Mad gene drives human diversity
Monday September 6th, 2010
A senior professor says he has found a "crazy" gene responsible for driving human evolution.
The
gene "churns out" variants - leading to the amazing diversity
of human beings, according to Professor Sir Alec Jeffreys, of Leicester
University, UK.
Writing in Nature Genetics, published last night, he names the gene as PRDM9.
Different versions of the gene mean "profoundly different" kinds of recombination of genes taking place in different families, he says.
He said: "We've shown that hotspots have a strange propensity for self-destruction, so how can they possibly exist?
"The PRDM9 minisatellite gives the answer - it evolves rapidly, like any other unstable minisatellite, and keeps churning out variants that can trigger new hotspots, replenishing those that have committed suicide.
"A totally crazy mechanism to ensure that recombination keeps going, but typical of the weird solutions that evolution can throw up."
The Professor says the gene may help explain the uniqueness of each human and give new insights into genetic diseases.
His work has been backed by the Medical Research Council and the Wellcome Trust.
Last week a major analysis of the human genome worldwide suggested that rapidly changing mutations mean that human evolution continues in areas such as the immune system.
PRDM9 variation strongly influences recombination hot-spot activity and meiotic instability in humans. Nature Genetics September 5 2010
Tags: General Health | Genetics | UK News
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