Eukaryotic CSTs

From Wiki CEINGE

Comparative genomics offers the opportunity to identify sequences characterized by strong conservation between different species. Apart from coding sequences, these tend to include a relatively large number of functional elements, such as structural and regulatory non coding RNAs and DNA sequence elements involved in control of gene expression. Along this line a large number of CSTs, characterized by a variable degree of conservation in other species, were identified in the human genome, and collected in two databases (DG-CST, originally produced in a collaborative effort with a small group of italian research institutes and currently maintained at CEINGE, and KinWeb, in collaboration with ITB, Milano). The identified CSTs are currently being analyzed in a number of projects aimed to their functional evaluation by further computational characterization and, in collaboration with other groups, to evaluate their relevance for transcriptional regulation and their role in genetically transmitted diseases