Strong association between pseudogenization mechanisms and gene sequence length.
Pseudogenes arise from the decay of gene copies following either RNA-mediated duplication (processed pseudogenes) or DNA-mediated duplication (nonprocessed pseudogenes). Here, we show that long protein-coding genes tend to produce more nonprocessed pseudogenes than short genes, whereas the opposite is true for processed pseudogenes. Protein-coding genes longer than 3000 bp are 6 times more likely to produce nonprocessed pseudogenes than processed ones.


METHODS
This article was reviewed by Dr. Dan Graur and Dr. Craig Nelson (nominated by Dr. J Peter Gogarten).
Khachane
Amit N
AN
Department of Biology, McGill University, Stewart Biology Building, Montreal, QC, H3A 1B1, Canada. amit.khachane@mail.mcgill.ca
Harrison
Paul M
PM
D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D016366:Open Reading Frames / Q000235:genetics; D011544:Pseudogenes / Q000235:genetics*