This study has taken advantage of the availability of the assembled genomic sequence of flies, mosquitos, ants and bees to explore the presence of ultraconserved sequence elements in these phylogenetic groups. We compared non-coding sequences found within and flanking Drosophila developmental genes to homologous sequences in Ceratitis capitata and Musca domestica. Many of the conserved sequence blocks (CSBs) that constitute Drosophila cis-regulatory DNA, recognized by EvoPrinter alignment protocols, are also conserved in Ceratitis and Musca. Also conserved is the position but not necessarily the orientation of many of these ultraconserved CSBs (uCSBs) with respect to flanking genes. Using the mosquito EvoPrint algorithm, we have also identified uCSBs shared among distantly related mosquito species. Side by side comparison of bee and ant EvoPrints of selected developmental genes identify uCSBs shared between these two Hymenoptera, as well as less conserved CSBs in either one or the other taxon but not in both. Analysis of uCSBs in these dipterans and Hymenoptera will lead to a greater understanding of their evolutionary origin and function of their conserved non-coding sequences and aid in discovery of core elements of enhancers.

This study applies the phylogenetic footprinting program EvoPrinter to detection of ultraconserved non-coding sequence elements in Diptera, including flies and mosquitos, and Hymenoptera, including ants and bees. EvoPrinter outputs an interspecies comparison as a single sequence in terms of the input reference sequence. Ultraconserved sequences flanking known developmental genes were detected in Ceratitis and Musca when compared with Drosophila species, in Aedes and Culex when compared with Anopheles, and between ants and bees. Our methods are useful in detecting and understanding the core evolutionarily hardened sequences required for gene regulation.

这项研究利用了苍蝇，蚊子，蚂蚁和蜜蜂的组装基因组序列的可利用性，以探索这些系统发育组中超保守序列元件的存在。我们比较了果蝇发育基因内和侧翼果蝇发育基因中发现的非编码序列与人头角实蝇和家蝇的同源序列。构成果蝇顺式调节DNA的许多保守序列模块（CSB），在EvoPrinter比对规程中也得到了保护，在ceratitis和Musca中也是保守的。同样保守的是许多这些超保守CSB（uCSB）相对于侧翼基因的位置，但不一定是方向。使用蚊子EvoPrint算法，我们还确定了在远距离相关的蚊子物种之间共享的uCSB。蜜蜂和蚂蚁EvoPrints所选发育基因的并排比较可鉴定这两个膜翅目之间共享的uCSB，以及一个或另一个分类群中保守性较低的CSB，但不能同时存在于两者中。对这些二倍体和膜翅目中的uCSB的分析将使人们对其保守的非编码序列的进化起源和功能有更深入的了解，并有助于发现增强子的核心成分。

这项研究应用系统发育足迹程序EvoPrinter来检测双翅目中超保守的非编码序列元素，包括苍蝇和蚊子，以及膜翅目，包括蚂蚁和蜜蜂。根据输入的参考序列，EvoPrinter将种间比较作为单个序列输出。中检测到的侧翼已知发育基因超保守序列地中海实蝇和家蝇的情况相比果蝇物种，伊蚊和库蚊的情况相比按蚊，以及在蚂蚁和蜜蜂之间。我们的方法可用于检测和理解基因调控所需的核心进化强化序列。