A promoter-level mammalian expression atlas

Regulated transcription controls the diversity, developmental pathways and spatial organization of the hundreds of cell types that make up a mammal. Using single-molecule cDNA sequencing, we mapped transcription start sites (TSSs) and their usage in human and mouse primary cells, cell lines and tissues to produce a comprehensive overview of mammalian gene expression across the human body. We find that few genes are truly ‘housekeeping’, whereas many mammalian promoters are composite entities composed of several closely separated TSSs, with independent cell-type-specific expression profiles. TSSs specific to different cell types evolve at different rates, whereas promoters of broadly expressed genes are the…

• MO
  Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
• BA
  Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council

  Awards: BBS/E/D/20231759, BBS/E/D/20211550, BBS/E/D/20251969, BB/I001107/1, BB/F003722/1, BBS/E/D/20211551, BB/I024801/1
• R
  RIKEN