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Origin and evolution of new genes

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Chinese Science Bulletin

Abstract

Organisms have variable genome sizes and contain different numbers of genes. This difference demonstrates that new gene origination is a fundamental process in evolutionary biology. Though the study of the origination of new genes dated back more than half a century ago, it is not until the 1990s when the first young genejingwei was found that empirical investigation of the molecular mechanisms of origination of new genes became possible. In the recent years, several young genes were identified and the studies on these genes have greatly enriched the knowledge of this field. Yet more details in a general picture of new genes origination are to be clarified. We have developed a systematic approach to searching for young genes at the genomic level, in the hope to summarize a general pattern of the origination and evolution of new genes, such as the rate of new gene appearance, impact of new genes on their host genomes, etc.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CAS-Max Planck Junior Scientist Group, Key Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, 650223, Kunming, China

    Xin Li, Shuang Yang, Lixin Peng & Wen Wang

  2. College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest Sci-Tech University of Agriculture and Forestry, 712100, Yangling, China

    Xin Li, Lixin Peng & Hong Chen

  3. Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100039, Beijing, China

    Shuang Yang

  4. Institute of Biotechnology, Xuzhou Normal University, 221116, Xuzhou, China

    Hong Chen

Authors
  1. Xin Li
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  2. Shuang Yang
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  3. Lixin Peng
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  4. Hong Chen
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  5. Wen Wang
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Correspondence to Wen Wang.

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Li, X., Yang, S., Peng, L. et al. Origin and evolution of new genes. Chin. Sci. Bull. 49, 1681–1686 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03184298

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03184298

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