Genome-wide CTCF distribution in vertebrates defines equivalent sites that aid the identification of disease-associated genes

Identifying genes associated with SNPs in non-coding regions is difficult as the SNPs are often located far from the promoters they impact. Cross-species comparison of sites occupied by the insulating protein CTCF reveals conserved boundaries between genes often associated with disease. Multiple sclerosis–associated SNPs occur in the GFI1-EVI5 genomic region near several constitutively bound CTCF sites, enabling the authors to propose GFI1 as the gene linked to MS instead of the previously suggested EVI5.