Distinct patterns of SSR distribution in the Arabidopsis thaliana and rice genomes

Background  

Simple sequence repeats (SSRs) in DNA have been traditionally thought of as functionally unimportant and have been studied mainly as genetic markers. A recent handful of studies have shown, however, that SSRs in different positions of a gene can play important roles in determining protein function, genetic development, and regulation of gene expression. We have performed a detailed comparative study of the distribution of SSRs in the sequenced genomes of Arabidopsis thaliana and rice.