| Budget Amount *help |
¥38,220,000 (Direct Cost: ¥29,400,000、Indirect Cost: ¥8,820,000)
Fiscal Year 2013: ¥3,770,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥870,000)
Fiscal Year 2012: ¥16,380,000 (Direct Cost: ¥12,600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥3,780,000)
Fiscal Year 2011: ¥18,070,000 (Direct Cost: ¥13,900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥4,170,000)
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| Research Abstract |
Natural selection and neutral theory of evolution have been crucial to understand genetic variation and evolution. In this study, we have examined whether chromatin structure and DNA methylation might affect genetic variation and evolution. Indeed, we identified an unexpected genome-wide role of the CpG methylation state as a major determinant of proximal natural genetic variation. ~18% of the human genome was within 10 bp of a CpG site; in these regions, the single nucleotide polymorphism rate significantly increased by ~50% (P<E-566) if the neighboring CpG sites are methylated. In two medaka inbred strains, we observed a distinctive ~200-base pair periodic pattern of genetic variation downstream of transcription start sites and its correlation with the chromatin structure. These data exemplify the potential for genetic activity (transcription), DNA methylation, and chromatin structure to contribute to molding the DNA sequence on an evolutionary time scale.
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