Primate-specific evolution of an LDLR enhancer.
BACKGROUND
Sequence changes in regulatory regions have often been invoked to explain phenotypic divergence among species, but molecular examples of this have been difficult to obtain.


RESULTS
In this study we identified an anthropoid primate-specific sequence element that contributed to the regulatory evolution of the low-density lipoprotein receptor. Using a combination of close and distant species genomic sequence comparisons coupled with in vivo and in vitro studies, we found that a functional cholesterol-sensing sequence motif arose and was fixed within a pre-existing enhancer in the common ancestor of anthropoid primates.


CONCLUSIONS
Our study demonstrates one molecular mechanism by which ancestral mammalian regulatory elements can evolve to perform new functions in the primate lineage leading to human.
Wang
Qian-fei
QF
Genomics Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA. QFWang@lbl.gov
Prabhakar
Shyam
S
Wang
Qianben
Q
Moses
Alan M
AM
Chanan
Sumita
S
Brown
Myles
M
Eisen
Michael B
MB
Cheng
Jan-Fang
JF
Rubin
Edward M
EM
Boffelli
Dario
D
D020816:Amino Acid Motifs / Q000235:genetics*; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002460:Cell Line; D047369:Chromatin Immunoprecipitation; D019295:Computational Biology; D017124:Conserved Sequence / Q000235:genetics; D017931:DNA Primers; D004742:Enhancer Elements, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D011323:Primates / Q000235:genetics*; D011973:Receptors, LDL / Q000235:genetics*; D016415:Sequence Alignment
D017931:DNA Primers; D011973:Receptors, LDL