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Following the Dynamics of Structural Variants in Experimentally Evolved Populations
Published on: February 3, 2023
Improvisation in evolution of genes and genomes: whose structure is it anyway?
Boris E Shakhnovich1, Eugene I Shakhnovich
1Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, 12 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, United States.
Current Opinion in Structural Biology
|May 20, 2008
Summary
Recent advances in sequencing and modeling offer new insights into gene and genome evolution. This research explores the origins of new genes and the impact of duplication and regulation on organismal fitness.
Area of Science:
- Genomics and Evolutionary Biology
- Computational Biology
- Systems Biology
Background:
- Recent progress in sequencing, protein structure prediction, and high-throughput omics (transcriptomics, metabolomics).
- Development of new microscopic models for analyzing gene and genome evolution from first principles.
Purpose of the Study:
- To provide a comprehensive insight into the evolution of complex systems and organisms across all scales.
- To address fundamental questions regarding the origin of new genes and the evolutionary impact of gene duplication and regulation.
Main Methods:
- Integration of data from various high-throughput omics technologies.
- Application of novel microscopic models for evolutionary analysis.
- Comparative genomics and structural biology approaches.
Main Results:
- Uncovering new genes, families, and protein folds with each newly sequenced genome.
- Demonstrating the effects of gene duplication and divergence on organismal fitness.
- Highlighting the role of regulation in protein and fold evolution.
Conclusions:
- Synergistic integration of data and modeling provides robust answers to key evolutionary questions.
- A multi-scale understanding of evolution is now achievable, from sequences to populations.
- New insights into the mechanisms driving the evolution of biological complexity.
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