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Published on: April 30, 2020
Mononucleotide A-repeats may Play a Regulatory Role in Endothermic Housekeeping Genes
Jatuphol Pholtaisong1, Nachol Chaiyaratana2,3, Chatchawit Aporntewan1,4,5
1Program in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, Graduate School, Chulalongkorn University, Pathumwan, Bangkok, Thailand.
Background:
Coding and non-coding short tandem repeats (STRs) facilitate a great diversity of phenotypic traits. The imbalance of mononucleotide A-repeats around transcription start sites (TSSs) was found in 3 mammals: H. sapiens, M. musculus, and R. norvegicus.
Principal Findings:
We found that the imbalance pattern originated in some vertebrates. A similar pattern was observed in mammals and birds, but not in amphibians and reptiles. We proposed that the enriched A-repeats upstream of TSSs is a novel hallmark of endotherms or warm-blooded animals. Gene ontology analysis indicates that the primary function of upstream A-repeats involves metabolism, cellular transportation, and sensory perception (smell and chemical stimulus) through housekeeping genes.
Conclusions:
Upstream A-repeats may play a regulatory role in the metabolic process of endothermic animals.
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