The where and wherefore of evolutionary breakpoints.
The 'action' in genome-level evolution lies not in the large gene-containing segments that are conserved among related species, but in the breakpoint regions between these segments. Two recent papers in BMC Genomics detail the pattern of repetitive elements associated with breakpoints and the epigenetic conditions under which breakage occurs.
Sankoff
David
D
Department of Mathematics, University of Ottawa, 585 King Edward Avenue, Ottawa K1N 6N5, Canada. sankoff@uottawa.ca
D000818:Animals; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D006801:Humans; D020071:Interspersed Repetitive Sequences; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D013045:Species Specificity
D004247:DNA