Field Ben, Osbourn Anne
Mob Genet Elements. 2012 Jan 1;2(1):46-50. doi: 10.4161/mge.19348.
In eukaryotes the arrangement of genes along the chromosome is not as random as it at first appeared, and distinctive clusters of functionally related but non-homologous genes can be found in the genomes of certain animals and fungi. These include the major histocompatibility complex in mammals and gene clusters for nutrient use and secondary metabolite production in fungi. A growing number of functional gene clusters for different types of secondary metabolite are now being discovered in plant genomes. However, the molecular mechanisms and evolutionary pressures behind their formation are poorly understood. Here we discuss the implications of our recent investigation into the origin of two functional gene clusters in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana.
在真核生物中，基因沿染色体的排列并不像最初看起来那样随机，在某些动物和真菌的基因组中可以发现功能相关但非同源的基因的独特簇。这些包括哺乳动物中的主要组织相容性复合体以及真菌中用于营养利用和次级代谢产物产生的基因簇。现在在植物基因组中发现了越来越多不同类型次级代谢产物的功能基因簇。然而，它们形成背后的分子机制和进化压力却知之甚少。在这里，我们讨论了我们最近对模式植物拟南芥中两个功能基因簇的起源进行研究的意义。
