BLAST from the Past: Impacts of Evolving Approaches on Studies of Evolution by Gene Duplication

Frédéric J J Chain; Raquel Assis

doi:10.1093/gbe/evab149

BLAST from the Past: Impacts of Evolving Approaches on Studies of Evolution by Gene Duplication

Genome Biol Evol. 2021 Jul 6;13(7):evab149. doi: 10.1093/gbe/evab149.

Authors

Frédéric J J Chain¹, Raquel Assis^{2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biological Sciences, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Massachusetts, USA.
² Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida, USA.
³ Institute for Human Health and Disease Intervention, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida, USA.

Abstract

In 1970, Susumu Ohno hypothesized that gene duplication was a major reservoir of adaptive innovation. However, it was not until over two decades later that DNA sequencing studies uncovered the ubiquity of gene duplication across all domains of life, highlighting its global importance in the evolution of phenotypic complexity and species diversification. Today, it seems that there are no limits to the study of evolution by gene duplication, as it has rapidly coevolved with numerous experimental and computational advances in genomics. In this perspective, we examine word stem usage in PubMed abstracts to infer how evolving discoveries and technologies have shaped the landscape of studying evolution by gene duplication, leading to a more refined understanding of its role in the emergence of novel phenotypes.

Keywords: copy number; duplicate genes; evolutionary genomics; gene families; paralogs.

Publication types

Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Evolution, Molecular*
Gene Duplication*
Genomics
Sequence Analysis, DNA