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Related Concept Videos

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...
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...
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.
Point and Frameshift Mutations01:30

Point and Frameshift Mutations

Point mutations are genetic alterations involving the change of a single nucleotide base pair in DNA. Depending on how the alteration affects protein synthesis, they can lead to various consequences.Point mutations fall into the following types:Silent mutations occur when a nucleotide change does not alter the amino acid sequence due to the redundancy of the genetic code. For instance, changing ACC to ACA still encodes threonine, leaving the protein function unaffected. This occurs because...
Mutation, Gene Flow, and Genetic Drift01:09

Mutation, Gene Flow, and Genetic Drift

In a population that is not at Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, the frequency of alleles changes over time. Therefore, any deviations from the five conditions of Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium can alter the genetic variation of a given population. Conditions that change the genetic variability of a population include mutations, natural selection, non-random mating, gene flow, and genetic drift (small population size).Mechanisms of Genetic VariationThe original sources of genetic variation are mutations,...
Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms-SNPs01:05

Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms-SNPs

A single nucleotide polymorphism or SNP is a single nucleotide variation at a specific genomic position in a large population. It is the most prevalent type of sequence variation found in the human genome. Point mutations that occur in more than 1% of the population qualify as SNPs. These are present once every 1000 nucleotides on an average in the human genome. Replacement of a purine with another purine (A/G) or a pyrimidine with another pyrimidine (C/T) is known as a transition. In contrast,...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 11, 2026

Following the Dynamics of Structural Variants in Experimentally Evolved Populations
04:52

Following the Dynamics of Structural Variants in Experimentally Evolved Populations

Published on: February 3, 2023

Features of recent codon evolution: a comparative polymorphism-fixation study.

Zhongming Zhao1, Cizhong Jiang

  • 1Department of Biomedical Informatics, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232, USA. zhongming.zhao@vanderbilt.edu

Journal of Biomedicine & Biotechnology
|July 13, 2010
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Protein evolution insights come from analyzing both human codon polymorphisms and fixed substitutions. Fixation favors rarer codons and suppresses CpG effects, stabilizing codon composition during evolution.

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Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 11, 2026

Following the Dynamics of Structural Variants in Experimentally Evolved Populations
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Published on: February 3, 2023

Rare Event Detection Using Error-corrected DNA and RNA Sequencing
10:36

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Molecular Evolution
  • Genomics

Background:

  • Amino acid and codon changes offer insights into protein evolution.
  • Previous studies often examined mutation patterns at either intraspecies (polymorphism) or interspecies (fixed substitution) levels, but rarely both.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To uniquely analyze a combined set of human intraspecies polymorphisms and interspecies substitutions in codons.
  • To investigate differences in mutational patterns between polymorphism and fixation data across codon positions.
  • To understand the role of fixation in correcting polymorphisms and maintaining codon stability.

Main Methods:

  • Comparative analysis of human codon polymorphisms and fixed substitutions.
  • Examination of mutational patterns at codon positions 1, 2, and 3.
  • Detection of CpG effects and selection signatures against specific dinucleotides.

Main Results:

  • Significant differences in mutational patterns were observed between polymorphism and fixation data at codon positions 1, 2, and 3.
  • Fixation showed a bias towards increasing rare codons and decreasing frequent ones, suggesting ongoing evolution towards equilibrium.
  • Strong CpG effects were detected and subsequently suppressed by fixation, alongside evidence of purifying selection against specific dinucleotides.

Conclusions:

  • The fixation process effectively corrects volatile changes from polymorphisms, leading to gradual and directional codon changes.
  • Fixation helps maintain relatively stable codon composition during evolution.
  • Combined analysis of polymorphism and fixation provides a more comprehensive understanding of protein evolution.