REST, a master regulator of neurogenesis, evolved under strong positive selection in humans and in non human primates.

ABSTRACT: The transcriptional repressor REST regulates many neuronal genes by binding RE1 motifs. About one third of human RE1s are recently evolved and specific to primates. As changes in the activity of a transcription factor reverberate on its downstream targets, we assessed whether REST displays fast evolutionary rates in primates. We show that REST was targeted by very strong positive selection during primate evolution. Positive selection was also evident in the human lineage, with six selected sites located in a region that surrounds a VNTR in exon 4. Analysis of expression data indicated that REST brain expression peaks during aging in humans but not in other primates. Because a REST coding variant (rs3796529) was previously associated with protection from hippocampal atrophy in elderly subje

SUBMITTER: Mozzi A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5573535 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature