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Updated: Feb 16, 2026

Zygote Microinjection for Creating Gene Cassette Knock-in and Flox Alleles in Mice
Published on: June 24, 2022
Origin of new genes after zygotic genome activation in vertebrate
Hai-Bo Xu1,2, Yong-Xin Li1,3, Yan Li4
1State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China.
Abstract:
New genes are drivers of evolutionary innovation and phenotypic evolution. Expression of new genes in early development raises the possibility that new genes could originate and be recruited for functions in embryonic development, but this remains undocumented. Here, based on temporal gene expression at different developmental stages in Xenopus tropicalis, we found that young protein-coding genes were significantly enriched for expression in developmental stages occurring after the midblastula transition (MBT), and displayed a decreasing trend in abundance in the subsequent stages after MBT. To complement the finding, we demonstrate essential functional attributes of a young orphan gene, named as Fog2, in morphological development. Our data indicate that new genes could originate after MBT and be recruited for functions in embryonic development, and thus provide insights for better understanding of the origin, evolution, and function of new genes.
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