Using Complex Gene Trees in Phylogenetic Systematics: the hsp70 Gene Family

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Martin 9974144Vertebrate genomes are immensely complex, including about 100,000 protein-coding genes. Much of the complexity of protein-coding genes stems from gene duplication. Genes can also be lost from the genome, sometimes by the same mechanisms that create new genes. This process of the birth and death of genes governs the complexity of the genome. This project is concerned with the evolutionary history of one gene family, the heat shock 70 gene family (hsp70). Heat shock genes are of fundamental importance for cells. They are an ancient and highly conserved gene family involved in response to cellular stress, in protein folding and assembly, and in transport processes across cell membranes. In addition to the information that can be gained about the evolution and diversification of heat shock genes, the proposed research asks whether phylogenetic analysis of complex gene families provides information about organismal phylogenies. Thus, the proposed research will be of fundamental interest to cell, molecular, and organismal biologists interested in the underlying genetic basis of the well known heat shock response; to molecular evolutionary geneticists interested in genome and gene family evolution, and to systematists interested in reconstructing the history of life on Earth.