The origin and evolution of new genes

Abstract

New genes are a major source of genetic innovation in genomes. However, until recently, understanding how new genes originate and how they evolve was hampered by the lack of appropriate genetic datasets. The advent of the genomic era brought about a revolution in the amount of data available to study new genes. For the first time, decades-old theoretical principles could be tested empirically and novel and unexpected avenues of research opened up. This chapter explores how genomic data can and is being used to study both the origin and evolution of new genes and the surprising discoveries made thus far. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.