Abstract
Debate over the mechanisms responsible for the phylogenetic and genomic distribution of introns has proceeded largely without consideration of the population-genetic forces influencing the establishment and retention of novel genetic elements. However, a simple model incorporating random genetic drift and weak mutation pressure against intron-containing alleles yields predictions consistent with a diversity of observations: (i) the rarity of introns in unicellular organisms with large population sizes, and their expansion after the origin of multicellular organisms with reduced population sizes; (ii) the relationship between intron abundance and the stringency of splice-site requirements; (iii) the tendency for introns to be more numerous and longer in regions of low recombination; and (iv) the bias toward phase-0 introns. This study provides a second example of a mechanism whereby genomic complexity originates passively as a "pathological" response to small population size, and raises difficulties for the idea that ancient introns played a major role in the origin of genes by exon shuffling.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 6118-6123 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |
Volume | 99 |
Issue number | 9 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Apr 30 2002 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Exon shuffling
- Genome complexity
- Genome evolution
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General