Gene duplication and biased functional retention of paralogs in bacterial genomes

摘要

Gene duplication is considered an important prerequisite for gene innovation that can facilitate adaptation to changing environments. The analysis of 106 bacterial genome sequences has revealed the existence of a significant number of paralogs. Analysis of the functional classification of these paralogs reveals a preferential enrichment in functional classes that are involved in transcription, metabolism and defense mechanisms. From the organization of paralogs in the genome we can conclude that duplicated genes in bacteria appear to have been mainly created by small-scale duplication events, such as tandem and operon duplications.