Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

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.
Although the genome of each species varies greatly from each other, a few sequences are highly conserved. Such conserved DNA...
Convergent Evolution01:54

Convergent Evolution

Evolution shapes the features of organisms over time, ensuring that they are suited for the environments in which they live. Sometimes, selection pressure leads to the rise of similar but unrelated adaptations in organisms with no recent common ancestors, a process known as convergent evolution.The structures that arise from convergent evolution are called analogous structures. They are similar in function even if they are dissimilar in structure. Further, structures can be analogous while also...
Synteny and Evolution02:31

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...
Evolutionary Relationships through Genome Comparisons02:54

Evolutionary Relationships through Genome Comparisons

Genome comparison is one of the excellent ways to interpret the evolutionary relationships between organisms. The basic principle of genome comparison is that if two species share a common feature, it is likely encoded by the DNA sequence conserved between both species. The advent of genome sequencing technologies in the late 20th century enabled scientists to understand the concept of conservation of domains between species and helped them to deduce evolutionary relationships across diverse...
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.
Gene Evolution - Fast or Slow?02:05

Gene Evolution - Fast or Slow?

The genomes of eukaryotes are punctuated by long stretches of sequence which do not code for proteins or RNAs. Although some of these regions do contain crucial regulatory sequences, the vast majority of this DNA serves no known function. Typically, these regions of the genome are the ones in which the fastest change, in evolutionary terms, is observed, because there is typically little to no selection pressure acting on these regions to preserve their sequences.
In contrast, regions which code...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Visual analytics framework for survival analysis and biomarker discovery from gene expression data.

PloS one·2026
Same author

Online tutorial on survival analysis for biomarker discovery.

PLoS computational biology·2026
Same author

Early cAMP signaling orchestrates single-cell synchronicity throughout Dictyostelium development.

Communications biology·2026
Same author

The MicrobeAtlas database: Global trends and insights into Earth's microbial ecosystems.

Cell·2026
Same author

Ten simple rules for coordinating a large digital health project: Perspectives from EU and implications for global contexts.

PLoS computational biology·2026
Same author

Extracellular matrix mediates circulating tumor cell clustering in triple-negative breast cancer metastasis.

Nature communications·2026
Same journal

UK Biobank whole-genome sequencing reveals robust contributions of rare variants to complex-trait heritability.

Genome biology·2026
Same journal

A one-week automated genome-wide optical pooled screen using OttoSeq.

Genome biology·2026
Same journal

Integrated lipidomic and transcriptomic profiling of the host response in human malaria.

Genome biology·2026
Same journal

Centromeric satellite expansion drives genome evolution in the snowy owl.

Genome biology·2026
Same journal

Mapping the landscape of allele-specific expression in porcine genomes.

Genome biology·2026
Same journal

Genomic sequence evolution underlying human neocortical interareal diversification.

Genome biology·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 15, 2026

Metabolic Labeling of the Nascent Transcriptome in Xenopus Early Embryogenesis
06:46

Metabolic Labeling of the Nascent Transcriptome in Xenopus Early Embryogenesis

Published on: March 27, 2026

Conserved developmental transcriptomes in evolutionarily divergent species.

Anup Parikh1, Edward Roshan Miranda, Mariko Katoh-Kurasawa

  • 1Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030, USA. anup.parikh@gmail.com

Genome Biology
|March 19, 2010
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Despite significant genome divergence, the social amoebae Dictyostelium discoideum and Dictyostelium purpureum exhibit conserved developmental anatomy. This similarity is linked to extensive transcriptome conservation, particularly in gene expression regulation during development.

More Related Videos

RNA-Seq Analysis of Differential Gene Expression in Electroporated Chick Embryonic Spinal Cord
11:13

RNA-Seq Analysis of Differential Gene Expression in Electroporated Chick Embryonic Spinal Cord

Published on: November 1, 2014

In Situ Hybridization Techniques for Paraffin-Embedded Adult Coral Samples
07:24

In Situ Hybridization Techniques for Paraffin-Embedded Adult Coral Samples

Published on: August 31, 2018

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 15, 2026

Metabolic Labeling of the Nascent Transcriptome in Xenopus Early Embryogenesis
06:46

Metabolic Labeling of the Nascent Transcriptome in Xenopus Early Embryogenesis

Published on: March 27, 2026

RNA-Seq Analysis of Differential Gene Expression in Electroporated Chick Embryonic Spinal Cord
11:13

RNA-Seq Analysis of Differential Gene Expression in Electroporated Chick Embryonic Spinal Cord

Published on: November 1, 2014

In Situ Hybridization Techniques for Paraffin-Embedded Adult Coral Samples
07:24

In Situ Hybridization Techniques for Paraffin-Embedded Adult Coral Samples

Published on: August 31, 2018

Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary developmental biology
  • Comparative genomics
  • Transcriptomics

Background:

  • Organisms with divergent genomes can share similar developmental anatomies.
  • Dictyostelium discoideum and Dictyostelium purpureum genomes are highly divergent.
  • These species display comparable developmental morphologies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate transcriptome conservation between Dictyostelium discoideum and Dictyostelium purpureum.
  • To compare transcript abundance and developmental regulation in these species.
  • To determine if transcriptome conservation explains similar developmental anatomies.

Main Methods:

  • RNA sequencing was employed to compare transcriptomes.
  • Abundance and developmental regulation of all transcripts were analyzed.
  • Orthologous gene expression patterns were assessed.

Main Results:

  • Extensive transcriptome conservation was observed between the two species.
  • Most genes in both species are developmentally regulated, with major changes during unicellular-to-multicellular transition.
  • Developmental regulation, timing, and mRNA levels of orthologous genes are highly conserved, extending to cell-type specific expression.

Conclusions:

  • Developmental programs show remarkable conservation at the transcriptome level, despite substantial genomic distance.
  • Transcriptional conservation likely underlies the similar developmental anatomies of Dictyostelium discoideum and Dictyostelium purpureum.