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Functional and evolutionary implications of gene orthology

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Gabaldón, Toni, Koonin, Eugene V.·2013·Nature Reviews Genetics

Abstract

Orthologues and paralogues are types of homologous genes that are related by speciation or duplication, respectively. Orthologous genes are generally assumed to retain equivalent functions in different organisms and to share other key properties. Several recent comparative genomic studies have focused on testing these expectations. Here we discuss the complexity of the evolution of gene-phenotype relationships and assess the validity of the key implications of orthology and paralogy relationships as general statistical trends and guiding principles.

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  • Distinguishing orthologs and paralogs is a fundamental problem in evolutionary and molecular biology and a prerequisite for many genomic analyses.

    “Distinguishing orthologs and paralogs is a fundamental problem in evolutionary and molecular biology (1) and a prerequisite for many genomic analyses, including reconstructing phylogenetic trees, predicting gene function, investigating molecular and genome evolution, and discovering differences in genes that underlie phenotypes of the sequenced species (2–6).”

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Authors
Gabaldón, T., & Koonin, E. V.
Affiliations
  • Universitat Pompeu Fabra (ES)
  • National Institutes of Health (US)
Corresponding author
  • Gabaldón, Toni
  • Koonin, Eugene V.
Venue
Nature Reviews Genetics
Published
2013-04-04
Volume
14
Issue
5
Pages
360-366
ISSN
  • 1471-0056 (ISSN-L)
  • 1471-0064
OpenAlex
W2041386815
Cited by
643
References
2
Citations by year
2026: 50 · 2025: 53 · 2024: 57 · 2023: 45 · 2022: 59 · 2021: 54 · 2020: 72 · 2019: 37 · 2018: 49 · 2017: 37 · 2016: 51 · 2015: 32 · 2014: 36 · 2013: 11
FWCI
4.10
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Nature Reviews Genetics (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
  • Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad
  • National Institutes of Health
  • U.S. National Library of Medicine (Z01LM000073)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Genomics and Phylogenetic Studies
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Plant Science › Chromosomal and Genetic Variations
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Bioinformatics and Genomic Networks
Keywords
gene orthology, homologous genes, gene function conservation, gene duplication, speciation, genotype-phenotype correlation, comparative genomics, gene function evolution
MeSH terms
Animals, Humans, Models, Genetic, Phenotype, Phylogeny, Sequence Analysis, Evolution, Molecular, Genomics, Models, Animal

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