Ultraconserved Elements Occupy Specific Arenas of Three-Dimensional Mammalian Genome Organization

Summary: This study explores the relationship between three-dimensional genome organization and ultraconserved elements (UCEs), an enigmatic set of DNA elements that are perfectly conserved between the reference genomes of distantly related species. Examining both human and mouse genomes, we interro...

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Main Authors: Ruth B. McCole, Jelena Erceg, Wren Saylor, Chao-ting Wu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2018-07-01
Series:Cell Reports
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211124718309410
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author Ruth B. McCole
Jelena Erceg
Wren Saylor
Chao-ting Wu
author_facet Ruth B. McCole
Jelena Erceg
Wren Saylor
Chao-ting Wu
author_sort Ruth B. McCole
collection DOAJ
description Summary: This study explores the relationship between three-dimensional genome organization and ultraconserved elements (UCEs), an enigmatic set of DNA elements that are perfectly conserved between the reference genomes of distantly related species. Examining both human and mouse genomes, we interrogate the relationship of UCEs to three features of chromosome organization derived from Hi-C studies. We find that UCEs are enriched within contact domains and, further, that the subset of UCEs within domains shared across diverse cell types are linked to kidney-related and neuronal processes. In boundaries, UCEs are generally depleted, with those that do overlap boundaries being overrepresented in exonic UCEs. Regarding loop anchors, UCEs are neither overrepresented nor underrepresented, but those present in loop anchors are enriched for splice sites. Finally, as the relationships between UCEs and human Hi-C features are conserved in mouse, our findings suggest that UCEs contribute to interspecies conservation of genome organization and, thus, genome stability. : McCole et al. demonstrate the non-random relationship between the positions of perfectly conserved genomic regions, termed the ultraconserved elements (UCEs), and three-dimensional genome organization within mammalian nucleus as defined by Hi-C studies. They postulate that these connections aid in orchestrating genome packaging and preserving genome function and integrity. Keywords: Hi-C, chromosome organization, ultraconserved elements, UCEs, copy number variants, CNVs, kidney, exons, RNA processing
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spelling doaj.art-6f173673f1a743eaa03a2fa99b36f7f02022-12-22T01:41:49ZengElsevierCell Reports2211-12472018-07-01242479488Ultraconserved Elements Occupy Specific Arenas of Three-Dimensional Mammalian Genome OrganizationRuth B. McCole0Jelena Erceg1Wren Saylor2Chao-ting Wu3Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USADepartment of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USADepartment of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USADepartment of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Corresponding authorSummary: This study explores the relationship between three-dimensional genome organization and ultraconserved elements (UCEs), an enigmatic set of DNA elements that are perfectly conserved between the reference genomes of distantly related species. Examining both human and mouse genomes, we interrogate the relationship of UCEs to three features of chromosome organization derived from Hi-C studies. We find that UCEs are enriched within contact domains and, further, that the subset of UCEs within domains shared across diverse cell types are linked to kidney-related and neuronal processes. In boundaries, UCEs are generally depleted, with those that do overlap boundaries being overrepresented in exonic UCEs. Regarding loop anchors, UCEs are neither overrepresented nor underrepresented, but those present in loop anchors are enriched for splice sites. Finally, as the relationships between UCEs and human Hi-C features are conserved in mouse, our findings suggest that UCEs contribute to interspecies conservation of genome organization and, thus, genome stability. : McCole et al. demonstrate the non-random relationship between the positions of perfectly conserved genomic regions, termed the ultraconserved elements (UCEs), and three-dimensional genome organization within mammalian nucleus as defined by Hi-C studies. They postulate that these connections aid in orchestrating genome packaging and preserving genome function and integrity. Keywords: Hi-C, chromosome organization, ultraconserved elements, UCEs, copy number variants, CNVs, kidney, exons, RNA processinghttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211124718309410
spellingShingle Ruth B. McCole
Jelena Erceg
Wren Saylor
Chao-ting Wu
Ultraconserved Elements Occupy Specific Arenas of Three-Dimensional Mammalian Genome Organization
Cell Reports
title Ultraconserved Elements Occupy Specific Arenas of Three-Dimensional Mammalian Genome Organization
title_full Ultraconserved Elements Occupy Specific Arenas of Three-Dimensional Mammalian Genome Organization
title_fullStr Ultraconserved Elements Occupy Specific Arenas of Three-Dimensional Mammalian Genome Organization
title_full_unstemmed Ultraconserved Elements Occupy Specific Arenas of Three-Dimensional Mammalian Genome Organization
title_short Ultraconserved Elements Occupy Specific Arenas of Three-Dimensional Mammalian Genome Organization
title_sort ultraconserved elements occupy specific arenas of three dimensional mammalian genome organization
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211124718309410
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