Large-scale cross-species DNA sequence comparison has become a powerful tool to
identify conserved cis-regulatory modules of genes. However, bioinformatic analysis alone
cannot reveal how an evolutionarily conserved region regulates gene expression: whether it
functions as an enhancer, silencer, or insulator; whether its function is cell-type restricted;
and whether biologically relevant transcription factors bind to the element. Here we combine
bioinformatics with wet-lab techniques to illustrate a general and systematic method of …