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Abstract Background CpG islands are observed in mammals and other vertebrates, generally escape DNA methylation, and tend to occur in the promoters of widely expressed genes. Another class of promoter has lower G+C and CpG contents, and is thought to be involved in the spatiotemporal regulation of gene expression. Non-vertebrate deuterostomes are reported to have a single class of promoter with high-frequency CpG dinucleotides, suggesting that this is the original type of promoter. However, the limited annotation of these genes has impeded the large-scale analysis of their promoters. Results To determine the origins of the two classes of vertebrate promoters, we chose Ciona intestinalis, an invertebrate that is evolutionarily close to the vertebrates, and identified its transcription start sites genome-wide using a next-generation sequencer. We indeed observed a high CpG content around the transcription start sites, but their levels in the promoters and background sequences differed much less than in mammals. The CpG-rich stretches were also fairly restricted, so they appeared more similar to mammalian CpG-poor promoters. Conclusions From these data, we infer that CpG islands are not sufficiently ancient to be found in invertebrates. They probably appeared early in vertebrate evolution via some active mechanism and have since been maintained as part of vertebrate promoters.

Abstract Background Chargaff's rule of DNA base composition, stating that DNA comprises equal amounts of adenine and thymine (%A = %T) and of guanine and cytosine (%C = %G), is well known because it was fundamental to the conception of the Watson-Crick model of DNA structure. His second parity rule stating that the base proportions of double-stranded DNA are also reflected in single-stranded DNA (%A = %T, %C = %G) is more obscure, likely because its biological basis and significance are still unresolved. Within each strand, the symmetry of single nucleotide composition extends even further, being demonstrated in the balance of di-, tri-, and multi-nucleotides with their respective complementary oligonucleotides. Results Here, we propose that inversions are sufficient to account for the symmetry within each single-stranded DNA. Human mitochondrial DNA does not demonstrate such intra-strand parity, and we consider how its different functional drivers may relate to our theory. This concept is supported by the recent observation that inversions occur frequently. Conclusion Along with chromosomal duplications, inversions must have been shaping the architecture of genomes since the origin of life.