Protein homology
Encyclopedia
Protein homology is biological homology
between proteins, meaning that the proteins are derived from a common "ancestor". The proteins may be in different species, with the ancestral protein being the form of the protein that existed in the ancestral species (orthology). Or the proteins may be in the same species, but have evolved from a single protein whose gene was duplicated
in the genome (paralogy
).
Homology (biology)
Homology forms the basis of organization for comparative biology. In 1843, Richard Owen defined homology as "the same organ in different animals under every variety of form and function". Organs as different as a bat's wing, a seal's flipper, a cat's paw and a human hand have a common underlying...
between proteins, meaning that the proteins are derived from a common "ancestor". The proteins may be in different species, with the ancestral protein being the form of the protein that existed in the ancestral species (orthology). Or the proteins may be in the same species, but have evolved from a single protein whose gene was duplicated
Gene duplication
Gene duplication is any duplication of a region of DNA that contains a gene; it may occur as an error in homologous recombination, a retrotransposition event, or duplication of an entire chromosome.The second copy of the gene is often free from selective pressure — that is, mutations of it have no...
in the genome (paralogy
Paralogy
Paralogy may refer to:* Paralogy - see Homology * Paralogy - see Jean-François Lyotard - in this context, paralogy means the movement against an established way of reasoning...
).