional roles of Aves class-specific cis-regulatory elements on macroevolution of bird-specific features.

ABSTRACT: Unlike microevolutionary processes, little is known about the genetic basis of macroevolutionary processes. One of these magnificent examples is the transition from non-avian dinosaurs to birds that has created numerous evolutionary innovations such as self-powered flight and its associated wings with flight feathers. By analysing 48 bird genomes, we identified millions of avian-specific highly conserved elements (ASHCEs) that predominantly (>99%) reside in non-coding regions. Many ASHCEs show differential histone modifications that may participate in regulation of limb development. Comparative embryonic gene expression analyses across tetrapod species suggest ASHCE-associated genes have unique roles in developing avian limbs. In particular, we demonstrate how the ASHCE driven avian-specif

SUBMITTER: Seki R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5473641 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature