Sorry, no submissions are possible during the upgrade window.The system will be going down for regular maintenance. Please save your work and logout.

Show simple item record

dc.contributor.authorTang, Wanxiangfu
dc.date.accessioned2020-04-09T19:35:56Z
dc.date.available2020-04-09T19:35:56Z
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10464/14788
dc.description.abstractMobile 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.isoengen_US
dc.publisherBrock Universityen_US
dc.subjectMobile elementsen_US
dc.subjectComparative genomicsen_US
dc.subjectPrimatesen_US
dc.subjectEvolutionen_US
dc.subjectRetro-DNAen_US
dc.titleThe role of mobile elements in recent primate genomesen_US
dc.typeElectronic Thesis or Dissertationen
dc.degree.namePh.D. Biological Sciencesen_US
dc.degree.levelDoctoralen_US
dc.contributor.departmentDepartment of Biological Sciencesen_US
dc.degree.disciplineFaculty of Mathematics and Scienceen_US
refterms.dateFOA2021-08-18T01:33:00Z


Files in this item

Thumbnail
Name:
Brock_Tang_Wanxiangfu_2020.pdf
Size:
3.130Mb
Format:
PDF
Thumbnail
Name:
Brock_Tang_Wanxiangfu_2020_app ...
Size:
236.0Kb
Format:
Microsoft Excel 2007
Description:
Thesis appendix

This item appears in the following Collection(s)

Show simple item record