Findings suggest that new genes can form by repurposing fragments of ancestral genes while incorporating entirely new coding regions (the protein-coding parts of the DNA).
Findings suggest that new genes can form by repurposing fragments of ancestral genes while incorporating entirely new coding regions . This innovative concept bridges the gap between entirely new gene formation from noncoding regions and the more traditional model in which new functions can arise from duplicated genes.
The team investigated these proteins in three unrelated fish lineages and uncovered surprising results. While the proteins in each lineage are functionally and structurally similar, they evolved independently from different genetic sources. This phenomenon, known as convergent evolution, represents a rare case of protein sequence convergence.
The group's work also introduces a new model that advances understanding of the mechanisms behind new gene evolution: Duplication-Degeneration-Divergence. This model explains how new gene functions can arise from degenerated pseudogenes -- formerly functional genes that lost their original role.
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