Characterization of the Promoter Region for the EVI2A Gene

Evolution is driven by natural selection operating on the genes present in a given species. However, it is unclear if the different parts of a gene (coding and non-coding) are under the same types of selection as each other. Determining the similarity of selection between coding and non-coding regions of a gene can be determined using bioinformatics; by analyzing the differences in conserved sites in the coding and non-coding (promoter) regions of the gene. Ecotropic Viral Integration Site 2A was analyzed at both its putative promoter region and its coding DNA sequence to determine its similarity of selection. After identifying the putative promoter region of the EVI2A gene through tracking of conserved regions, the genetic sequences for the EVI2A putative promoter and coding sequences were compared across several different vertebrate species to generate genetic phylogenies, which were then compared against each other and known evolutionary phylogenetic trees. Conserved sequences were identified in both the putative promoter regions and the coding sequences. The motifs conserved in the coding sequence were much more stringently conserved than were the conserved sequences in the putative promoter region, suggesting that the two regions of the EVI2A gene are under different types of selective pressure.