Open AccessEnhancer-driven alternative promoters of imprinted genes
Author(s) -
Joomyeong Kim,
Bambarendage P. U. Perera,
Subash Ghimire
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0208421
Subject(s) - promoter , enhancer , h3k4me3 , biology , genomic imprinting , genetics , gene , gene expression , dna methylation
In the current study, we characterized the expression and histone modification profiles of the alternative promoters found within imprinted Igf2r , Mest , Zac1 , Peg3 , Snrpn and non-imprinted Myc loci. In terms of expression pattern, the alternative promoters are highly tissue-specific, which is in a stark contrast to the ubiquitous expression of the corresponding main promoters. The alternative promoters are associated with the histone modification mark H3K4me1, but not with H3K4me3, which is frequently associated with the main promoters. Phylogenetic analyses also indicated that the majority of the alternative promoters are unique to the mammalian lineage, further suggesting the recent formation of these promoters during mammalian evolution. Overall, this study suggests that the alternative promoters of imprinted loci may have been derived from enhancers in recent evolutionary times and co-evolved with the genomic imprinting mechanism.