Mammalian BEX, WEX and GASP genes: coding and non-coding chimaerism sustained by gene conversion events.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The identification of sequence innovations in the genomes of mammals facilitates understanding of human gene function, as well as sheds light on the molecular mechanisms which underlie these changes. Although gene duplication plays a major role in genome evolution, studies regarding concerted evolution events among gene family members have been limited in scope and restricted to protein-coding regions, where high sequence similarity is easily detectable.

Results

We describe a mammalian-specific expansion of more than 20 rapidly-evolving genes on human chromosome Xq22.1. Many of these are highly divergent in their protein-coding regions yet contain a conserved sequence motif in their 5' UTRs which appears to have been maintained by multiple events of concerted evol

SUBMITTER: Winter EE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1274310 | biostudies-literature | 2005 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature