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Related Concept Videos

Gene Families01:57

Gene Families

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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.
Occasionally these regions can be adapted to take on new roles within the organism, becoming novel genes...
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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.
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...
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Protein Families02:47

Protein Families

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Protein families are groups of homologous proteins; that is, they have similarities in amino acid sequences and three-dimensional structures. Protein families usually occur because of gene duplication, where an additional copy of a gene is inserted into the genome of an organism.   Mutations that change the amino acids but still allow the protein to be properly synthesized, will lead to new protein family members.   If these new proteins contain similar amino acids in key...
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Convergent Evolution01:54

Convergent Evolution

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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.
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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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Understanding Functional Evolution in Orthologs and Paralogs.

Maeva Perez1, Katherine Hurm2, David A Liberles3

  • 1Department of Biology, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong SAR, China.

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|October 14, 2025
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Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

This study explores how protein function changes quantitatively over evolutionary time. It highlights that understanding biochemical changes under selective pressure is key to tracking protein evolution and function.

Keywords:
BiochemistryEvolutionary theoryGene duplicationMolecular biophysicsOrthologsParalogsStochastic modeling

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Biochemistry
  • Genomics

Background:

  • Orthologs are often assumed to retain function better than paralogs over evolutionary distances, facilitating functional annotation transfer.
  • Protein function is fundamentally biochemical and subject to evolutionary selective pressures.
  • Quantitative descriptions of function offer deeper insights than qualitative ones.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the quantitative changes in protein function during evolution.
  • To explore the relationship between biochemical properties, selective pressures, and functional evolution.
  • To analyze functional divergence in proteins affected by gene duplication and speciation.

Main Methods:

  • Comparative analysis of protein sequences and functions.
  • Focus on quantitative biochemical descriptions of protein function.
  • Examination of evolutionary processes including gene duplication and speciation.

Main Results:

  • Protein function is defined by biochemistry under selective pressure, allowing for quantitative measurement.
  • Changes in biochemistry, mutation rates, and selection strength directly impact quantitative function.
  • Both gene duplication and speciation lead to quantifiable functional alterations in proteins.

Conclusions:

  • Quantitative descriptions of protein function provide valuable evolutionary insights.
  • Understanding the biochemical basis of function under selection is crucial for evolutionary studies.
  • Evolutionary mechanisms like duplication and speciation result in measurable functional shifts.