Researchers used long-read sequencing to examine the evolution of short tandem repeats and variable number tandem repeats, series of repeating nucleotide sequences that are among the most unstable genetic regions, in 6 human haplotypes and 3 nonhuman primate species, and found 1,584 tandem repeats that expanded during human evolution; the study also hints at mechanisms by which expanded tandem repeats arise as well as associations between expanded tandem repeats and differential gene expression in human and chimpanzee brain cell types.
Article #19-12175: "Human-specific tandem repeat expansion and differential gene expression during primate evolution," by Arvis Sulovari et al.
MEDIA CONTACTS: Evan E. Eichler, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA; e-mail: eee@gs.washington.edu ; Arvis Sulovari, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA; e-mail: arvis@uw.edu
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences