title: Clues to function in gene deserts.
abstract: Recent work by Ivan Ovcharenko and colleagues has shed new light on the functional importance of gene deserts. They demonstrate that sequence conservation levels separate gene deserts into stable (more conserved) and variable classes. Both classes exhibit characteristics suggestive of function. The stable deserts in particular show features suggesting a role in the complex regulation of core vertebrate genes.
authors.affiliation: Center for Comparative Genomics and Bioinformatics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA. james.bx.psu.edu
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Taylor
mesh_terms: D021901:DNA, Intergenic / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D015894:Genome, Human; D006801:Humans; D016366:Open Reading Frames / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D021901:DNA, Intergenic