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Genetics, Vol. 177, 359-374, September 2007, Copyright © 2007
doi:10.1534/genetics.107.077081
Evolution of Gene Sequence in Response to Chromosomal Location
Carlos Díaz-Castillo1 and Kent G. Golic
Department of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112
1 Corresponding author: Department of Biology, University of Utah, 257 South 1400 East, Salt Lake City, UT 84112.
E-mail: diazcastillo{at}biology.utah.edu
Evolutionary forces acting on the repetitive DNA of heterochromatin are not constrained by the same considerations that apply to protein-coding genes. Consequently, such sequences are subject to rapid evolutionary change. By examining the Troponin C gene family of Drosophila melanogaster, which has euchromatic and heterochromatic members, we find that protein-coding genes also evolve in response to their chromosomal location. The heterochromatic members of the family show a reduced CG content and increased variation in DNA sequence. We show that the CG reduction applies broadly to the protein-coding sequences of genes located at the heterochromatin:euchromatin interface, with a very strong correlation between CG content and the distance from centric heterochromatin. We also observe a similar trend in the transition from telomeric heterochromatin to euchromatin. We propose that the methylation of DNA is one of the forces driving this sequence evolution.
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