Genomes contain a large number of genes that do not have recognizable homologues in other species. These genes, found in only one or a few closely related species, are known as orphan genes. Their limited distribution implies that many of them are probably involved in lineage-specific adaptive processes. One important question that has remained elusive to date is how orphan genes originate. It has been proposed that they might have arisen by gene duplication followed by a period of very rapid sequence divergence, which would have erased any traces of similarity to other evolutionarily related genes. However, this explanation does not seem plausible for genes lacking homologues in very closely related species. In the present article, we review recent efforts to identify the mechanisms of formation of primate orphan genes. These studies reveal an unexpected important role of transposable elements in the formation of novel protein-coding genes in the genomes of primates.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
August 2009
-
Cover Image
Cover Image
- PDF Icon PDF LinkFront Matter
- PDF Icon PDF LinkTable of Contents
Conference Article|
July 22 2009
Evolution of primate orphan proteins
Macarena Toll-Riera;
Macarena Toll-Riera
1
*Biomedical Informatics Research Programme (GRIB), Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona Biomedical Research Park (PRBB), C/Dr Aiguader 88, Barcelona 08003, Spain
†Fundació Institut Municipal d'Investigació Mèdica (FIMIM), Barcelona, Spain
1To whom correspondence should be addressed (email mtoll@imim.es).
Search for other works by this author on:
Robert Castelo;
Robert Castelo
*Biomedical Informatics Research Programme (GRIB), Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona Biomedical Research Park (PRBB), C/Dr Aiguader 88, Barcelona 08003, Spain
Search for other works by this author on:
Nicolás Bellora;
Nicolás Bellora
†Fundació Institut Municipal d'Investigació Mèdica (FIMIM), Barcelona, Spain
Search for other works by this author on:
M. Mar Albà
M. Mar Albà
*Biomedical Informatics Research Programme (GRIB), Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona Biomedical Research Park (PRBB), C/Dr Aiguader 88, Barcelona 08003, Spain
†Fundació Institut Municipal d'Investigació Mèdica (FIMIM), Barcelona, Spain
‡Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA), Barcelona, Spain
Search for other works by this author on:
Publisher: Portland Press Ltd
Received:
January 21 2009
Online ISSN: 1470-8752
Print ISSN: 0300-5127
© The Authors Journal compilation © 2009 Biochemical Society
2009
Biochem Soc Trans (2009) 37 (4): 778–782.
Article history
Received:
January 21 2009
Citation
Macarena Toll-Riera, Robert Castelo, Nicolás Bellora, M. Mar Albà; Evolution of primate orphan proteins. Biochem Soc Trans 1 August 2009; 37 (4): 778–782. doi: https://doi.org/10.1042/BST0370778
Download citation file:
Sign in
Don't already have an account? Register
Sign in to your personal account
You could not be signed in. Please check your email address / username and password and try again.
Captcha Validation Error. Please try again.