Cis-regulatory elements underlying Prdm15 gene during brain development

Bachelor Thesis from the year 2018 in the subject Biology - Genetics / Gene Technology, grade: 2.5, University of Cape Coast (Department of biochemistry - University of Cape Coast), course: Biochemistry, language: English, abstract: The interaction between transcriptional factors and cis-regulatory DNA element has given rise to the diversity in the expression of eukaryotic gene. Prdm15 gene is known to be expressed in the brain throughout development of mouse and zebrafish however; there are no known enhancer(s) for this gene in the brain. The aim of this study was to identify brain specific enhancer(s) for the gene Prdm15 during brain development. The VISTA enhancer browser and Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE) data were used in this study to determine our candidate brain enhancer. The VISTA enhancer browser was used to quest for cis-regulatory element(s) in the environs of Prdm15 by comparative genomics and only one candidate enhancer we designated Prdm15 control element 1(PCE1) was identified downstream of the gene. PCE1 was found to be conserved in organisms such as chicken, zebrafish, rhesus, chimp, dog and cow. To ascertain if PCE1 is a brain enhancer, we delineated PCE1 using brain-specific enhancer chromatin modification signatures H3K4me1 and H3K27ac in the ENCODE data and they showed enrichment for PCE1. In conclusion, our data set revealed that only one brain candidate enhancer (PCE1) exist for Prdm15 and that this brain enhancer for Prdm15 will help in identifying important upstream specific transcription factors of PrdmI5 during brain development.