Birchler James A
Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA.
G3 (Bethesda). 2025 Jan 8;15(1). doi: 10.1093/g3journal/jkae269.
New genes arise from duplication followed by divergence. The most common fate of a duplication is one copy is deleted to return to a single copy. But if divergence occurs, the function of the gene can be split between the two copies, which is called subfunctionalization, or a new function can arise, which is called neofunctionalization. Changes in expression between the two copies does not necessarily suggest that subfunctionalization has occurred. In this commentary, the caveats and criteria for subfunctionalization are discussed.
新基因源于基因复制,随后发生分化。基因复制最常见的结果是其中一个拷贝被删除,恢复为单拷贝状态。但如果发生了分化,基因的功能可以在两个拷贝之间进行划分,这称为亚功能化,或者可能产生新的功能,这称为新功能化。两个拷贝之间表达的变化并不一定意味着发生了亚功能化。在这篇评论中,将讨论亚功能化的注意事项和标准。