Title: The Balbiani Ring Multigene Family: Coding Repetitive Sequences and Evolution of a Tissue-Specific Cell Function
Abstract: Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the current information about a specific gene family, the Balbiani ring (BR) multigene family. This gene family is found in the dipteran species Chironomus tentans, where its expression represents a major part of the tissue-specific function of the salivary glands. It is interesting for two reasons. First, it exemplifies how a tissue-specific function, involving the interaction of many different proteins, has evolved from a common gene ancestor, by sequence duplications and divergence of coding as well as of regulatory regions of the duplicated genes. Second, it is an example of how coding sequences may be reduplicated, within individual genes, to produce arrays of coding sequences, upon which recombination events operate, to continuously remodel the repetitive structure. The BR multigene family reflects the underlying mechanisms that form and then shape all the duplicated sequences in eukaryotic genomes. It, therefore, serves as a useful example, from which knowledge about evolution, by sequence duplication and remodeling of coding repetitive sequences, can be obtained.
Publication Year: 1994
Publication Date: 1994-01-01
Language: en
Type: review
Indexed In: ['crossref', 'pubmed']
Access and Citation
Cited By Count: 86
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