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Gene Families

Gene Families

Gene families consist of groups of genes proposed to have originated from a common ancestor. Typically these arise through events in which a gene or genes are mistakenly duplicated during cell division. Unlike their parent genes (which are subject to selection pressure to maintain function), these gene copies do not need to preserve their sequences and may evolve at a relatively faster rate.
Occasionally these regions can be adapted to take on new roles within the organism, becoming novel genes...

Gene Families

Gene Families

Gene families consist of groups of genes proposed to have originated from a common ancestor. Typically these arise through events in which a gene or genes are mistakenly duplicated during cell division. Unlike their parent genes (which are subject to selection pressure to maintain function), these gene copies do not need to preserve their sequences and may evolve at a relatively faster rate.
Occasionally these regions can be adapted to take on new roles within the organism, becoming novel genes...

Synteny and Evolution

Synteny and Evolution

John H. Renwick first coined the term “synteny” in 1971, which refers to the genes present on the same chromosomes, even if they are not genetically linked. The species with common ancestry tend to show conserved syntenic regions. Therefore, the concept of synteny is nowadays used to describe the evolutionary relationship between species.
Around 80 million years ago, the human and mice lineages diverged from the common ancestor. During the course of evolution, the ancestral chromosome underwent...

Lampbrush Chromosomes

Lampbrush Chromosomes

In 1882, Flemming observed lampbrush chromosomes (LBC) in salamander eggs. Later in 1892, Rückert observed LBCs in shark egg cells and coined the term "lampbrush chromosomes" because they looked like brushes used to clean kerosene lamps.
LBCs are made up of two pairs of conjugating homologous chromatids. Each chromatid consists of alternatively positioned regions of condensed-inactive chromatin and loosely placed-active side loops, which can be contracted and extended. The loops resemble the...

Gene Duplication and Divergence

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.

Multi-species Conserved Sequences

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.
Although the genome of each species varies greatly from each other, a few sequences are highly conserved. Such conserved DNA...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 30, 2026

Genome-wide Snapshot of Chromatin Regulators and States in Xenopus Embryos by ChIP-Seq

Genome-wide Snapshot of Chromatin Regulators and States in Xenopus Embryos by ChIP-Seq

Published on: February 26, 2015

Tandemly arrayed genes in vertebrate genomes.

Deng Pan¹, Liqing Zhang

¹Department of Computer Science, Virginia Tech, 2050 Torgerson Hall, Blacksburg, VA 24061-0106, USA.

Comparative and Functional Genomics

|September 26, 2008

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Tandemly arrayed genes (TAGs) comprise 14% of vertebrate genes and are predominantly transcribed in the same direction. Tandem duplication is the primary driver of gene family expansion, particularly in large families.

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Area of Science:

Genomics
Molecular Biology
Evolutionary Biology

Background:

Tandemly arrayed genes (TAGs) are gene duplicates located adjacent on chromosomes.
TAGs play crucial roles in physiological and biochemical processes.
Understanding TAGs' genomic distribution and duplication mechanisms is vital.

Purpose of the Study:

To survey TAGs across 11 vertebrate genomes.
To analyze the characteristics of TAGs, including their frequency, transcriptional orientation, and array size.
To investigate the role of tandem duplication in gene family expansion.

Main Methods:

Comparative genomics analysis of 11 vertebrate genomes.
Identification and characterization of tandemly arrayed genes.
Analysis of gene duplication mechanisms, focusing on tandem duplication versus retroposition.

Main Results:

TAGs constitute approximately 14% of genes and 25% of duplications in vertebrate genomes.
The majority of TAGs (72-94%) exhibit parallel transcriptional orientation, unlike the general genome (50%).
Tandem duplication is the predominant mechanism for gene family expansion, especially for large families, with species-specific large tandem arrays observed.

Conclusions:

TAGs are a significant feature of vertebrate genomes, with distinct transcriptional characteristics.
Tandem duplication is a key evolutionary force shaping gene families, particularly large ones.
The prevalence of species-specific tandem arrays suggests ongoing evolutionary dynamics.