Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Gene Evolution - Fast or Slow?02:05

Gene Evolution - Fast or Slow?

7.3K
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...
7.3K
Speciation Rates01:07

Speciation Rates

21.3K
Overview
21.3K
Evolutionary Relationships through Genome Comparisons02:54

Evolutionary Relationships through Genome Comparisons

6.1K
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...
6.1K
Convergent Evolution01:54

Convergent Evolution

28.2K
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.
28.2K
Gene Duplication and Divergence02:37

Gene Duplication and Divergence

6.2K
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...
6.2K
Mutation, Gene Flow, and Genetic Drift01:09

Mutation, Gene Flow, and Genetic Drift

59.1K
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).
59.1K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

ProteoMeter: a pipeline for integrating multi-PTM and limited proteolysis data to reveal modification-structure coupling at the residue level.

NAR genomics and bioinformatics·2026
Same author

Molecular basis underlying the isoprene emission diversity in Fagaceae.

Plant physiology·2026
Same author

Australian pitcher plant (Cephalotus follicularis).

Nature ecology & evolution·2026
Same author

Genomic cradle for thousands.

Nature plants·2026
Same author

Transcriptomic prey-capture responses in convergently evolved carnivorous pitcher plants.

The New phytologist·2025
Same author

ProCaliper: functional and structural analysis, visualization, and annotation of proteins.

Bioinformatics advances·2025

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 15, 2025

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

1.0K

Detecting macroevolutionary genotype-phenotype associations using error-corrected rates of protein convergence.

Kenji Fukushima1, David D Pollock2,3

  • 1Institute for Molecular Plant Physiology and Biophysics, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany. kenji.fukushima@uni-wuerzburg.de.

Nature Ecology & Evolution
|January 5, 2023
PubMed
Summary

This study introduces a new metric, omega_C (ωC), to accurately measure protein evolution convergence. This method helps identify adaptive molecular convergence across diverse species by analyzing gene expression and protein sequences.

More Related Videos

Demonstration of the Sequence Alignment to Predict Across Species Susceptibility Tool for Rapid Assessment of Protein Conservation
16:02

Demonstration of the Sequence Alignment to Predict Across Species Susceptibility Tool for Rapid Assessment of Protein Conservation

Published on: February 10, 2023

2.8K
An Integrated Approach for Microprotein Identification and Sequence Analysis
09:37

An Integrated Approach for Microprotein Identification and Sequence Analysis

Published on: July 12, 2022

3.5K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Aug 15, 2025

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

1.0K
Demonstration of the Sequence Alignment to Predict Across Species Susceptibility Tool for Rapid Assessment of Protein Conservation
16:02

Demonstration of the Sequence Alignment to Predict Across Species Susceptibility Tool for Rapid Assessment of Protein Conservation

Published on: February 10, 2023

2.8K
An Integrated Approach for Microprotein Identification and Sequence Analysis
09:37

An Integrated Approach for Microprotein Identification and Sequence Analysis

Published on: July 12, 2022

3.5K

Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Molecular Evolution
  • Genomics

Background:

  • Macroevolutionary studies often face challenges in detecting genotype-phenotype associations due to mutations and phylogenetic uncertainty.
  • Convergent evolution signals can be obscured by genetic noise and phylogenetic errors over long evolutionary timescales.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop a novel metric, omega_C (ωC), for accurately measuring the rate of protein evolution convergence.
  • To enable genome-wide searches for adaptive molecular convergence without prior phenotypic hypotheses.
  • To facilitate bidirectional searches for genotype-phenotype associations across deep evolutionary divergences.

Main Methods:

  • Extended the framework of non-synonymous to synonymous substitution rate ratios.
  • Developed and applied the omega_C (ωC) metric for error-corrected convergence rate calculation.
  • Utilized gene expression data and a heuristic algorithm to analyze millions of vertebrate gene branch combinations and higher-order phylogenetic combinations.

Main Results:

  • The omega_C (ωC) metric successfully distinguishes natural selection from genetic noise and phylogenetic errors in simulations and real-world examples.
  • Identified joint convergence of gene expression patterns and protein sequences, pinpointing amino acid substitutions in functionally important sites.
  • Generated hypotheses for undiscovered phenotypes based on molecular convergence patterns.

Conclusions:

  • The developed omega_C (ωC) metric provides an accurate and robust approach for studying adaptive molecular convergence.
  • The method allows for exploratory, genome-wide identification of convergent evolution across vast evolutionary distances.
  • This approach opens new avenues for discovering genotype-phenotype associations and understanding evolutionary adaptations.