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SUMMARY:Epigenetic conservation of vertebrate gene regulatory elements - H
 annah Long (University of Oxford)
DTSTART:20140521T120000Z
DTEND:20140521T130000Z
UID:TALK51672@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Jeremy Solly
DESCRIPTION:Short contiguous regions of non-methylated DNA\, known as CpG 
 islands (CGIs)\, are found associated with around 70% of mammalian gene pr
 omoters. In cold-blooded vertebrates\, CGI prediction algorithms indicate 
 that these elements are rarely coincident with gene promoters\, signifying
  a major divergence in vertebrate promoter architecture. Biochemical purif
 ication of non-methylated DNA in seven diverse vertebrates instead reveals
  that non-methylated islands of DNA (NMIs) are in fact a central feature o
 f vertebrate gene promoters. Importantly\, comparison of orthologous verte
 brate gene promoters reveals that NMIs appear to be under an unexpected de
 gree of selective pressure to be maintained across evolutionary time. Alon
 gside ‘canonical’ promoter-associated NMIs\, genome-wide profiling of 
 non-methylated DNA revealed two further conserved classes of NMIs: ‘plas
 tic’ and ‘broad’. ‘Plastic’ NMIs are distal to gene promoters an
 d exhibit dynamic methylation between distinct tissues and developmental s
 tages while a novel ‘broad’ class of NMIs encompass developmental tran
 scription factors subject to polycomb-mediated repression. Together our fi
 ndings demonstrate an ancient logic for NMI usage at gene regulatory eleme
 nts and reveal an unprecedented level of epigenetic conservation across ve
 rtebrate evolution.
LOCATION:Main Lecture Theatre\, Department of Zoology
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