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Gene Cluster
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. Formation Historically, four models have been proposed for the formation and persistence of gene clusters. Gene duplication and d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gene Family
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. Genes are categorized into families based on shared nucleotide or protein sequences. Phylogenetic techniques can be used as a more rigorous test. The positions of exons within the coding sequence can be used to infer common ancestry. Knowing the sequence of the protein encoded by a gene can allow researchers to apply methods that find similarities among protein sequences that provide more information than similarities or differences among DNA sequences. If the genes of a gene family encode proteins, the term '' protein family'' is often ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ParaHox
The ParaHox gene cluster is an array of homeobox genes (involved in morphogenesis, the regulation of patterns of anatomical development) from the Gsx, Xlox ( Pdx) and Cdx gene families. Regulatory gene cluster These genes were first shown to be arranged into a physically-linked chromosomal cluster in amphioxus, an invertebrate with a single member of each of the three gene families. All the ParaHox genes in the amphioxus genome are therefore in the ParaHox gene cluster. In contrast, the human genome has six ParaHox genes ( GSX1, GSX2, PDX1, CDX1, CDX2, CDX4), of which three genes ( GSX1, PDX1 (=IPF1), CDX2) are physically linked to form a human ParaHox gene cluster on chromosome 13. Mouse has a homologous ParaHox gene cluster on chromosome 5. The other three human ParaHox genes are remnants from duplicated ParaHox gene clusters that were generated in the 2R genome duplications at the base of vertebrate evolution. Some vertebrates, notably chondrichthyan fish and coelacanths, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Meiosis
Meiosis (; , since it is a reductional division) is a special type of cell division of germ cells in sexually-reproducing organisms that produces the gametes, such as sperm or egg cells. It involves two rounds of division that ultimately result in four cells with only one copy of each chromosome ( haploid). Additionally, prior to the division, genetic material from the paternal and maternal copies of each chromosome is crossed over, creating new combinations of code on each chromosome. Later on, during fertilisation, the haploid cells produced by meiosis from a male and female will fuse to create a cell with two copies of each chromosome again, the zygote. Errors in meiosis resulting in aneuploidy (an abnormal number of chromosomes) are the leading known cause of miscarriage and the most frequent genetic cause of developmental disabilities. In meiosis, DNA replication is followed by two rounds of cell division to produce four daughter cells, each with half the number of chr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Allele
An allele (, ; ; modern formation from Greek ἄλλος ''állos'', "other") is a variation of the same sequence of nucleotides at the same place on a long DNA molecule, as described in leading textbooks on genetics and evolution. ::"The chromosomal or genomic location of a gene or any other genetic element is called a locus (plural: loci) and alternative DNA sequences at a locus are called alleles." The simplest alleles are single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP). but they can also be insertions and deletions of up to several thousand base pairs. Popular definitions of 'allele' typically refer only to different alleles within genes. For example, the ABO blood grouping is controlled by the ABO gene, which has six common alleles (variants). In population genetics, nearly every living human's phenotype for the ABO gene is some combination of just these six alleles. Most alleles observed result in little or no change in the function of the gene product it codes for. However, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Genetic Recombination
Genetic recombination (also known as genetic reshuffling) is the exchange of genetic material between different organisms which leads to production of offspring with combinations of traits that differ from those found in either parent. In eukaryotes, genetic recombination during meiosis can lead to a novel set of genetic information that can be further passed on from parents to offspring. Most recombination occurs naturally and can be classified into two types: (1) ''interchromosomal'' recombination, occurring through independent assortment of alleles whose loci are on different but homologous chromosomes (random orientation of pairs of homologous chromosomes in meiosis I); & (2) ''intrachromosomal'' recombination, occurring through crossing over. During meiosis in eukaryotes, genetic recombination involves the pairing of homologous chromosomes. This may be followed by information transfer between the chromosomes. The information transfer may occur without physical exchange (a se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tandemly Arrayed Genes
