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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...

Convergent Evolution

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...

Eukaryotic Evolution

Eukaryotic Evolution

The endosymbiont theory is the most widely accepted theory of eukaryotic evolution; however, its progression is still somewhat debated. According to the nucleus-first hypothesis, the ancestral prokaryote first evolved a membrane to enclose DNA and form the nucleus. Conversely, the mitochondria-first hypothesis suggests that the nucleus was formed after endosymbiosis of mitochondria.
Contrary to the endosymbiont theory, the eukaryote-first hypothesis proposes that the simpler prokaryotic and...

Genome Size and the Evolution of New Genes

Genome Size and the Evolution of New Genes

While every living organism has a genome of some kind (be it RNA, or DNA), there is considerable variation in the sizes of these blueprints. One major factor that impacts genome size is whether the organism is prokaryotic or eukaryotic. In prokaryotes, the genome contains little to no non-coding sequence, such that genes are tightly clustered in groups or operons sequentially along the chromosome. Conversely, the genes in eukaryotes are punctuated by long stretches of non-coding sequence.

Evolutionary Relationships through Genome Comparisons

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 Evolution - Fast or Slow?

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...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 11, 2026

Dissecting the Non-human Primate Brain in Stereotaxic Space

Dissecting the Non-human Primate Brain in Stereotaxic Space

Published on: July 16, 2009

Evolution of neuronal and endothelial transcriptomes in primates.

Thomas Giger, Philipp Khaitovich, Mehmet Somel

Genome Biology and Evolution

|July 14, 2010

Summary

Gene expression in human brain cells evolves differently. Neuronal genes show less variation across tissues and species than endothelial cell genes, suggesting distinct evolutionary rates.

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Area of Science:

Evolutionary biology
Neuroscience
Genomics

Background:

Gene expression evolution studies traditionally analyze whole tissues, masking cell-specific differences.
Understanding cell-type-specific gene expression is crucial for a nuanced view of evolutionary processes.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate gene expression evolution at the cell type level in the human brain.
To compare the evolutionary rates of neuronal and endothelial cell transcriptomes.

Main Methods:

Isolated human neurons and endothelial cells from brain tissue using laser capture microdissection.
Identified cell type-specific genes.
Analyzed gene expression across 62 human tissues, developmental stages, and primate species.

Main Results:

Neuronal genes exhibited less variation across tissues and developmental stages compared to endothelial genes.
Neuronal transcriptomes showed reduced differences within primate species.
Greater interspecies differences were observed for neuronal genes than endothelial genes between humans, chimpanzees, and macaques.

Conclusions:

Neuronal and endothelial transcriptomes evolve at different rates within brain tissue.
Cell type-specific analysis reveals distinct evolutionary dynamics in the brain.