Modelling the evolution of transcription factor binding preferences in complex eukaryotes.

ABSTRACT: Transcription factors (TFs) exert their regulatory action by binding to DNA with specific sequence preferences. However, different TFs can partially share their binding sequences due to their common evolutionary origin. This "redundancy" of binding defines a way of organizing TFs in "motif families" by grouping TFs with similar binding preferences. Since these ultimately define the TF target genes, the motif family organization entails information about the structure of transcriptional regulation as it has been shaped by evolution. Focusing on the human TF repertoire, we show that a one-parameter evolutionary model of the Birth-Death-Innovation type can explain the TF empirical repartition in motif families, and allows to highlight the relevant evolutionary forces at the origin of this org

SUBMITTER: Rosanova A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5548724 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature