Convergent evolution study sheds light on how new genes arise

Originally published by University of Arkansas on September 19, 2024

 


From left: Nathan Rives, Xuan Zhuang and Vinita Lamba. Credit: University of Arkansas

Where do new genes come from? That's the question a team of biological sciences researchers from the U of A set out to answer in a new study.

They did so by examining the evolution of antifreeze proteins in fish—an essential adaptation that allows fish to survive in freezing waters by preventing ice formation through the binding of their antifreeze proteins to ice crystals.

The team investigated these proteins in three unrelated fish lineages and uncovered surprising results. While the proteins in each lineage are functionally and structurally similar, they evolved independently from different genetic sources.

This phenomenon, known as convergent evolution, represents a rare case of protein sequence convergence. It demonstrates how the same adaptive traits—and even nearly identical protein sequences—can be produced through entirely different evolutionary trajectories.

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