@book{Toll-Riera2008,
title = {Evolutionary Biology from Concept to Application},
author = {Toll-Riera, Macarena and Castresana, Jose and Albà, M. Mar},
editor = {Pontarotti, Pierre},
url = {http://www.springerlink.com/content/m85w5421t3x0xm22/},
isbn = {978-3-540-78992-5},
year = {2008},
date = {2008-01-01},
pages = {45--59},
publisher = {Springer Berlin Heidelberg},
address = {Berlin, Heidelberg},
abstract = {The gene content of any genome is a rich mosaic of genes that have originated at different times during evolution. Among the most interesting properties related to gene age is the fact that younger genes tend to show accelerated evolutionary rates with respect to older genes. Here, we use a large number of closely related mammalian genomes to gain further insights into the relationship between gene age and evolutionary rate. We define a group of primate-specific genes that are absent from 11 non-primate mammalian genomes as well as from other eukaryotic genomes. These genes, of very recent origin, show the highest evolutionary rate and the shortest protein length. We discuss how these results may shed light on understanding the proposed mechanisms for the origin of lineage-specific, novel genes.},
keywords = {Biomedical and Life Sciences}
}
The gene content of any genome is a rich mosaic of genes that have originated at different times during evolution. Among the most interesting properties related to gene age is the fact that younger genes tend to show accelerated evolutionary rates with respect to older genes. Here, we use a large number of closely related mammalian genomes to gain further insights into the relationship between gene age and evolutionary rate. We define a group of primate-specific genes that are absent from 11 non-primate mammalian genomes as well as from other eukaryotic genomes. These genes, of very recent origin, show the highest evolutionary rate and the shortest protein length. We discuss how these results may shed light on understanding the proposed mechanisms for the origin of lineage-specific, novel genes.
