Evolution__3rd_Edition

19Evolutionary Genomics
T he complete genome sequence for a species is rich in
evolutionary information. This chapter looks at how
genome sequences are being used to study the evolutionary
history of genomes. We look at how the history of the human
gene set can be inferred, by comparing the human genome
with the genomes of other species. We then see how genomes
expand and contract during evolution, by duplications,
deletions, and gene transfers. The timing of duplication
events can be inferred, and used to test whether major
evolutionary events are associated with increases in
gene number. We look at the history of the human sex
chromosomes. We finish by looking at the evolution of
non-coding DNA. Certain families of non-coding DNA
seem to have proliferated at different times in the ancestry
of humans and of mice.
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