Biology Concepts: Gene Duplications and Functions

These flashcards cover key vocabulary terms related to gene duplication, mutations, and their roles in evolutionary biology.

Pseudogene

A gene that resembles a functional gene but does not produce a functional product, often due to deleterious mutations.

Neo functionalization

The process where one of the gene duplicates retains its original function while the other takes on a new function.

Nonfunctionalization

The outcome where one duplicate of a gene accumulates harmful mutations and becomes a pseudogene.

Adaptive space

The conceptual space where organisms can explore and accumulate mutations to develop new traits.

Hox genes

A group of related genes that control the body plan of an embryo along the head-tail axis, crucial for development.

Gene duplication

The process by which a gene is copied, leading to multiple copies of a gene within the genome.

Alleles

Different versions of a gene that arise from mutations and can lead to variations in traits.

Transposable elements

DNA sequences that can change their position within the genome, influencing gene duplication and evolution.