Logo image
Back
Intron “sliding” and the diversity of intron positions
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Intron “sliding” and the diversity of intron positions

Arlin Stoltzfus, John M Logsdon, Jeffrey D Palmer and W. Ford Doolittle
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS, Vol.94(20), pp.10739-10744
09/30/1997
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.94.20.10739
PMCID: PMC23469
PMID: 9380704
url
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.94.20.10739View
Published (Version of record) Open Access

Abstract

Alignments of homologous genes typically reveal a great diversity of intron locations, far more than could fit comfortably in a single gene. Thus, a minority of these intron positions could be inherited from a single ancestral gene, but the larger share must be attributed to subsequent events of intron gain or intron “sliding” (movement from one position to another within a gene). Intron sliding has been argued from cases of discordant introns and from putative spatial clustering of intron positions. A list of 32 cases of discordant introns is presented here. Most of these cases are found to be artefactual. The spatial and phylogenetic distributions of intron positions from five published compilations of gene data, comprising 205 intron positions, have been examined systematically for evidence of intron sliding. The results suggest that sliding, if it occurs at all, has contributed little to the diversity of intron positions.
 Biological Sciences Mental Disorders

Details

Metrics

15 Record Views
141 Times Cited - Web of Science
Logo image