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Evolution of genetic redundancy

Nature volume 388, pages 167–171 (1997)Cite this article

Abstract

Genetic redundancy means that two or more genes are performing the same function and that inactivation of one of these genes has little or no effect on the biological phenotype. Redundancy seems to be widespread in genomes of higher organisms1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9. Examples of apparently redundant genes come from numerous studies of developmental biology10,11,12,13,14,15, immunology16,17, neurobiology18,19 and the cell cycle20,21. Yet there is a problem: genes encoding functional proteins must be under selection pressure. If a gene was truly redundant then it would not be protected against the accumulation of deleterious mutations. A widespread view is therefore that such redundancy cannot be evolutionarily stable. Here we develop a simple genetic model to analyse selection pressures acting on redundant genes. We present four cases that can explain why genetic redundancy is common. In three cases, redundancy is even evolutionarily stable. Our theory provides a framework for exploring the evolution of genetic organization.

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Figure 1: Models of genetic redundancy.
Figure 2: Complex redundancy–pleiotropy networks evolve if the mutation rate of complete inactivation of a gene is higher than the mutation rate of inactivating only one function of a gene while leaving other functions unaffected.
Figure 3: Developmental errors can provide selection pressure to maintain genetic redundancy.

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Acknowledgements

We thank D. Krakauer and K. Sigmund for discussion. This work was supported by the Wellcome Trust (M.A.N.) and the European Community (M.C.B.).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. *Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, OX1 3PS, Oxford, UK

    Martin A. Nowak & Maarten C. Boerlijst

  2. †National Institute for Medical Research, The Ridgeway, NW7 1AA, London, UK

    Jonathan Cooke

  3. ‡School of Biological Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, BN1 9QG, UK

    John Maynard Smith

Authors
  1. Martin A. Nowak
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  2. Maarten C. Boerlijst
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  3. Jonathan Cooke
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  4. John Maynard Smith
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Correspondence to Martin A. Nowak.

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Nowak, M., Boerlijst, M., Cooke, J. et al. Evolution of genetic redundancy. Nature 388, 167–171 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1038/40618

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