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Biology

Wayne State University

Comparative genomics

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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

High Occurrence Of Functional New Chimeric Genes In Survey Of Rice Chromosome 3 Short Arm Genome Sequences, Chengjun Zhang, Jun Wang, Nicholas C. Marowsky, Manyuan Long, Rod A. Wing, Chuanzhu Fan May 2013

High Occurrence Of Functional New Chimeric Genes In Survey Of Rice Chromosome 3 Short Arm Genome Sequences, Chengjun Zhang, Jun Wang, Nicholas C. Marowsky, Manyuan Long, Rod A. Wing, Chuanzhu Fan

Biological Sciences Faculty Research Publications

In an effort to identify newly evolved genes in rice,we searched the genomes of Asian-cultivated rice Oryza sativa ssp. japonica and its wild progenitors, looking for lineage-specific genes. Using genome pairwise comparison of approximately 20-Mb DNA sequences from the chromosome 3 short arm (Chr3s) in six rice species, O. sativa, O. nivara, O. rufipogon, O. glaberrima, O. barthii, and O. punctata, combined with synonymous substitution rate tests and other evidence, we were able to identify potential recently duplicated genes, which evolved within the last 1 Myr. We identified 28 functional O. sativa genes, which …


Insight Into Human Brain Evolution Through Phylogenetic Analysis And Comparative Genomics, Amy Marie Boddy Jan 2013

Insight Into Human Brain Evolution Through Phylogenetic Analysis And Comparative Genomics, Amy Marie Boddy

Wayne State University Dissertations

As a species, humans are often considered to be unique among mammals, with respect to their large brain size and enhanced cognitive abilities. Humans are the most encephalized mammals, with a brain that is six times larger than expected relative to body mass. Presumably, it is this high degree of encephalization that underlies our advanced cognitive abilities, including the skills needed for complex language and culture. Understanding how large brains evolved can shed light on what makes the human brain unique and introduce possible mechanism for human specific neurodegenerative diseases. This study takes a both a phenotypic and molecular approach …