Research on Novel Genes

The original Darwinian concept of evolution is founded on the notion that genetic change leading to adaptation occurs at an exceedingly slow pace. Futhermore, it assumes that all genetic changes result in the modification of some previously encoded gene--for example, through a duplication or recombination event--and not in the creation of novel genes. New genomic data, however, is challenging this traditional view. Genomes are, in fact, dynamic and saltational; genes arise, evolve, and die much more rapidly than previously thought. Making sense of how and why genes are formed or destroyed is critical to understanding how and why organisms adapt to natural and anthrogenic environmental change.

This phenomena is believed to have happened a handful of times in a handful of species, though it is currently best studied in the fruit fly genus Drosophila. In his ARRA-funded proposal, Dr. Corbin Jones saught to investigate these novel genes, termed “de novo,” and the surprising process by which they are formed. Researchers have found that in Drosophila melanogaster, mutations have occurred in junk sequence that has given rise to an expressed gene with novel function. These regions of “junk” sequence are present in all genomes and referred to as such because they have previously been considered noncoding, and essentially useless to the organism.

Here we propose to identify the genetic and evolutionary processes shaping the functions and origins of these genes, termed "de novo". Drosophila are uniquely suited to this level of inquiry. We have a deep understanding of Drosophila biology, sophisticated molecular genetic tools, and a wealth of Drosophila genomic data. These species span 60 million years of evolutionary history, inhabiting a wide variety of ecosystems and exhibiting a wide variety of behaviors. The best known of these species, D. melanogaster, is the premier genetic model organism. It has one of the best-annotated genomes, and extensive genetic tools have already been developed to aid its further investigation. We will use these tools to discover the evolutionary reasons why de novo genes are formed and evolve, and the genetic mechanisms underlying their origination.

The many fundamental yet complicated questions remaining to be answered, specifically what is the function of these de novo genes, what mechanism has led to their formation and abundance in the genome, and how do they play a role in evolution?, will be primarily researched by PhD candidate Josie Reinhardt, in fulfillment of her thesis requirement.



		Research on Novel Genes The original Darwinian concept of evolution is founded on the notion that genetic change leading to adaptation occurs at an exceedingly slow pace. Futhermore, it assumes that all genetic changes result in the modification of some previously encoded gene--for example, through a duplication or recombination event--and not in the creation of novel genes. New genomic data, however, is challenging this traditional view. Genomes are, in fact, dynamic and saltational; genes arise, evolve, and die much more rapidly than previously thought. Making sense of how and why genes are formed or destroyed is critical to understanding how and why organisms adapt to natural and anthrogenic environmental change. This phenomena is believed to have happened a handful of times in a handful of species, though it is currently best studied in the fruit fly genus Drosophila. In his ARRA-funded proposal, Dr. Corbin Jones saught to investigate these novel genes, termed “de novo,” and the surprising process by which they are formed. Researchers have found that in Drosophila melanogaster, mutations have occurred in junk sequence that has given rise to an expressed gene with novel function. These regions of “junk” sequence are present in all genomes and referred to as such because they have previously been considered noncoding, and essentially useless to the organism. Here we propose to identify the genetic and evolutionary processes shaping the functions and origins of these genes, termed "de novo". Drosophila are uniquely suited to this level of inquiry. We have a deep understanding of Drosophila biology, sophisticated molecular genetic tools, and a wealth of Drosophila genomic data. These species span 60 million years of evolutionary history, inhabiting a wide variety of ecosystems and exhibiting a wide variety of behaviors. The best known of these species, D. melanogaster, is the premier genetic model organism. It has one of the best-annotated genomes, and extensive genetic tools have already been developed to aid its further investigation. We will use these tools to discover the evolutionary reasons why de novo genes are formed and evolve, and the genetic mechanisms underlying their origination. The many fundamental yet complicated questions remaining to be answered, specifically what is the function of these de novo genes, what mechanism has led to their formation and abundance in the genome, and how do they play a role in evolution?, will be primarily researched by PhD candidate Josie Reinhardt, in fulfillment of her thesis requirement.
Copyright 2011 Last Modified 4/2011