Ancestry influences the fate of duplicated genes millions of years after polyploidization of clawed frogs (Xenopus).

ABSTRACT: Allopolyploid species form through the fusion of two differentiated genomes and, in the earliest stages of their evolution, essentially all genes in the nucleus are duplicated. Because unique mutations occur in each ancestor prior to allopolyploidization, duplicate genes in these species potentially are not interchangeable, and this could influence their genetic fates. This study explores evolution and expression of a simple duplicated complex--a heterodimer between RAG1 and RAG2 proteins in clawed frogs (Xenopus). Results demonstrate that copies of RAG1 degenerated in different polyploid species in a phylogenetically biased fashion, predominately in only one lineage of closely related paralogs. Surprisingly, as a result of an early deletion of one RAG2 paralog, it appears that in many spe

SUBMITTER: Evans BJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1894578 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature