TY - JOUR
T1 - Noncanonical DNA structures are drivers of genome evolution
AU - Makova, Kateryna D.
AU - Weissensteiner, Matthias H.
N1 - Funding Information:
We are grateful to Jean-Christophe Andrau, Kristin Eckert, Wilfried Guiblet, and Eduard Kejnovsky for their critical reading of the manuscript. This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant R01GM136684 .
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Authors
PY - 2023/2
Y1 - 2023/2
N2 - In addition to the canonical right-handed double helix, other DNA structures, termed ‘non-B DNA’, can form in the genomes across the tree of life. Non-B DNA regulates multiple cellular processes, including replication and transcription, yet its presence is associated with elevated mutagenicity and genome instability. These discordant cellular roles fuel the enormous potential of non-B DNA to drive genomic and phenotypic evolution. Here we discuss recent studies establishing non-B DNA structures as novel functional elements subject to natural selection, affecting evolution of transposable elements (TEs), and specifying centromeres. By highlighting the contributions of non-B DNA to repeated evolution and adaptation to changing environments, we conclude that evolutionary analyses should include a perspective of not only DNA sequence, but also its structure.
AB - In addition to the canonical right-handed double helix, other DNA structures, termed ‘non-B DNA’, can form in the genomes across the tree of life. Non-B DNA regulates multiple cellular processes, including replication and transcription, yet its presence is associated with elevated mutagenicity and genome instability. These discordant cellular roles fuel the enormous potential of non-B DNA to drive genomic and phenotypic evolution. Here we discuss recent studies establishing non-B DNA structures as novel functional elements subject to natural selection, affecting evolution of transposable elements (TEs), and specifying centromeres. By highlighting the contributions of non-B DNA to repeated evolution and adaptation to changing environments, we conclude that evolutionary analyses should include a perspective of not only DNA sequence, but also its structure.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.tig.2022.11.005
DO - 10.1016/j.tig.2022.11.005
M3 - Review article
C2 - 36604282
AN - SCOPUS:85145987435
SN - 0168-9525
VL - 39
SP - 109
EP - 124
JO - Trends in Genetics
JF - Trends in Genetics
IS - 2
ER -