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Related Concept Videos

The Evidence for Evolution02:55

The Evidence for Evolution

Genetic variations accumulating within populations over generations give rise to biological evolution. Evolutionary changes can result in the formation of novel varieties and entire new species. These changes are responsible for the diverse forms of life inhabiting the planet. The evidence for evolution suggests that all living organisms descended from common ancestors.
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.
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...
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Evolution of New Traits in Microbes

Microorganisms evolve rapidly due to their large population sizes and short generation times, often exhibiting measurable changes within days under laboratory conditions. Natural selection acts on standing genetic variation, enabling the retention and amplification of beneficial traits that confer fitness advantages in changing environments.Adaptive Pigment Regulation in RhodobacterIn Rhodobacter, a genus of purple non-sulfur bacteria, light-harvesting pigments such as bacteriochlorophyll and...
Cis-regulatory Sequences02:02

Cis-regulatory Sequences

Cis-regulatory sequences are short fragments of non-coding DNA that are present on the same chromosomes as the genes that they regulate. These fragments serve as binding sites for transcriptional regulators, proteins that are responsible for controlling gene transcription and differential gene expression across cell types in eukaryotes. Cis-regulatory sequences can be close to the gene of interest or thousands of bases away in the DNA sequence; however, those sequences that are further away are...
Cis-regulatory Sequences02:02

Cis-regulatory Sequences

Cis-regulatory sequences are short fragments of non-coding DNA that are present on the same chromosomes as the genes that they regulate. These fragments serve as binding sites for transcriptional regulators, proteins that are responsible for controlling gene transcription and differential gene expression across cell types in eukaryotes. Cis-regulatory sequences can be close to the gene of interest or thousands of bases away in the DNA sequence; however, those sequences that are further away are...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 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

Elements of coevolution in biological sequences.

Olivier Rivoire1

  • 1CNRS/UJF-Grenoble 1, LIPhy UMR 5588, Grenoble F-38402, France.

Physical Review Letters
|May 18, 2013
PubMed
Summary

Researchers identified coevolving contacts and sectors in proteins. They linked these units with intermediate "sectons" and showed the methods apply to bacterial genomes, revealing broader evolutionary insights.

Area of Science:

  • Computational biology
  • Molecular evolution
  • Bioinformatics

Background:

  • Coevolutionary analysis of amino acids reveals structural and functional units within proteins.
  • Two main types of coevolving units identified: contacts (distant but structurally interacting amino acids) and sectors (larger, functionally related groups).

Purpose of the Study:

  • To reconcile different analytical approaches for studying protein coevolution.
  • To integrate findings on coevolving contacts, sectors, and intermediate units (sectons).
  • To demonstrate the general applicability of these methods beyond protein structures, including gene co-occurrence in bacterial genomes.

Main Methods:

  • Reconciliation of two distinct methods for analyzing correlations in multiple sequence alignments.
  • Application of these methods to identify coevolving contacts, sectors, and sectons.

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Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 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

Daily Transfers, Archiving Populations, and Measuring Fitness in the Long-Term Evolution Experiment with Escherichia coli
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Daily Transfers, Archiving Populations, and Measuring Fitness in the Long-Term Evolution Experiment with Escherichia coli

Published on: August 18, 2023

Procedure for Adaptive Laboratory Evolution of Microorganisms Using a Chemostat
06:03

Procedure for Adaptive Laboratory Evolution of Microorganisms Using a Chemostat

Published on: September 20, 2016

  • Extension of the analysis to the co-occurrence of orthologous genes in bacterial genomes.

    • Main Results:

    • Successfully linked coevolving contacts and sectors through a unified analytical framework.
    • Identified "sectons" as intermediate coevolving units providing additional evolutionary information.
    • Demonstrated that the analytical methods and findings are applicable to gene co-occurrence in bacterial genomes, extending beyond protein structure.

    Conclusions:

    • A unified approach reveals a hierarchy of coevolving units in proteins, from contacts to sectors.
    • Sectons represent a novel class of coevolving units offering new insights.
    • The principles of coevolutionary analysis are broadly applicable to understanding gene family evolution in prokaryotes.