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Selective conservation of an E‐protein gene promoter during vertebrate evolution
Author(s) -
Shain Daniel H.,
Zuber Mauricio X.,
Norris Jeff,
Yoo Jakyoung,
Neuman Toomas
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
febs letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.593
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1873-3468
pISSN - 0014-5793
DOI - 10.1016/s0014-5793(98)01417-3
Subject(s) - vertebrate , gene , biology , genetics , evolutionary biology
The murine E‐protein gene ME1 encodes a non‐tissue‐specific, helix‐loop‐helix transcription factor that is associated with morphological development. ME1 gene expression is regulated by a TATA‐less promoter that contains multiple Sp1 consensus elements, E‐boxes, and a novel transcription initiation site. In this study, we compared DNA homologous to the ME1 promoter from vertebrate species ranging from frog to human. A region of striking sequence similarity was identified in a region corresponding to the ME1 transcription initiation site (ME1 Inr). Within this region, a poly d(A) tract and a 9‐bp inverted repeat (5′‐GTCCGCCTG) were highly conserved in all species that were examined. Protein complexes that recognized these DNA elements were present among distant vertebrates (frog, chick, monkey and human), and were able to bend the ME1 Inr to a similar extent (∼60°) as the previously described murine MBPα and MBPβ proteins. Collectively, these results suggest that an ME1 Inr‐like element and its associated proteins functioned in an ancestral vertebrate more than 350 million years ago.