Wang, Qian-feiPrabhakar, ShyamWang, QianbenMoses, Alan MChanan, SumitaEisen, Michael BCheng, Jan-FangRubin, Edward MBoffelli, DarioBrown, Myles2012-02-032006Wang, Qian-fei, Shyam Prabhakar, Qianben Wang, Alan M Moses, Sumita Chanan, Myles Brown, Michael B Eisen, Jan-Fang Cheng, Edward M Rubin, and Dario Boffelli. 2006. Primate-specific evolution of an enhancer. Genome Biology 7(8): R68.1465-6906http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:8097018Background: Sequence changes in regulatory regions have often been invoked to explain phenotypic divergence among species, but molecular examples of this have been difficult to obtain. Results: In this study we identified an anthropoid primate-specific sequence element that contributed to the regulatory evolution of the low-density lipoprotein receptor. Using a combination of close and distant species genomic sequence comparisons coupled with in vivo and in vitro studies, we found that a functional cholesterol-sensing sequence motif arose and was fixed within a pre-existing enhancer in the common ancestor of anthropoid primates. Conclusion: Our study demonstrates one molecular mechanism by which ancestral mammalian regulatory elements can evolve to perform new functions in the primate lineage leading to human.en-USJournal Article2012-02-0310.1186/gb-2006-7-8-r68