Gene family

A gene family is a set of several similar genes, formed by duplication of a single original gene, and generally with similar biochemical functions. One such family are the genes for human hemoglobin subunits; the ten genes are in two clusters on different chromosomes, called the α-globin and β-globin loci. These two gene clusters are thought to have arisen as a result of a precursor gene being duplicated approximately 500 million years ago. A gene family is a set of several similar genes, formed by duplication of a single original gene, and generally with similar biochemical functions. One such family are the genes for human hemoglobin subunits; the ten genes are in two clusters on different chromosomes, called the α-globin and β-globin loci. These two gene clusters are thought to have arisen as a result of a precursor gene being duplicated approximately 500 million years ago. Genes are categorized into families based on shared nucleotide or protein sequences. Phylogenetic techniques can be used as a more rigorous test. The positions of exons within the coding sequence can be used to infer common ancestry. Knowing the sequence of the protein encoded by a gene can allow researchers to apply methods that find similarities among protein sequences that provide more information than similarities or differences among DNA sequences. If the genes of a gene family encode proteins, the term protein family is often used in an analogous manner to gene family. The expansion or contraction of gene families along a specific lineage can be due to chance, or can be the result of natural selection. To distinguish between these two cases is often difficult in practice. Recent work uses a combinationof statistical models and algorithmic techniques to detect gene families that are under the effect of natural selection. The HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC) creates nomenclature schemes using a 'stem' (or 'root') symbol for members of a gene family, with a hierarchical numbering system to distinguish the individual members. For example, for the peroxiredoxin family, PRDX is the root symbol, and the family members are PRDX1, PRDX2, PRDX3, PRDX4, PRDX5, and PRDX6. One level of genome organization is the grouping of genes into several gene families. Gene families are groups of related genes that share a common ancestor. Members of gene families may be paralogs or orthologs. Gene paralogs are genes with similar sequences from within the same species while gene orthologs are genes with similar sequences in different species. Gene families are highly variable in size, sequence diversity, and arrangement. Depending on the diversity and functions of the genes within the family, families can be classified as a multigene families or superfamilies. Multigene families typically consist of members with similar sequences and functions, though a high degree of divergence (at the sequence and/or functional level) does not lead to the removal of a gene from a gene family. Individual genes in the family may be arranged close together on the same chromosome or dispersed throughout the genome on different chromosomes. Due to the similarity of their sequences and their overlapping functions, individual genes in the family often share regulatory control elements. In some instances, gene members have identical (or nearly identical) sequences. Such families allow for massive amounts of gene product to be expressed in a short time as needed. Other families allow for similar but specific products to be expressed in different cell types or at different stages of an organisms development. Superfamilies are much larger than single multigene families. Superfamilies contain up to hundreds of genes, including multiple multigene families as well as single, individual gene members. The large number of members allows superfamilies to be widely dispersed with some genes clustered and some spread far apart. The genes are diverse in sequence and function displaying various levels of expression and separate regulation controls. Some gene families also contain pseudogenes, sequences of DNA that closely resemble established gene sequences but are non-functional. Different types of pseudogenes exist. Non-processed pseudogenes are genes that acquired mutations over time becoming non-functional. Processed pseudogenes are genes that have lost their function after being moved around the genome by retrotransposition. Pseudogenes that have become isolated from the gene family they originated in, are referred to as orphans.