Molecular Biology and Evolution, Vol 15, 583-589, Copyright © 1998 by Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution
MA Huynen and E van Nimwegen
We compare the frequency distribution of gene family sizes in the complete
genomes of six bacteria (Escherichia coli, Haemophilus influenzae,
Helicobacter pylori, Mycoplasma genitalium, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, and
Synechocystis sp. PCC6803), two Archaea (Methanococcus jannaschii and
Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum), one eukaryote (Saccharomyces
cerevisiae), the vaccinia virus, and the bacteriophage T4. The sizes of the
gene families versus their frequencies show power- law distributions that
tend to become flatter (have a larger exponent) as the number of genes in
the genome increases. Power-law distributions generally occur as the limit
distribution of a multiplicative stochastic process with a boundary
constraint. We discuss various models that can account for a multiplicative
process determining the sizes of gene families in the genome. In
particular, we argue that, in order to explain the observed distributions,
gene families have to behave in a coherent fashion within the genome; i.e.,
the probabilities of duplications of genes within a gene family are not
independent of each other. Likewise, the probabilities of deletions of
genes within a gene family are not independent of each other.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
The frequency distribution of gene family sizes in complete genomes
Santa Fe Institute, New Mexico, USA. huynen@embl-heidelberg.de
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