Abstract
The focus of this issue of Current Opinions in Genetics and Development is the identification and function of cis regulatory DNAs underlying the development and evolution of fungi, plants, and animals. There is little doubt that one of the outstanding challenges of the 21st century is the deciphering of the ‘dark matter’ of the genome; namely, the noncoding regulatory DNAs that control where and when every gene is switched on and off during development and in response to the environment. The evolutionary diversity of life on earth, including variations in human populations, relies extensively on changes in noncoding regulatory DNAs. In this special issue the editors are pleased to present an eclectic mixture of 12 articles reflecting the diverse roles and methods of study of regulatory DNAs. We somewhat arbitrarily consider these papers in three categories: the role of cis regulatory DNAs in animal development, the identification of cis regulatory DNAs using comparative genome analysis, and the global evolution of regulatory systems.
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