TITLE:
Novel method for discerning the action of selection during evolution
AUTHORS:
Ming Yang, Ada Solidar, Gerald J. Wyckoff
KEYWORDS:
Utilizing Information Theory; Action of Selection during Evolution
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Biomedical Science and Engineering,
Vol.3 No.2,
March
1,
2010
ABSTRACT: A common problem in molecular comparative geno- mics is the identification of genes that are under positive, adaptive selection [1]. Such genes are likely to be crucial for speciation, species differentiation, and func- tional specialization. However, discerning the difference between positive selection and relaxation of func- tional constraint can be difficult using current methods. Both processes generally increase the rate of ami- no acid change relative to synonymous changes within coding regions, and unless the amino acid rate is over- whelmingly high across an entire gene, the signature of positive selection can be obscured [2]. Some methodologies do not explicitly determine the difference be- tween a relaxation of functional constraint and positive selection, leaving researchers to determine via other means whether the trajectory of a gene has been specialization or creation of a new function, or removal from the genome via a process of degeneration.