This web page was produced as an assignment for Gen677 at UW-Madison Spring 2013
Gene Homology
Homology is a term used to describe relationships between traits [1]. Homologous structures are structures that share a common evolutionary ancestry [1]. In the context of genes, this means that genes in different species shared a single common ancestral gene some time in the past. Identification of homologs is of critical importance as it can indicate functional equivalence of a gene in other species [1]. This identification is important to scientific research as it allows scientists to identify possible model organisms with functional homologs of a gene of interest [2]. Research done on a model organism containing a gene homolog can then be applied to other organisms.
All gene homologs were found using Homologene. All sequences were then confirmed using Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST). These programs take a single gene sequence and compare it across many genomes looking for areas of sequence similarity. The following is a list of all MYO5a gene homologs linked out to their respective mRNA reference pages on Nucleotide [3].
All gene homologs were found using Homologene. All sequences were then confirmed using Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST). These programs take a single gene sequence and compare it across many genomes looking for areas of sequence similarity. The following is a list of all MYO5a gene homologs linked out to their respective mRNA reference pages on Nucleotide [3].
Homologous Gene Reference Numbers
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Percent Identity
Percent Identity is a measure of the similarity of aligned sequences.Percent similarity takes into account amino acids that are different between sequences but have a similar chemical composition and could function in a similar way to the original amino acid. Below is a graph showing the percent identity and percent similarity of Human MYO5a and all of its homologs.
References
[1] Mindell DP., Meyer A. (2001) Homology Evolving. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 16(8):434-40.
[2] Kuzniar A., Van Ham RCHJ., Pongor S., Leunissen JAM. (2008) The quest for orthologs: finding the corresponding genes across genomes. Trends Genet. 24(11):539-51.
[3] National Center for Biotechenology Information. Nucleotide. Retrieved March 7, 2013. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nuccore
[2] Kuzniar A., Van Ham RCHJ., Pongor S., Leunissen JAM. (2008) The quest for orthologs: finding the corresponding genes across genomes. Trends Genet. 24(11):539-51.
[3] National Center for Biotechenology Information. Nucleotide. Retrieved March 7, 2013. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nuccore