序列保守性是否为生物功能提供了证据？

Does Sequence Conservation Provide Evidence for Biological Function?

机构信息

Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Connecticut, 91 North Eagleville Road, Storrs, CT 06269-3125, USA.

Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Connecticut, 91 North Eagleville Road, Storrs, CT 06269-3125, USA; Institute for Systems Genomics, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA.

出版信息

Trends Microbiol. 2017 Jan;25(1):11-18. doi: 10.1016/j.tim.2016.09.010. Epub 2016 Oct 20.

DOI:10.1016/j.tim.2016.09.010

PMID:27773523

Abstract

Finding a signature of purifying selection in a gene is usually interpreted as evidence for the gene providing a function that is targeted by natural selection. This opinion offers a very different hypothesis: purifying selection may be due to removing harmful mutations from the population, that is, the gene and its encoded protein become harmful after a mutation occurred, possibly because the mutated protein interferes with the translation machinery, or because of toxicity of the misfolded protein. Finding a signature of purifying selection should not automatically be considered proof of the gene's selectable function.

摘要

在一个基因中发现纯化选择的特征通常被解释为该基因提供了一个受到自然选择作用的功能的证据。这一观点提供了一个非常不同的假设：纯化选择可能是由于从种群中去除有害突变，也就是说，基因及其编码的蛋白质在发生突变后变得有害，可能是因为突变的蛋白质干扰了翻译机制，或者是因为错误折叠的蛋白质的毒性。发现纯化选择的特征不应该被自动视为该基因可选择功能的证据。