Biological function in the twilight zone of sequence conservation
Abstract Strong DNA conservation among divergent species is an indicator of enduring functionality. With weaker sequence conservation we enter a vast ‘twilight zone’ in which sequence subject to transient or lower constraint cannot be distinguished easily from neutrally evolving, non-functional sequ...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2017-08-01
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| Series: | BMC Biology |
| Online Access: | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12915-017-0411-5 |
| Summary: | Abstract Strong DNA conservation among divergent species is an indicator of enduring functionality. With weaker sequence conservation we enter a vast ‘twilight zone’ in which sequence subject to transient or lower constraint cannot be distinguished easily from neutrally evolving, non-functional sequence. Twilight zone functional sequence is illuminated instead by principles of selective constraint and positive selection using genomic data acquired from within a species’ population. Application of these principles reveals that despite being biochemically active, most twilight zone sequence is not functional. |
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| ISSN: | 1741-7007 |