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Evolution is driven by gene regulation
August 10, 2007New Haven, Conn. - It is not just what's in your genes, it's how you turn them on that accounts for the difference between species - at least in yeast - according to a report by Yale researchers in this week's issue of Science.
"We've known for a while that the protein coding genes of humans and chimpanzees are about 99 percent the same," said senior author Michael Snyder, the Cullman Professor of Molecular Cellular and Developmental Biology at Yale. "The challenge for biologists is accounting for what causes the substantial difference between the person and the chimp."
Comparing gene regulation across similar organisms has been difficult because the nucleotide sequence of DNA regulatory regions, or promoters, are more variable than the sequences of their corresponding protein-coding regions, making them harder to identify by standard computer comparisons.
"While many molecules that bind DNA regulatory regions have been identified as transcription factors mediating gene regulation, we have now shown that we can functionally map these interactions and identify the specific targeted promoters," said Snyder. "We were startled to find that even the closely related species of yeast had extensively differing patterns of regulation."
In this study, the authors found the DNA binding sites by aiming at their function, rather than their sequence. First, they isolated transcription factors that were specifically bound to DNA at their promoter sites. Then, they analyzed the sequences that were isolated to determine the similarities and differences in regulatory regions between the different species.
"By using a group of closely and more distantly related yeast whose sequences were well documented, we were able to see functional differences that had been invisible to researchers before," said Snyder. "We expect that this approach will get us closer to understanding the balance between gene content and gene regulation in the question of human-chimp diversity."
Yale University
Gene Regulation Current Events and Gene Regulation News RSSTechnique finds gene regulatory sites without knowledge of regulators
A new statistical technique developed by researchers at the University of Illinois allows scientists to scan a genome for specific gene-regulatory regions without requiring prior knowledge of the relevant transcription factors.
New research into the mechanisms of gene regulation
A team led by Penn State's Ross Hardison, T. Ming Chu Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, has taken a large step toward unraveling how regulatory proteins control the production of gene products during development and growth.
Researchers 'notch' a victory toward new kind of cancer drug
Scientists have devised an innovative way to disarm a key protein considered to be "undruggable," meaning that all previous efforts to develop a drug against it have failed.
How RNA polymerase II gets the go-ahead for gene transcription
All cells perform certain basic functions. Each must selectively transcribe parts of the DNA that makes up its genome into RNAs that specify the structure of proteins.
Launch of the first standard graphical notation for biology
Researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory's European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) and their colleagues in 30 labs worldwide have released a new set of standards for graphically representing biological information - the biology equivalent of the circuit diagram in electronics.
Caltech scientists help launch the first standard graphical notation for biology
Researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and their colleagues in 30 laboratories worldwide have released a new set of standards for graphically representing biological information-the biology equivalent of the circuit diagram in electronics.
Scientists find universal rules for food-web stability
The findings, published in this week's issue of Science, conclude that food-web stability is enhanced when many diverse predator-prey links connect high and intermediate trophic levels.
Algebra adds value to mathematical biology education
As mathematics continues to become an increasingly important component in undergraduate biology programs, a more comprehensive understanding of the use of algebraic models is needed by the next generation of biologists to facilitate new advances in the life sciences, according to researchers at Sweet Briar College and the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute (VBI) at Virginia Tech.
Cancer's distinctive pattern of gene expression could aid early screening and prevention
Distinctive patterns of genes turned off - or left on - in healthy versus cancerous cells could enable early screening for many common cancers and maybe help avoid them, Medical College of Georgia scientists say.
Small molecules mimic natural gene regulators
In the quest for new approaches to treating and preventing disease, one appealing route involves turning genes on or off at will, directly intervening in ailments such as cancer and diabetes, which result when genes fail to turn on and off as they should.
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