New genes from unlikely beginnings

摘要

De novo gene birth has occurred in many lineages during evolution but how protein-coding genes emerge in non-functional sequences remains unclear. Anne-Ruxandra Carvunis et al. observe in yeast that hundreds of species-specific non-genic transcripts are differentially translated upon stress. These translation events seem to act as a reservoir of adaptive potential on a continuum ranging from non-genic sequences to genes.