RNA-seq of GFP positive and negative fractions of zebrafish transgenic cell lines of sea sponge enhancers
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ABSTRACT: To investigate the activity of sponge enhancers in vertebrates transgenic experiments was performed where sponge enhancers were inserted into zebrafish embryos and stable lines generated abstract: Transcription factors (TFs) bind DNA enhancer sequences to regulate gene transcription in animals. Unlike TFs, the evolution of enhancers has been difficult to trace because of their fast evolution. Here, we take enhancers in the sponge Amphimedon queenslandica and test their activity in zebrafish and mouse. Of the five sponge enhancers assessed, three were located in conserved syntenic gene regions that are unique to animals (Islet–Scaper, Ccne1–Uri, Tdrd3–Diaph3). Despite diverging over 700 million years ago and a dearth of sequence identity, sponge enhancers are able to drive cell type-specific reporter gene expression in vertebrates. Analysis of the type and frequency of TF binding motifs in the sponge Islet enhancer allowed for the identification of homologous enhancers in human and mouse, which show remarkably similar reporter expression patterns to the sponge enhancer. These findings uncover an unexpected deep conservation of enhancers and suggest that enhancers established early in metazoan evolution can remain functional through retention of combinations of transcription factor binding motifs despite substantial sequence divergence.
INSTRUMENT(S): NextSeq 500
ORGANISM(S): Danio rerio
SUBMITTER: Emily Wong
PROVIDER: E-MTAB-7846 | biostudies-arrayexpress |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-arrayexpress
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