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Concerted evolution is the phenomenon where paralogous genes within one species are more closely related to one another than to members of the same gene family in closely related species. In other terms, when specific members of a family are investigated, a greater amount of similarity is found within a species rather than between species. [1] This is suggesting that members within this family do not in fact evolve independently of one another. [2]
The concept of concerted evolution is a molecular process which leads to the homogenization of DNA sequences. [1]
As shown from the diagram on the right, as each organism evolves, it creates a species that is more closely related to their genes than anyone else in their species. This is demonstrated by the different colors of circles. If each different color is representing a different organism in one species, this is showing that once the blue and the orange reproduce, they create organisms that are incredibly alike to them (thus they are represented as the same color)
This fundamental process operates in all organisms, even if it doesn't seem ultimately present at every moment.
Concerted evolution (phenomenon of duplicated genes) may often be caused by the genetic exchange known as gene conversion. [3] This other phenomenon is known as the "non-reciprocal exchange of genetic material between homologous sequences." [3]
Gene conservation can do a few things...
...thus playing a role in concerted evolution.
Gene conversion is also reliant on the gene sequences that are involved in the current process. Some entire gene sequences have undergone the process of concerted evolution whereas others have a more mosaic pattern where some genes are homogenized, and others diverge without this conversion. [3]
An example can be seen in bacteria: Escherichia coli (can cause severe food poisoning in hosts) has seven operons encoding various Ribosomal RNA. For each of these genes, rDNA sequences are essentially identical among all of the seven operons (sequence divergence of only 0.195%). In a closely related species, Haemophilus influenzae its six ribosomal RNA operons are entirely identical. When the 2 species are compared together however, the sequence divergence of the 16S rRNA gene between them is 5.90%. [1]
Findings of concerted evolution, particularly in ribosomal DNA genes, led the Cambridge molecular geneticist Gabriel Dover to his controversial proposal of molecular drive, which in his view was an evolutionary principle distinct both from natural selection and from genetic drift. Closely related species or even populations may differ in their nucleolus organizing regions (NORs), which are genomic regions that contain many copies of ribosomal RNA genes in eukaryotes, typically found within or adjacent to highly repetitive parts of the genome such as centromeres or telomeres in mammals such as the house mouse Mus musculus [5] or insects such as the grasshopper Podisma pedestris . [6]
The link between concerted evolution or molecular drive both playing a role in speciation is currently unknown. While this is not currently correlated, it seems entirely possible that for example some hybrids or backcrosses between species with different nucleolar organizing regions/ribosomal DNA repeat regions may have reduced fitness as a result of over- or under-expression of ribosomal RNA.
In the fields of molecular biology and genetics, a genome is all the genetic information of an organism. It consists of nucleotide sequences of DNA. The nuclear genome includes protein-coding genes and non-coding genes, other functional regions of the genome such as regulatory sequences, and often a substantial fraction of junk DNA with no evident function. Almost all eukaryotes have mitochondria and a small mitochondrial genome. Algae and plants also contain chloroplasts with a chloroplast genome.
A transposable element is a nucleic acid sequence in DNA that can change its position within a genome, sometimes creating or reversing mutations and altering the cell's genetic identity and genome size. Transposition often results in duplication of the same genetic material. In the human genome, L1 and Alu elements are two examples. Barbara McClintock's discovery of them earned her a Nobel Prize in 1983. Its importance in personalized medicine is becoming increasingly relevant, as well as gaining more attention in data analytics given the difficulty of analysis in very high dimensional spaces.
Non-coding DNA (ncDNA) sequences are components of an organism's DNA that do not encode protein sequences. Some non-coding DNA is transcribed into functional non-coding RNA molecules. Other functional regions of the non-coding DNA fraction include regulatory sequences that control gene expression; scaffold attachment regions; origins of DNA replication; centromeres; and telomeres. Some non-coding regions appear to be mostly nonfunctional, such as introns, pseudogenes, intergenic DNA, and fragments of transposons and viruses. Regions that are completely nonfunctional are called junk DNA.
Molecular evolution is the process of change in the sequence composition of cellular molecules such as DNA, RNA, and proteins across generations. The field of molecular evolution uses principles of evolutionary biology and population genetics to explain patterns in these changes. Major topics in molecular evolution concern the rates and impacts of single nucleotide changes, neutral evolution vs. natural selection, origins of new genes, the genetic nature of complex traits, the genetic basis of speciation, the evolution of development, and ways that evolutionary forces influence genomic and phenotypic changes.
Gene duplication is a major mechanism through which new genetic material is generated during molecular evolution. It can be defined as any duplication of a region of DNA that contains a gene. Gene duplications can arise as products of several types of errors in DNA replication and repair machinery as well as through fortuitous capture by selfish genetic elements. Common sources of gene duplications include ectopic recombination, retrotransposition event, aneuploidy, polyploidy, and replication slippage.
A gene family is a set of several similar genes, formed by duplication of a single original gene, and generally with similar biochemical functions. One such family are the genes for human hemoglobin subunits; the ten genes are in two clusters on different chromosomes, called the α-globin and β-globin loci. These two gene clusters are thought to have arisen as a result of a precursor gene being duplicated approximately 500 million years ago.
