Schematic of two possible mechanisms for the evolution of the diapause-specific transcription factor binding sites in the African turquoise killifish genome. Upper: gradual mutations paired with selective pressure lead to the formation of binding sites for specific transcription factors and accompanying chromatin accessibility. Lower: a site experiences a transposable element (TE) insertion event, providing a novel sequence that contains a binding site for a specific transcription factor and accompanying chromatin accessibility.