Tandemly arrayed genes (TAGs) are a gene cluster created by tandem duplications, a process in which one gene is duplicated and the copy is found adjacent to the original. They serve to encode large numbers of genes at a time. TAGs represent a large proportion of genes in a genome, including between 14% to 17% of the human, mouse, and rat genomes. TAG clusters may have as few as two genes, with small clusters predominating, but may consist of hundreds of genes. An example are tandem clusters of rRNA encoding genes. These genes are transcribed faster than they would be if only a single copy of the gene was available. Additionally, a single RNA gene may not be able to provide enough RNA, but tandem repeats of the gene allow sufficient RNA to be produced. For example, cells in a human embryo contain between five and ten million ribosomes, and cell number doubles within 24 hours. In order to provide the necessary ribosomes, multiple RNA polymerases must consecutively transcribe multiple ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gene Conversion
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. Allelic gene conversion Allelic gene conversion occurs during meiosis when homologous recombination between heterozygotic sites results in a mismatch in base pairing. This mismatch is then recognized and corrected by the cellular machinery causing one of the alleles to be converted to the other. This can cause non-Mendelian segregation of alleles in germ cells. Nonallelic/ectopic gene conversion Recombination occurs not only during meiosis, but also as a mechanism for repair of double-strand breaks (DSBs) caused by DNA damage. These DSBs are usually repaired using the sister chromatid of the broken duplex and not the homologous chromosome, so they wou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tandemly Arrayed Genes
Tandemly arrayed genes (TAGs) are a gene cluster created by tandem duplications, a process in which one gene is duplicated and the copy is found adjacent to the original. They serve to encode large numbers of genes at a time. TAGs represent a large proportion of genes in a genome, including between 14% to 17% of the human, mouse, and rat genomes. TAG clusters may have as few as two genes, with small clusters predominating, but may consist of hundreds of genes. An example are tandem clusters of rRNA encoding genes. These genes are transcribed faster than they would be if only a single copy of the gene was available. Additionally, a single RNA gene may not be able to provide enough RNA, but tandem repeats of the gene allow sufficient RNA to be produced. For example, cells in a human embryo contain between five and ten million ribosomes, and cell number doubles within 24 hours. In order to provide the necessary ribosomes, multiple RNA polymerases must consecutively transcribe multiple ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tandem Array
Tandemly arrayed genes (TAGs) are a gene cluster created by tandem duplications, a process in which one gene is duplicated and the copy is found adjacent to the original. They serve to encode large numbers of genes at a time. TAGs represent a large proportion of genes in a genome, including between 14% to 17% of the human, mouse, and rat genomes. TAG clusters may have as few as two genes, with small clusters predominating, but may consist of hundreds of genes. An example are tandem clusters of rRNA encoding genes. These genes are transcribed faster than they would be if only a single copy of the gene was available. Additionally, a single RNA gene may not be able to provide enough RNA, but tandem repeats of the gene allow sufficient RNA to be produced. For example, cells in a human embryo contain between five and ten million ribosomes, and cell number doubles within 24 hours. In order to provide the necessary ribosomes, multiple RNA polymerases must consecutively transcribe multiple ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gene Expression
Gene expression is the process by which information from a gene is used in the synthesis of a functional gene product that enables it to produce end products, protein or non-coding RNA, and ultimately affect a phenotype, as the final effect. These products are often proteins, but in non-protein-coding genes such as transfer RNA (tRNA) and small nuclear RNA (snRNA), the product is a functional non-coding RNA. Gene expression is summarized in the central dogma of molecular biology first formulated by Francis Crick in 1958, further developed in his 1970 article, and expanded by the subsequent discoveries of reverse transcription and RNA replication. The process of gene expression is used by all known life—eukaryotes (including multicellular organisms), prokaryotes (bacteria and archaea), and utilized by viruses—to generate the macromolecular machinery for life. In genetics, gene expression is the most fundamental level at which the genotype gives rise to the phenotype, '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Promoter (genetics)
In genetics, a promoter is a sequence of DNA to which proteins bind to initiate transcription of a single RNA transcript from the DNA downstream of the promoter. The RNA transcript may encode a protein (mRNA), or can have a function in and of itself, such as tRNA or rRNA. Promoters are located near the transcription start sites of genes, upstream on the DNA (towards the 5' region of the sense strand). Promoters can be about 100–1000 base pairs long, the sequence of which is highly dependent on the gene and product of transcription, type or class of RNA polymerase recruited to the site, and species of organism. Promoters control gene expression in bacteria and eukaryotes. RNA polymerase must attach to DNA near a gene for transcription to occur. Promoter DNA sequences provide an enzyme binding site. The -10 sequence is TATAAT. -35 sequences are conserved on average, but not in most promoters. Artificial promoters with conserved -10 and -35 elements transcribe more slowly. All D ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