Ribosomal DNA (rDNA) is a DNA sequence that codes for ribosomal RNA. These sequences regulate transcription initiation and amplification, and contain both transcribed and non-transcribed spacer segments.
Repeated sequences are short or long patterns of nucleic acids that occur in multiple copies throughout the genome. In many organisms, a significant fraction of the genomic DNA is repetitive, with over two-thirds of the sequence consisting of repetitive elements in humans. Some of these repeated sequences are necessary for maintaining important genome structures such as telomeres or centromeres.
Gene conversion is the process by which one DNA sequence replaces a homologous sequence such that the sequences become identical after the conversion event. Gene conversion can be either allelic, meaning that one allele of the same gene replaces another allele, or ectopic, meaning that one paralogous DNA sequence converts another.
Interspersed repetitive DNA is found in all eukaryotic genomes. They differ from tandem repeat DNA in that rather than the repeat sequences coming right after one another, they are dispersed throughout the genome and nonadjacent. The sequence that repeats can vary depending on the type of organism, and many other factors. Certain classes of interspersed repeat sequences propagate themselves by RNA mediated transposition; they have been called retrotransposons, and they constitute 25–40% of most mammalian genomes. Some types of interspersed repetitive DNA elements allow new genes to evolve by uncoupling similar DNA sequences from gene conversion during meiosis.
In evolutionary biology, conserved sequences are identical or similar sequences in nucleic acids or proteins across species, or within a genome, or between donor and receptor taxa. Conservation indicates that a sequence has been maintained by natural selection.
In biology, the word gene has two meanings. The Mendelian gene is a basic unit of heredity. The molecular gene is a sequence of nucleotides in DNA, that is transcribed to produce a functional RNA. There are two types of molecular genes: protein-coding genes and non-coding genes.
Mobile genetic elements (MGEs), sometimes called selfish genetic elements, are a type of genetic material that can move around within a genome, or that can be transferred from one species or replicon to another. MGEs are found in all organisms. In humans, approximately 50% of the genome is thought to be MGEs. MGEs play a distinct role in evolution. Gene duplication events can also happen through the mechanism of MGEs. MGEs can also cause mutations in protein coding regions, which alters the protein functions. These mechanisms can also rearrange genes in the host genome generating variation. These mechanism can increase fitness by gaining new or additional functions. An example of MGEs in evolutionary context are that virulence factors and antibiotic resistance genes of MGEs can be transported to share genetic code with neighboring bacteria. However, MGEs can also decrease fitness by introducing disease-causing alleles or mutations. The set of MGEs in an organism is called a mobilome, which is composed of a large number of plasmids, transposons and viruses.
A gene family is a set of homologous genes within one organism. A gene cluster is a group of two or more genes found within an organism's DNA that encode similar polypeptides, or proteins, which collectively share a generalized function and are often located within a few thousand base pairs of each other. The size of gene clusters can vary significantly, from a few genes to several hundred genes. Portions of the DNA sequence of each gene within a gene cluster are found to be identical; however, the resulting protein of each gene is distinctive from the resulting protein of another gene within the cluster. Genes found in a gene cluster may be observed near one another on the same chromosome or on different, but homologous chromosomes. An example of a gene cluster is the Hox gene, which is made up of eight genes and is part of the Homeobox gene family.
Molecular drive is a term coined by Gabriel Dover in 1982 to describe evolutionary processes that change the genetic composition of a population through DNA turnover mechanisms. Molecular drive operates independently of natural selection and genetic drift.
Helitrons are one of the three groups of eukaryotic class 2 transposable elements (TEs) so far described. They are the eukaryotic rolling-circle transposable elements which are hypothesized to transpose by a rolling circle replication mechanism via a single-stranded DNA intermediate. They were first discovered in plants and in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, and now they have been identified in a diverse range of species, from protists to mammals. Helitrons make up a substantial fraction of many genomes where non-autonomous elements frequently outnumber the putative autonomous partner. Helitrons seem to have a major role in the evolution of host genomes. They frequently capture diverse host genes, some of which can evolve into novel host genes or become essential for Helitron transposition.
A conserved non-coding sequence (CNS) is a DNA sequence of noncoding DNA that is evolutionarily conserved. These sequences are of interest for their potential to regulate gene production.
Genome evolution is the process by which a genome changes in structure (sequence) or size over time. The study of genome evolution involves multiple fields such as structural analysis of the genome, the study of genomic parasites, gene and ancient genome duplications, polyploidy, and comparative genomics. Genome evolution is a constantly changing and evolving field due to the steadily growing number of sequenced genomes, both prokaryotic and eukaryotic, available to the scientific community and the public at large.
Unequal crossing over is a type of gene duplication or deletion event that deletes a sequence in one strand and replaces it with a duplication from its sister chromatid in mitosis or from its homologous chromosome during meiosis. It is a type of chromosomal crossover between homologous sequences that are not paired precisely. Normally genes are responsible for occurrence of crossing over. It exchanges sequences of different links between chromosomes. Along with gene conversion, it is believed to be the main driver for the generation of gene duplications and is a source of mutation in the genome.
This glossary of cellular and molecular biology is a list of definitions of terms and concepts commonly used in the study of cell biology, molecular biology, and related disciplines, including molecular genetics, biochemistry, and microbiology. It is split across two articles: