Adaptive evolution after gene duplication.
One of the two ribonuclease genes in a leaf-eating monkey has adapted to a role in the digestion of bacterial RNA. Following duplication of the ancestral ribonuclease gene, adaptation occurred through a series of changes in the amino acid sequence of the protein it encodes. This example is a good illustration of how specialization of protein function after gene duplication can be as source of novel protein functions.
Hughes
Austin L
AL
Depatment of Biological Sciences, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA. austin@biol.sc.edu
D000220:Adaptation, Biological / Q000235:genetics*; D000818:Animals; D002520:Cercopithecidae / Q000235:genetics; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D020440:Gene Duplication; D006801:Humans; D012329:RNA, Bacterial / Q000378:metabolism; D012260:Ribonucleases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
D012329:RNA, Bacterial; D012260:Ribonucleases