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Related Concept Videos

Genome Size and the Evolution of New Genes03:21

Genome Size and the Evolution of New Genes

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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.
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Genome Size and the Evolution of New Genes03:21

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Gene Families01:57

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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.
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Gene Duplication and Divergence02:37

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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.
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Gene Evolution - Fast or Slow?02:05

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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.
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Updated: Feb 22, 2026

The Power of Simplicity: Sea Urchin Embryos as in Vivo Developmental Models for Studying Complex Cell-to-cell Signaling Network Interactions
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Modularity: genes, development and evolution.

Diogo Melo1, Arthur Porto2, James M Cheverud3

  • 1Laboratório de Evolução de Mamíferos, Departamento de Genética e Biologia Evolutiva, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, 05508-090, Brazil.

Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics
|October 3, 2017
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Modularity provides a unified framework for understanding organismal structure and variation in evolutionary biology. This review explores its historical context, detection methods, and relationship with genetics and evolution.

Keywords:
G-matrixadaptive landscapegenotype-phenotype mapmacroevolutionmorphological integration

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Systems Biology
  • Quantitative Genetics

Background:

  • Modularity is a key concept explaining organismal structure and variation.
  • It unifies genetics, developmental biology, and multivariate evolution.
  • Research in systems biology and quantitative genetics is integrating these fields.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To provide a historical perspective on modularity in biology.
  • To highlight its significance across different biological organization levels.
  • To explore methods for detecting biological modularity.

Main Methods:

  • Historical review of modularity concept.
  • Exploration of quantitative genetic and developmental genetic approaches.
  • Analysis of modularity's dynamic relationship with the adaptive landscape.

Main Results:

  • Abundant empirical evidence supports the theory of modularity.
  • Synthesis of modularity across genetics, development, and evolution is advancing.
  • Modularity influences evolutionary trajectories and bridges micro- to macroevolution.

Conclusions:

  • Modularity offers a powerful theoretical framework for evolutionary biology.
  • Integrating diverse research approaches reveals its widespread importance.
  • Understanding modularity is crucial for explaining evolutionary processes and patterns.