Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo

Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo

Summary

The genomic DNA sequences of most organisms have not yet been fully elucidated, causing inconvenience to research in many fields. Yusuke Oizumi, a graduate student in the Department of Multidisciplinary Sciences, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo / Professor Junko Kano, a doctoral student in the Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, Osaka University, and their colleagues have successfully determined the entire DNA sequence of the subtelomere, a region near the end of the chromosome of fission yeast The team succeeded in determining the entire DNA sequence of the subtelomeres, which are regions near the ends of fission yeast chromosomes. Comparison of subtelomeric DNA sequences among different cell lines of fission yeast revealed that subtelomeric DNA is highly variable and is a hotspot of genome evolution. It is expected that the results of this study will help to clarify the mechanisms of biological evolution, diversity, and human disease development that are attributable to subtelomere variation in the future.

Figure: Sub-telomeres are hotspots of genome evolution.
The subtelomeric DNA sequences in fission yeast are highly variable among subtelomeres in each cell nucleus and among cell lines. These subtelomere features have presumably contributed to the diversification and evolution of eukaryotic genomes.

The results of this research have been published in the online edition of Nature Communications .

For more information, please visit the website of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.