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      Degeneracy and complexity in biological systems

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          Abstract

          Degeneracy, the ability of elements that are structurally different to perform the same function or yield the same output, is a well known characteristic of the genetic code and immune systems. Here, we point out that degeneracy is a ubiquitous biological property and argue that it is a feature of complexity at genetic, cellular, system, and population levels. Furthermore, it is both necessary for, and an inevitable outcome of, natural selection.

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          Combinatorial receptor codes for odors.

          Bettina Malnic, Junzo Hirono, Takaaki Sato … (1999)
          The discriminatory capacity of the mammalian olfactory system is such that thousands of volatile chemicals are perceived as having distinct odors. Here we used a combination of calcium imaging and single-cell RT-PCR to identify odorant receptors (ORs) for odorants with related structures but varied odors. We found that one OR recognizes multiple odorants and that one odorant is recognized by multiple ORs, but that different odorants are recognized by different combinations of ORs. Thus, the olfactory system uses a combinatorial receptor coding scheme to encode odor identities. Our studies also indicate that slight alterations in an odorant, or a change in its concentration, can change its "code," potentially explaining how such changes can alter perceived odor quality.
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            Functional Characterization of the S. cerevisiae Genome by Gene Deletion and Parallel Analysis

            E. Winzeler (1999)
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              Evolution of genetic redundancy.

              M. A. Nowak, M. C. Boerlijst, J. Cooke … (1997)
              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 organisms. Examples of apparently redundant genes come from numerous studies of developmental biology, immunology, neurobiology and the cell cycle. 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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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Title: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
                Abbreviated Title: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
                Publisher: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
                ISSN (Print): 0027-8424
                ISSN (Electronic): 1091-6490
                Publication date Created: November 20 2001
                Publication date (Electronic): November 06 2001
                Publication date (Print): November 20 2001
                Volume: 98
                Issue: 24
                Pages: 13763-13768
                Article
                DOI: 10.1073/pnas.231499798
                PMC ID: 61115
                PubMed ID: 11698650
                SO-VID: 3f0f0977-7be6-4855-bfac-7e10c89184c3
                Copyright © © 2001
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