Salmena Leonardo
Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Toronto, 610 University Avenue, Toronto, ON, Canada, M5G 2 M9,
Methods Mol Biol. 2014;1167:3-13. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4939-0835-6_1.
The study of pseudogenes, originally dismissed as genomic relics of evolutionary selection, has seen a resurgence in scientific literature, in addition to being a peculiar topic of discussion in theological debates. For a long time, pseudogenes have been touted as a beacon of natural selection and a definitive proof of evolution due to the slow mutation rate that differentiated them from their parental genes and ultimately caused their genetic demise as functional genes. It now seems that "creationists" have co-opted some recent reports identifying unheralded biological functions to pseudogens and other noncoding RNAs as evidence to undermine the existence of evolution and supporting intelligent design. This issue of Methods in Molecular Biology focused on pseudogenes will certainly not end, nor enter this debate; however, scientists who are also genomics and pseudogene enthusiasts will certainly appreciate that many scientists are thinking about these particular genetic elements in new and interesting ways. With this new interest in a biological significance and "non-junk" role for pseudogenes and other noncoding RNAs, new methods and approaches are being developed to unlock the mystery of these ancient artifacts we know as pseudogenes. In this brief introductory chapter we highlight the renewed interest in pseudogenes and review a rationale for intensification of pseudogene-related research.
假基因的研究最初被视为进化选择的基因组遗迹，如今在科学文献中再度兴起，同时也是神学辩论中一个奇特的讨论话题。长期以来，假基因因其缓慢的突变率而被视为自然选择的标志和进化的决定性证据，这种突变率使其与亲本基因区分开来，并最终导致其作为功能基因的遗传消亡。现在看来，“神创论者”利用了一些最近的报告，这些报告指出假基因和其他非编码RNA具有此前未被发现的生物学功能，以此作为破坏进化存在并支持智能设计的证据。本期《分子生物学方法》聚焦假基因，这一话题肯定不会就此结束，也不会卷入这场辩论；然而，身为基因组学和假基因爱好者的科学家们肯定会很高兴地看到，许多科学家正在以新颖有趣的方式思考这些特殊的遗传元件。随着对假基因和其他非编码RNA的生物学意义及“非垃圾”作用产生新的兴趣，人们正在开发新的方法和途径来揭开这些我们称为假基因的古老遗传产物的神秘面纱。在这篇简短的引言章节中，我们将突出对假基因重新燃起的兴趣，并审视加强假基因相关研究的基本原理。
