New tricks with old genes: The genetic bases of novel cnidarian traits

Sylvain Forêt; Brent Knack; Evelyn Houliston; Tsuyoshi Momose; Michael Manuel; Eric Quéinnec; David C. Hayward; Eldon E. Ball; David J. Miller

doi:10.1016/j.tig.2010.01.003

New tricks with old genes: The genetic bases of novel cnidarian traits

Sylvain Forêt, Brent Knack, Evelyn Houliston, Tsuyoshi Momose, Michael Manuel, Eric Quéinnec, David C. Hayward, Eldon E. Ball, David J. Miller^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

45 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Recent thought on genome evolution has focused on the creation of new genes and changes in regulatory mechanisms while ignoring the role of selective gene loss in shaping genomes. Using data from two cnidarians, the jellyfish Clytia and the coral Acropora, we examined the relative significance of new 'taxonomically restricted' genes and selectively retained ancestral genes in enabling the evolution of novel traits. Consistent with its more complex life-cycle, the proportion of novel genes identified in Clytia was higher than that in the 'polyp only' cnidarians Nematostella and Hydra, but each of these cnidarians has retained a proportion of ancestral genes not present in the other two. The ubiquity and near-stochastic nature of gene loss can explain the discord between patterns of gene distribution and taxonomy.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	154-158
Number of pages	5
Journal	Trends in Genetics
Volume	26
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tig.2010.01.003
Publication status	Published - Apr 2010

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abstract = "Recent thought on genome evolution has focused on the creation of new genes and changes in regulatory mechanisms while ignoring the role of selective gene loss in shaping genomes. Using data from two cnidarians, the jellyfish Clytia and the coral Acropora, we examined the relative significance of new 'taxonomically restricted' genes and selectively retained ancestral genes in enabling the evolution of novel traits. Consistent with its more complex life-cycle, the proportion of novel genes identified in Clytia was higher than that in the 'polyp only' cnidarians Nematostella and Hydra, but each of these cnidarians has retained a proportion of ancestral genes not present in the other two. The ubiquity and near-stochastic nature of gene loss can explain the discord between patterns of gene distribution and taxonomy.",

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AU - Forêt, Sylvain

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AU - Manuel, Michael

AU - Quéinnec, Eric

AU - Hayward, David C.

AU - Ball, Eldon E.

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New tricks with old genes: The genetic bases of novel cnidarian traits

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