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Related Concept Videos

In-vitro Mutagenesis01:16

In-vitro Mutagenesis

To learn more about the function of a gene, researchers can observe what happens when the gene is inactivated or “knocked out,” by creating genetically engineered knockout animals. Knockout mice have been particularly useful as models for human diseases such as cancer, Parkinson’s disease, and diabetes.
Lethal Alleles02:41

Lethal Alleles

Agouti: A Lethal Allele
Lucien Cuénot discovered lethal alleles in 1905 while studying the inheritance of coat color in mice. The agouti gene is responsible for the color of the coat in mice. This gene codes for an agouti-signaling protein, which is responsible for melanin distribution in mammals. The wild-type allele gives rise to gray-brown coat color in mice, while the mutant allele gives rise to yellow coat color. In addition to coat color, the agouti gene is associated with the yellow...
The Ratio of X Chromosome to Autosomes02:45

The Ratio of X Chromosome to Autosomes

In most organisms, sex is determined by the ratio of X and Y chromosomes. However, in some organisms, such as Drosophila and C.elegans, sex is determined by the ratio of the number of X chromosomes to the number of sets of autosomes. The Y chromosome in Drosophila is active but does not determine sex. It contains genes responsible for the production of sperms in adult flies.  
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Multi-species Conserved Sequences02:51

Multi-species Conserved Sequences

Next-generation sequencing technologies have created large genomic databases of a variety of animals and plants. Ever since the human genome project was completed, scientists studied the genome of primates, mammals, and other phylogenetically distant living beings. Such large-scale  studies have provided new insights into the evolutionary relationship between organisms.
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Gene Duplication and Divergence02:37

Gene Duplication and Divergence

The seminal work of Ohno in 1970 popularized the idea of gene duplication and divergence. DNA sequence comparison studies reveal that a large portion of the genes in bacteria, archaebacteria, and eukaryotes was  generated by gene duplication and divergence, indicating its critical role in evolution.
The duplicated copies of the gene are called Paralogs. Paralogs with similar sequences and functions form a gene family. Across several species, a large number of gene families are characterized.
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 30, 2026

Generation of Genetically Modified Mice through the Microinjection of Oocytes
10:19

Generation of Genetically Modified Mice through the Microinjection of Oocytes

Published on: June 15, 2017

Mouse duplicate genes are as essential as singletons.

Ben-Yang Liao1, Jianzhi Zhang

  • 1Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, 1075 Natural Science Building, 830 North University Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.

Trends in Genetics : TIG
|June 15, 2007
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Duplicate genes in mice are not less essential than single genes, with similar proportions of essential genes found in both groups. This indicates that duplicate genes rarely compensate for each other functionally.

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Area of Science:

  • Genomics
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Mammalian Genetics

Background:

  • Duplicate genes are often assumed to have functional redundancy.
  • This assumption implies duplicate genes are less essential than singleton genes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the essentiality of duplicate genes in mice.
  • To determine if functional redundancy exists between duplicate genes.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of nearly 3900 individually knocked out mouse genes.
  • Comparison of essential gene proportions between singleton and duplicate genes.

Main Results:

  • The proportion of essential genes is approximately 55% for both singleton and duplicate genes.
  • No significant difference in essentiality was observed between singletons and duplicates.

Conclusions:

  • Mammalian duplicate genes rarely compensate for each other functionally.
  • Absence of a phenotype in mice lacking a duplicate gene should not be automatically attributed to paralogous compensation.