Iowa State University scientists found striking patterns in the building blocks of DNA in a wide variety of species, according to their recently published paper.The work could offer new insight into how genes mutate over time and why some populations are more susceptible than others to certain diseases, such as cancer.

Jianming Yu, an associate professor of agronomy and the Pioneer distinguished chair in maize breeding, and Xianran Li, a research assistant professor of agronomy, studied data describing genomes of 2,210 various species, including vertebrates, plants, fungi and bacteria. The research found some pronounced patterns. The work began with counting the bases of chemical compounds that form strands of DNA.  

“In a way, you could say this is about the genetics of genetics,” Yu said. “We always like to speculate on common mechanisms when we observe consistent patterns.”

The work was published in the peer-reviewed academic journal Nucleic Acids Research.