No Evidence for Natural Selection on Endogenous Borna-Like Nucleoprotein Elements
Author Information
Author(s): Kobayashi Yuki, Horie Masayuki, Tomonaga Keizo, Suzuki Yoshiyuki
Primary Institution: Graduate School of Natural Sciences, Nagoya City University
Hypothesis
Did natural selection operate on endogenous Borna-like nucleoprotein elements in primates after the divergence of Old World and New World monkeys?
Conclusion
The study found no evidence that endogenous Borna-like nucleoprotein elements encoded functional proteins after the divergence of Old World and New World monkeys.
Supporting Evidence
- Natural selection was not detected for the entire region or parts of the ORFs in EBLN-1 to -4.
- The absence of premature termination codons does not necessarily indicate functional maintenance.
- Negative selection was identified at the basal branch of the phylogenetic tree for EBLN-1 and EBLN-2.
Takeaway
The researchers looked at some genes in monkeys to see if they were still useful after a long time, but they found out that they weren't really doing anything important anymore.
Methodology
The study compared rates of synonymous and nonsynonymous substitutions in the ORFs of primate EBLN-1 to -4 and used Monte Carlo simulations to assess the presence of premature termination codons.
Limitations
The study's conclusions are based on the analysis of specific genes and may not apply to all endogenous viral elements.
Participant Demographics
The study analyzed genomes from various primates including humans, chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, macaques, and marmosets.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p>0.06
Statistical Significance
p>0.06
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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