Although the evolution of protein-coding sequences within genomes is well understood, the
same cannot be said of the cis-regulatory regions that control transcription. Yet, changes in …

Gene expression is central to the genotype-phenotype relationship in all organisms, and it is
an important component of the genetic basis for evolutionary change in diverse aspects of …

Background The regulation of a gene depends on the binding of transcription factors to
specific sites located in the regulatory region of the gene. The generation of these binding …

The mutation and selection of regulatory DNA sequences are presented as an ideal model
system of molecular evolution where genotype, phenotype, and fitness can be explicitly and …

Because distant species often share similar macromolecules, regulatory mutations are often
considered responsible for much of their biological differences. Recently, a large portion of …

Heritable variation in gene expression is common within and between species. This
variation arises from mutations that alter the form or function of molecular gene regulatory …

Most genomes contain nucleotide sequences with no known function; such sequences are
assumed to be free of constraints, evolving only according to the vagaries of mutation. Here …

Evolution of gene regulation is crucial for our understanding of the phenotypic differences
between species, populations and individuals. Sequence-specific binding of transcription …

Heritable differences in gene expression are caused by mutations in DNA sequences
encoding cis-regulatory elements and trans-regulatory factors. These two classes of …

A long-standing question in evolutionary and developmental biology concerns the relative
contribution of cis-regulatory and protein changes to developmental evolution. Central to this …