Individual and Evolutionary Variation of Primate Ribosomal DNA Transcription Initiation Region9

A 16-kilobase region surrounding the transcription initiation site for ribosomal DNA and including the entire ribosomal DNA transcription unit has been characterized in man and compared in higher primates. Restriction analysis of ribosomal DNA from the pygmy chimpanzee (Pun paniscus), the common chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes), the gorilla (Gorilla gorilla), the orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus), the gibbon (Hylobates lur), and the rhesus monkey (Mucuccu mulultu) allows a primate phylogeny to be constructed based on ribosomal DNA structure. Individual variation and methylation are demonstrated in the ribosomal DNA repeats of all primates examined. Restriction analysis with H&c11 endonuclease suggests cleavage at sites containing methylated CpG and adds the SulIIHincII pair to those enzymes useful for studying DNA modification.