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JACOB OVERTHROWN. "Gene duplication, fusion and fission of genes, exon shuffling and other ‘bricolage’ events were considered to be the only viable sources of novel protein-coding genes—all variations on a genetic theme. Proteins were thought to be made from a small and finite ‘universe of exons’. Francois Jacob articulated this best when he said ‘To create is to recombine’. However, in recent years, there has been a growing appreciation for the role of de novo gene origination." https://lnkd.in/dPqZs3m View in LinkedIn

GENE-DRIVEN DOGMA. "It was natural for scientists to assume that protein-encoding genes would be at the heart of evolutionary progress. After all, evolution has created organisms with radically different appearances and functional components." https://lnkd.in/eNHFjJ8 View in LinkedIn

EARLY FUNCTIONS OF NON-CODING DNA. "Clearly, protein-coding genes must have arisen de novo from non-coding sequence in very early life evolution." https://lnkd.in/dPqZs3m View in LinkedIn

GENETIC TINKERING. "François Jacob famously stated that nature is but a “tinkerer” of already available protein hardware, advocating the importance of duplications in gene emergence." https://lnkd.in/e3rTkFh View in LinkedIn

PURGING NOVELTY. "Any random sequence generated by chance must end up as a stable polypeptide with a function accessible by selection or end up being purged from the genome by neutral mutational processes." Here is the great scrapheap of nature's genetic experiments. https://lnkd.in/e3rTkFh View in LinkedIn

IMPROBABILITY OF NOVELTY. "The evolution of an entirely new gene without any functional progenitor has been regarded as an exceedingly rare and improbable event. Considering the vast number of possible protein species and the rather limited number of configurations found in biological systems, this notion might seem to make sense." https://lnkd.in/e3rTkFh View in LinkedIn

GENERATION OF NOVELTY. "For many years, it had been considered extremely unlikely, if not impossible, that genes with no detectable homology could emerge. With the availability of the full genomic sequence of yeast, however, this picture changed. About one third of the entire set of genes in baker's yeast has no sequence similarity to genes from other organisms." (So-called orphan genes). http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168952515000347 View in LinkedIn

REFORMULATED GENES. "Many de novo genes have been discovered close to or overlapping older genes. This may reflect a reuse of pre-existing regulatory sequences." https://lnkd.in/dPqZs3m View in LinkedIn

JUNK DNA TO NEW GENES. "De novo genes are usually defined as protein-coding genes that have evolved from scratch from previously non-coding DNA. There are significant challenges surrounding the accurate detection of de novo genes." https://lnkd.in/dPqZs3m View in LinkedIn

EMERGENCE OF NEW GENES. "How new genes emerge and functionally diversify are very fundamental questions in biology, as new genes provide the raw material for evolutionary innovation that allows organisms to adapt, increase in complexity, and form new species." https://lnkd.in/e3rTkFh View in LinkedIn