The role of mobile elements in recent primate genomes
dc.contributor.author | Tang, Wanxiangfu | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2020-04-09T19:35:56Z | |
dc.date.available | 2020-04-09T19:35:56Z | |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10464/14788 | |
dc.description.abstract | Mobile elements (MEs), which constitute ~50% of the primate genomes, have contributed to both genome evolution and gene function as demonstrated by ample evidence discovered over the last few decades. The three studies in this thesis aims to provide a better understanding of the evolutionary profile and function of MEs in the primate genomes by taking a computational comparative genomics approach. The first study represents a comprehensive analysis of the differential ME transposition among primates via identification of species-specific MEs (SS-MEs) in eight primate genomes from the families of Hominidae and Cercopithecidae using a comparative genomics approach. In total, 230,855 SS-MEs are identified, which reveal striking differences in retrotransposition level in the eight primate genomes. The second study represents a more focused analysis for the identification of a new type of MEs, which we term “retro-DNA” for non-LTR retrotransposons derived from DNA transposons, in the recent primate genomes. By investigating biallelic DNA transposons that have both the insertion and pre-integration alleles in ten primate genomes, a total of 1,750 retro-DNA elements representing 750 unique insertion events are reported for the first time. The third study provides an analysis of the mechanism underlying the differential SINE transposition in the primate genomes. In this study, Alu profiles are compared and the Alu master copies are identified in six primate genomes in the Hominidae and Cercopithecidae groups. The results show that each lineage of the primates and each species owns a unique Alu profile exclusively defined by the AluY transposition activity, which is determined by the number of Alu master copies and their relative activity. Overall, work in this thesis provides new insights about MEs and their impact on the recent primate genomes by revealing differential ME transposition as an important mechanism in generating genome diversity among primate lineages and species through discovering a new type of MEs and preliminary analysis of the mechanism underlying the differential ME transposition among primates. Furthermore, taking advantage of the recently available primate genomes and transcriptomes data, the work in this thesis demonstrates the great potential of the comparative genomic approach in studying MEs in primate genomes. | en_US |
dc.language.iso | eng | en_US |
dc.publisher | Brock University | en_US |
dc.subject | Mobile elements | en_US |
dc.subject | Comparative genomics | en_US |
dc.subject | Primates | en_US |
dc.subject | Evolution | en_US |
dc.subject | Retro-DNA | en_US |
dc.title | The role of mobile elements in recent primate genomes | en_US |
dc.type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation | en |
dc.degree.name | Ph.D. Biological Sciences | en_US |
dc.degree.level | Doctoral | en_US |
dc.contributor.department | Department of Biological Sciences | en_US |
dc.degree.discipline | Faculty of Mathematics and Science | en_US |
refterms.dateFOA | 2021-08-18T01:33:00Z |