Evolutionary study finds 300 hidden genes

Researchers at Cornell have discovered some 300 previously unidentified human genes and found extensions of several hundred genes already known, according to a study published online in the journal Genome Research.

Using supercomputers to compare portions of the human genome with those of other mammals, the researchers based their discovery on the idea that as organisms evolve, sections of genetic code that perform vital functions for the organism remain relatively unaltered.

More than 20,000 protein-coding genes have been identified in the human genome, so the Cornell contribution, while significant, does not dramatically change the number of known genes.

What is important though, the researchers say, is that their discovery shows there still could be many more genes that have been missed using current biological methods.

“What’s exciting is using evolution to identify these genes,” said Adam Siepel, Cornell assistant professor of biological statistics and computational biology.

“Evolution has been doing this experiment for millions of years. The computer is our microscope to observe the results.”

Siepel and colleagues set out to find genes that have been ‘conserved’ — genes that are fundamental to all life and stayed the same, or nearly so, over millions of years of evolution.

The discovered genes mainly have to do with motor activity, cell adhesion, connective tissue and central nervous system development — functions the scientists expected to be common to many different creatures.