Dataset Information

Comparative analysis of tandem repeats from hundreds of species reveals unique insights into centromere evolution.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Centromeres are essential for chromosome segregation, yet their DNA sequences evolve rapidly. In most animals and plants that have been studied, centromeres contain megabase-scale arrays of tandem repeats. Despite their importance, very little is known about the degree to which centromere tandem repeats share common properties between different species across different phyla. We used bioinformatic methods to identify high-copy tandem repeats from 282 species using publicly available genomic sequence and our own data. RESULTS:Our methods are compatible with all current sequencing technologies. Long Pacific Biosciences sequence reads allowed us to find tandem repeat monomers up to 1,419 bp. We assumed that the most abundant tandem repeat is the centromere DNA, which was true for most species whose centromeres have been previously characterized, suggesting this is a general property of genomes. High-copy centromere tandem repeats were found in almost all animal and plant genomes, but repeat monomers were highly variable in sequence composition and length. Furthermore, phylogenetic analysis of sequence homology showed little evidence of sequence conservation beyond approximately 50 million years of divergence. We find that despite an overall lack of sequence conservation, centromere tandem repeats from diverse species showed similar modes of evolution. CONCLUSIONS:While centromere position in most eukaryotes is epigenetically determined, our results indicate that tandem repeats are highly prevalent at centromeres of both animal and plant genomes. This suggests a functional role for such repeats, perhaps in promoting concerted evolution of centromere DNA across chromosomes.

SUBMITTER: Melters DP

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4053949 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Comparative analysis of tandem repeats from hundreds of species reveals unique insights into centromere evolution.

Melters Daniël P DP Bradnam Keith R KR Young Hugh A HA Telis Natalie N May Michael R MR Ruby J Graham JG Sebra Robert R Peluso Paul P Eid John J Rank David D Garcia José Fernando JF DeRisi Joseph L JL Smith Timothy T Tobias Christian C Ross-Ibarra Jeffrey J Korf Ian I Chan Simon W L SW

Genome biology 20130130 1

<h4>Background</h4>Centromeres are essential for chromosome segregation, yet their DNA sequences evolve rapidly. In most animals and plants that have been studied, centromeres contain megabase-scale arrays of tandem repeats. Despite their importance, very little is known about the degree to which centromere tandem repeats share common properties between different species across different phyla. We used bioinformatic methods to identify high-copy tandem repeats from 282 species using publicly ava ...[more]

PMID: 23363705

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Project description:DNA tandem repeats, or satellites, are well described in eukaryotic species, but little is known about their prevalence across prokaryotes. Here, we performed the most complete characterization to date of satellites in bacteria. We identified 121,638 satellites from 12,233 fully sequenced and assembled bacterial genomes with a very uneven distribution. We also determined the families of satellites which have a related sequence. There are 85 genomes that are particularly satellite rich and contain several families of satellites of yet unknown function. Interestingly, we only found two main types of noncoding satellites, depending on their repeat sizes, 22/44 or 52 nucleotides (nt). An intriguing feature is the constant size of the repeats in the genomes of different species, whereas their sequences show no conservation. Individual species also have several families of satellites with the same repeat length and different sequences. This result is in marked contrast with previous findings in eukaryotes, where noncoding satellites of many sizes are found in any species investigated. We describe in greater detail these noncoding satellites in the spirochete Leptospira interrogans and in several bacilli. These satellites undoubtedly play a specific role in the species which have acquired them. We discuss the possibility that they represent binding sites for transcription factors not previously described or that they are involved in the stabilization of the nucleoid through interaction with proteins.IMPORTANCE We found an enigmatic group of noncoding satellites in 85 bacterial genomes with a constant repeat size but variable sequence. This pattern of DNA organization is unique and had not been previously described in bacteria. These findings strongly suggest that satellite size in some bacteria is under strong selective constraints and thus that satellites are very likely to play a fundamental role. We also provide a list and properties of all satellites in 12,233 genomes, which may be used for further genomic analysis.

Dataset Information

Comparative analysis of tandem repeats from hundreds of species reveals unique insights into centromere evolution.

Publications

Comparative analysis of tandem repeats from hundreds of species reveals unique insights into centromere evolution.

Similar Datasets

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