| First Author | Nóbrega MA | Year | 2004 |
| Journal | Nature | Volume | 431 |
| Issue | 7011 | Pages | 988-93 |
| PubMed ID | 15496924 | Mgi Jnum | J:93237 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:3056273 | Doi | 10.1038/nature03022 |
| Citation | Nobrega MA, et al. (2004) Megabase deletions of gene deserts result in viable mice. Nature 431(7011):988-93 |
| abstractText | The functional importance of the roughly 98% of mammalian genomes not corresponding to protein coding sequences remains largely undetermined. Here we show that some large-scale deletions of the non-coding DNA referred to as gene deserts can be well tolerated by an organism. We deleted two large non-coding intervals, 1,511 kilobases and 845 kilobases in length, from the mouse genome. Viable mice homozygous for the deletions were generated and were indistinguishable from wild-type littermates with regard to morphology, reproductive fitness, growth, longevity and a variety of parameters assaying general homeostasis. Further detailed analysis of the expression of multiple genes bracketing the deletions revealed only minor expression differences in homozygous deletion and wild-type mice. Together, the two deleted segments harbour 1,243 non-coding sequences conserved between humans and rodents (more than 100 base pairs, 70% identity). Some of the deleted sequences might encode for functions unidentified in our screen; nonetheless, these studies further support the existence of potentially 'disposable DNA' in the genomes of mammals. |
