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→Evolutionary Perspective
== Evolutionary Perspective ==
== Evolutionary Perspective ==
Pseudogenes have been identified in a wide range of organisms from bacteria to mice to humans, the total number of pseudogenes in a given genome is not predictable but specific pseudogenes are often compared across species to assert complex evolutionary relationships <ref name=sciam />
Pseudogenes have been identified in a wide range of organisms from bacteria to mice to humans, the total number of pseudogenes in a given genome is not predictable but specific pseudogenes are often compared across species to assert complex evolutionary relationships <ref name=sciam />
Since all pseudogenes are asserted to be descended from a functioning gene the first step is to find the parent gene that it descended from. This is done by using computer programs to compare sequences of DNA across species. <ref name=sciam /> This is a large computational problem but by keeping in mind the phylogenetic relationships between species the search time can be decreased by looking at species that share a more recent common ancestor.<ref name=mito>Bensasson, D., Zhang, D., Hartl, D., Hewitt, G. (2001). Mitochondrial pseudogense: evolution's misplaced witness. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 16: 314-321. [http://www.ioz.ac.cn/department/agripest/group/zhangdx/ZDX-s-pdf%5CTREE2001-Updated_numt.PDF]</ref> Once a functioning copy of a gene is detected its sequence is compared to the pseudogene. A high correlation in base pairs is used to assign homology. Non-functionality can be demonstrated by attempting to transcribe the sequence in-vitro. <ref name=sciam />
==See also==
==See also==