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?

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...
Gene Evolution - Fast or Slow?02:05

Gene Evolution - Fast or Slow?

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...
Structure of a Gene01:30

Structure of a Gene

A gene is the fundamental unit of heredity. Every individual has two copies of each gene, one inherited from each parent. Although most people contain the same genes, there is a small fraction that is slightly different amongst people. A gene with a small difference in its sequence of DNA bases forms different alleles, contributing to different phenotypes.
However, only 1% of the DNA is composed of genes that encode proteins; the rest, 99% is non-coding DNA. This non-coding DNA performs...
Gene Duplication and Divergence02:37

Gene Duplication and Divergence

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 characterized.
Human Genetics01:28

Human Genetics

Human genetics provides a profound framework for understanding the interplay between genetic predispositions and human psychology. At the heart of this discipline lies the study of how genes influence physical traits, behaviors, and susceptibility to diseases. Each person carries a unique genetic code that subtly or significantly shapes their psychological and behavioral landscape.
The complex relationship between genetics and psychology is observable through common biological components such...
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...

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

Exploring the interplay of epigenetics and individualization.

Trends in ecology & evolution·2026
Same author

SwarmGenomics: A Unified Pipeline for Individual-Based Whole-Genome Analyses.

Molecular ecology resources·2026
Same author

Opinion: Why Sex-Based Genomic Differentiation Should Not Be Overlooked in Population Genetics.

Molecular ecology·2025
Same author

The CpG Landscape of Protein Coding DNA in Vertebrates.

Evolutionary applications·2025
Same author

DNA barcoding of passerine birds in Iran.

ZooKeys·2025
Same author

Diverse evolutionary trajectories of mitocoding DNA in mammalian and avian nuclear genomes.

Genome research·2025
Same journal

Multi-omics analysis identifies loci associated with pyrethroid resistance across sister species in the Anopheles gambiae species complex.

BMC genomics·2026
Same journal

Comparative and population genomics analyses of eared pheasants inhabiting highly varying altitudes.

BMC genomics·2026
Same journal

Identification of differentially expressed lncRNAs in different daily weight gains of Jiangquan black pigs and functional analysis of LOC100518120.

BMC genomics·2026
Same journal

A self-attention-based deep learning model for identifying key genes in insect pupal metamorphosis.

BMC genomics·2026
Same journal

Multiple genomic approaches reveal geographic structure and local selection signals in invasive Anopheles stephensi from the Horn of Africa and Yemen.

BMC genomics·2026
Same journal

Integration of bulk RNA-seq and scRNA-seq reveals cell subsets and gene signatures associated with Glaesserella parasuis infection.

BMC genomics·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 5, 2026

In Vivo Functional Study of Disease-associated Rare Human Variants Using Drosophila
06:41

In Vivo Functional Study of Disease-associated Rare Human Variants Using Drosophila

Published on: August 20, 2019

Evolutionary and functional constraints structure human gene research visibility.

Eswarrijah Eswaran1, Marvin Zimmermann1, Gamchini Krishnagopalan1

  • 1Computational Systems Biology, TU Dortmund University, Emil-Figge-Str. 66, 44227, Dortmund, Germany.

BMC Genomics
|June 4, 2026
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Biomedical research focuses unevenly on human genes, with less-studied genes showing distinct evolutionary and disease characteristics. This highlights the need for bias-aware strategies to explore the full human genome comprehensively.

More Related Videos

Navigating MARRVEL, a Web-Based Tool that Integrates Human Genomics and Model Organism Genetics Information
09:37

Navigating MARRVEL, a Web-Based Tool that Integrates Human Genomics and Model Organism Genetics Information

Published on: August 15, 2019

Screening for Functional Non-coding Genetic Variants Using Electrophoretic Mobility Shift Assay (EMSA) and DNA-affinity Precipitation Assay (DAPA)
11:35

Screening for Functional Non-coding Genetic Variants Using Electrophoretic Mobility Shift Assay (EMSA) and DNA-affinity Precipitation Assay (DAPA)

Published on: August 21, 2016

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 5, 2026

In Vivo Functional Study of Disease-associated Rare Human Variants Using Drosophila
06:41

In Vivo Functional Study of Disease-associated Rare Human Variants Using Drosophila

Published on: August 20, 2019

Navigating MARRVEL, a Web-Based Tool that Integrates Human Genomics and Model Organism Genetics Information
09:37

Navigating MARRVEL, a Web-Based Tool that Integrates Human Genomics and Model Organism Genetics Information

Published on: August 15, 2019

Screening for Functional Non-coding Genetic Variants Using Electrophoretic Mobility Shift Assay (EMSA) and DNA-affinity Precipitation Assay (DAPA)
11:35

Screening for Functional Non-coding Genetic Variants Using Electrophoretic Mobility Shift Assay (EMSA) and DNA-affinity Precipitation Assay (DAPA)

Published on: August 21, 2016

Area of Science:

  • Genomics
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Biomedical Research

Background:

  • Biomedical research effort is unevenly distributed across human genes.
  • Thousands of genes remain sparsely studied, raising questions about research bias versus biological importance.
  • Understanding research attention patterns is crucial for systematic genome exploration.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To quantify gene-level publication patterns.
  • To integrate gene properties like sequence features, evolutionary constraint, gene age, expression, and disease associations.
  • To analyze how research attention relates to these gene characteristics.

Main Methods:

  • Quantified gene-level publication data.
  • Integrated sequence features, evolutionary constraint (dN/dS ratios), gene age, expression levels, and disease associations.
  • Utilized standardized MANE Select annotations for gene sets.
  • Stratified gene sets to compare highly studied versus understudied genes.

Main Results:

  • Publication counts follow a heavy-tailed distribution, with highly studied genes showing stronger evolutionary constraint.
  • Understudied genes are evolutionarily younger, with reduced expression and increased tissue specificity.
  • Research attention concentrates on cancer, respiratory, and vascular diseases, neglecting congenital and rare diseases.
  • Genes associated with orphan diseases have significantly fewer publications.

Conclusions:

  • Research attention is systematically structured across evolutionary, molecular, and disease dimensions.
  • The least-studied genes are underexplored and may be less experimentally tractable.
  • Bias-aware research prioritization is needed for comprehensive human gene characterization.