The Evolving Definition of a Gene

Hopkin, Karen

doi:10.1525/bio.2009.59.11.3

Cited by 7 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…La razón de su pronóstico es que las diferencias entre las especies a nivel fenotípico no son reducibles a diferencias a nivel genotípico -la denominada 'brecha de genotipo-fenotipo' (Strohman 2002). En otras palabras, el presupuesto del determinismo genético comienza a experimentar problemas o anomalías (Auletta 2010, Hopkin 2009, Portin 2015. Una de las principales anomalías que cita Strohman (1997) es el alto grado de similitud genética entre especies, por ejemplo, el 98% de similitud entre la secuencia de ADN humano y chimpancé.…”

Section: ¿Revolución O Evolución De La Biología De Sistemas?unclassified

“…Una de las consecuencias de la revolución epigenética es la redefinición del gen qua unidad de la herencia (Griffiths y Stotz 2006, Hopkin 2009, Portin 2002. Según el paradigma de la biología molecular, el gen es una secuencia única de ADN que codifica para una proteína, es decir, son genes codificadores de proteínas.…”

Section: ¿Revolución O Evolución De La Biología De Sistemas?unclassified

See 1 more Smart Citation

Las Filosofías De La Ciencia De Thomas Kuhn: Del Ciclo Revolucionario Al Árbol Evolutivo

Marcum

2020

cuaddefil

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

ha representado repetidas veces como un proceso cíclico en el que una antigua ciencia normal da lugar a un nueva ciencia normal a través de una revolución científica o un cambio de paradigma. Más tarde en su carrera Kuhn rechaza la filosofía histórica de la ciencia y se vuelca hacia una filosofía evolutiva. En lugar de entender el progreso científico como un levantamiento revolucionario, lo concibe ahora como la creciente especialización de las disciplinas científicas. De ahí que, en contraste con un ciclo revolucionario, un árbol evolutivo representa mejor la filosofía

show abstract

Section: ¿Revolución O Evolución De La Biología De Sistemas?unclassified

Las Filosofías De La Ciencia De Thomas Kuhn: Del Ciclo Revolucionario Al Árbol Evolutivo

Marcum

2020

cuaddefil

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Hopkin summarised the current view of a gene as follows: the unit of hereditymade of DNA or RNA, that encodes a coherent set of potentially overlapping functional product molecules, either protein or RNAthat influences phenotype in ways we may or may not be able to measure. 16 About 3.5% of our genome is evolutionarily conserved, and up to 1% even highly conserved, yet with still unknown functions as it does not code for protein. 17 For instance, intense studies of human chromosome 21 revealed that 65% of highly conserved blocks have unknown functions, but most were neither protein-coding nor RNA genes.…”

Section: Genesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intraspecific phenotypic variation in deer: the role of genetic and epigenetic processes

Flueck¹,

Smith-Flueck²

2011

Anim. Prod. Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Intraspecific phenotypic variation (PV) in deer is common, at times impressively diverse, and involves morphology, development, physiology, and behaviour. Until recently considered a nuisance in evolutionary and taxonomic studies, PV has become the primary target to study fossil and extant species. Phenotypes are traditionally interpreted to express primarily interactions of inherited genetic variants. PV certainly originates from different genotypes, but additional PV, referred to as phenotypic plasticity (PP), results from gene expression responsive to environmental conditions and other epigenetic factors. Usage of ‘epigenetics’ for PP has increased exponentially with 20 316 published papers (Web-of-Science 1990 – May 2010), yet it does not include a single paper on cervids (1900 to the present). During the ‘genomic era’, the focus was on the primary DNA sequences and variability therein. Recently however, several higher order architectural genomic features were detected which all affect PV. (1) Genes: poli-genic traits; pleiotropic genes; poli-allelic genes; gene dosage (copy number variants, CNV); single nucleotide variance in coding and gene regulatory regions; mtDNA recombinations and paternal mtDNA inheritance. (2) Gene products: pleiotropic gene products; multiple protein structures through alternative splicing; variable gene product reactions due to gene dosage. (3) Gene expression: (i) epigenetic regulation at the DNA, nucleosomal and chromosomal levels; (ii) large-scale genomic structural variation (i.e. CNV imbalance); (iii) transcription factor proteins (TF), each regulating up to 500 target genes, with TF activity varying 7.5–25% among individual humans (exceeding variation in coding DNA by 300–1000×); (iv) non-protein-coding RNA (98.5% of genome) constituting maybe hundreds of thousands RNA signals; (v) gene expression responsive to external and internal environmental variation; (vi) transgenerational epigenetic inheritance (e.g. from ubiquitous non-gametic interactions, genomic imprinting, epistasis, transgenerational gene–diet interactions); (vii) epigenetic stochasticity resulting in random PP. A unique example of labile traits in mammals is the yearly regrowth of a complete appendage, the antler in cervids. Highly complex assortments of genotypes lead to a spectrum of phenotypes, yet the same spectrum can result if a single genotype generates highly complex assortments of epigenotypes. Although DNA is the template for the DNA–RNA–protein paradigm of heredity, it is the coordination and regulation of gene expression that results in wide complexity and diversity seen among individual deer, and per-generation variety of phenotypes available for selection are greater than available genotypes. In conclusion, epigenetic processes have fundamental influences on the great intraspecific PV found in deer, which is reflected in broad ranges of environmental conditions under which they can persist. Deer management and conservation of endangered cervids will benefit from appreciating the large inherent PV among individuals and the immense contribution of epigenetics in all aspects of deer biology and ecology.

show abstract

“…The gene has historically been defined as the unit of heredity, and this definition has evolved as more is learned about the structure of genes (Portin and Wilkins 2017). One modern definition of the gene is “the unit of heredity—made of DNA or RNA, that encodes a coherent set of potentially overlapping functional product molecules, either protein or RNA —that influences phenotype in ways we may or may not be able to measure” (Hopkin 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Models of Replicator Proliferation Involving Differential Replicator Subunit Stability

Lyu

Tower

2018

Orig Life Evol Biosph

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Several models for the origin of life involve molecules that are capable of self-replication, such as self-replicating polymers composed of RNA or DNA or amino acids. Here we consider a hypothetical replicator (AB) composed of two subunits, A and B. Programs written in Python and C programming languages were used to model AB replicator abundance as a function of cycles of replication (iterations), under specified hypothetical conditions. Two non-exclusive models describe how a reduced stability for B relative to A can have an advantage for replicator activity and/or evolution by generating free A subunits. In model 1, free A subunits associate with AB replicators to create AAB replicators with greater activity. In simulations, reduced stability of B was beneficial when the replication activity of AAB was greater than two times the replication activity of AB. In model 2, the free A subunit is inactive for some number of iterations before it re-creates the B subunit. A re-creates the B subunit with an equal chance of creating B or B', where B' is a mutant that increases AB' replicator activity relative to AB. In simulations, at moderate number of iterations (< 15), a shorter survival time for B is beneficial when the stability of B is greater than the inactive time of A. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that reduced stability for a replicator subunit can be advantageous under appropriate conditions.

show abstract

The Evolving Definition of a Gene

Cited by 7 publications

References 0 publications

Las Filosofías De La Ciencia De Thomas Kuhn: Del Ciclo Revolucionario Al Árbol Evolutivo

Las Filosofías De La Ciencia De Thomas Kuhn: Del Ciclo Revolucionario Al Árbol Evolutivo

Intraspecific phenotypic variation in deer: the role of genetic and epigenetic processes

Models of Replicator Proliferation Involving Differential Replicator Subunit Stability

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About