Three-dimensional genome rewiring in loci with human accelerated regions.

Science (New York, N.Y.)
Authors
Abstract

Human accelerated regions (HARs) are conserved genomic loci that evolved at an accelerated rate in the human lineage and may underlie human-specific traits. We generated HARs and chimpanzee accelerated regions with an automated pipeline and an alignment of 241 mammalian genomes. Combining deep learning with chromatin capture experiments in human and chimpanzee neural progenitor cells, we discovered a significant enrichment of HARs in topologically associating domains containing human-specific genomic variants that change three-dimensional (3D) genome organization. Differential gene expression between humans and chimpanzees at these loci suggests rewiring of regulatory interactions between HARs and neurodevelopmental genes. Thus, comparative genomics together with models of 3D genome folding revealed enhancer hijacking as an explanation for the rapid evolution of HARs.

Year of Publication
2023
Journal
Science (New York, N.Y.)
Volume
380
Issue
6643
Pages
eabm1696
Date Published
04/2023
ISSN
1095-9203
DOI
10.1126/science.abm1696
PubMed ID
37104607
Links