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MBE Advance Access published online on April 12, 2006
Molecular Biology and Evolution, doi:10.1093/molbev/msk019
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© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org
Accepted April 10, 2006

Letter

Average Gene Length is Highly Conserved in Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes and Diverges Only Between the Two Kingdoms

Lin Xu 1, Hong Chen 1, Rongmei Zhang 1, Xiaohua Hu 1, Ze Zhang 2, and Z.W. Luo 3 *

1 Laboratory of Population & Quantitative Genetics, School of Life Sciences and Institute of Biomedical Research, Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, Shanghai 200433, China
2 School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
3 Laboratory of Population & Quantitative Genetics, School of Life Sciences and Institute of Biomedical Research, Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, Shanghai 200433, China; School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Z.W. Luo, E-mail: z.luo{at}bham.ac.uk


  Abstract

The average length of genes in a eukaryote is larger than in a prokaryote, implying that evolution of complexity is related to change of gene lengths. Here, we show that although the average lengths of genes in prokaryotes and eukaryotes are much different, the average lengths of genes are highly conserved within either of the two kingdoms. This suggests that natural selection has clearly set a strong limitation on gene elongation within the kingdom. Furthermore, the average gene size adds another distinct characteristic for the discrimination between the two kingdoms of organisms.

Keywords: average gene length; prokaryote; eukaryote.
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