Génuplikáció

Génuplikáció refers to the process of gene duplication, a fundamental mechanism in molecular evolution. It occurs when a section of DNA that contains a gene is copied, resulting in two identical copies of that gene. This duplication can happen through various molecular mechanisms, including unequal crossing over during meiosis, retrotransposition, or errors in DNA replication.

Once a gene is duplicated, one of the copies is free to accumulate mutations without negatively impacting the organism's fitness, as the original copy still performs the essential function. Over evolutionary time, these accumulated mutations can lead to the duplicated gene acquiring a new function, becoming a pseudogene (a non-functional copy), or diverging in its expression pattern or regulatory elements.

Gene duplication is considered a primary source of genetic novelty and has played a significant role in the evolution of complex genomes and the development of new biological functions. Many essential genes in modern organisms exist in families of related genes, suggesting they arose from ancestral duplication events. Studying génuplikáció helps scientists understand the evolutionary pathways of genes and the diversification of life.