Close head-to-head juxtaposition of genes favors their coordinate regulation in Drosophila melanogaster.
This report identifies a large number of gene-pairs in Drosophila melanogaster that share a common upstream region. 877 gene-pairs (approximately 12% of the genome) are separated by less than 350 bp in a head-to-head orientation. This positional relationship is more highly favored in flies than in other organisms. These gene pairs have a higher correlation of expression than similarly spaced genes that have head-to-tail or tail-to-tail orientations. Thus, the positional arrangement of genes appears to play a significant role in coordinating relative expression patterns and may provide clues for identifying the functions of unknown genes.
Herr
Deron R
DR
Department of Biology and Molecular Biology Institute, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA 92182-4614, USA. dherr@sunstroke.sdsu.edu
Harris
Greg L
GL
D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000235:genetics; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000235:genetics*; D016678:Genome; D006801:Humans; D007438:Introns / Q000235:genetics; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000235:genetics; D013045:Species Specificity; D013107:Sphingolipids / Q000378:metabolism
D013107:Sphingolipids