Genome-wide comparisons and extrapolations of AU-rich elements in Plants with Homo sapiens

The Adenylate-Uridylate Rich elements (AREs) are adenine and uracil abundant sequences, established in ephemeral mRNAs, principally present in the 3 untranslated region (3 UTR). AREs are widely accepted as a cause of high turnover of the mRNAs containing them (Bakheet, 2001; Barreau, 2005; Shaw and Kamen, 1986). The mammalian ARE-mRNAs primarily translate into nuclear transcription factors, oncoproteins, cytokines, and G-protein-coupled receptors which indicates their indispensable role in the regulation of gene transcription during cell growth and differentiation, and the immune response (Chen and Shyu, 1995; Wilson et al., 1999). The present study is an attempt to comprehensively analyze the eloquent presence of AU rich elements in genome, transcriptome and 3UTR of three important plant species (Arabidopsis thaliana, Oryza sativa and Zea mays) and compare the statistics of putative ARE motifs in plants with H.sapiens. Statistical analysis of genome-wide putative AU-rich elements revealed the explicit presence of ARE motifs in plants. This is the first study that analyses the presence of Adenylate-Uridylate Rich elements (AREs) in three different plants which can be further validated through experiments.