Definitions
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun biochemistry Any of a family of
proteins associated with the formation of dentalenamel
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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The researchers were able to correlate the progressive loss of enamel in the fossil record with a simultaneous molecular decay of a gene, called the enamelin gene, that is involved in enamel formation in mammals.
PhysOrg.com - latest science and technology news stories 2009
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Despite the absence of teeth, modern baleen whales retain copies of tooth-specific genes, such as enamelin, in their genomes.
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Mark Springer, a professor of biology, who led the study, said, "We predicted that enamel-specific genes such as enamelin would show evidence in living organisms of molecular decay because these genes are vestigial and are no longer necessary for survival."
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Despite the absence of teeth, modern baleen whales retain copies of tooth-specific genes, such as enamelin, in their genomes; these unnecessary genes, which were inherited from toothed ancestors, show evidence of mutational decay, as predicted by evolutionary theory.
PhysOrg.com - latest science and technology news stories 2009
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Broadly, the research involved the following steps: First, Meredith collected the DNA sequences for the enamelin gene in different mammals.
PhysOrg.com - latest science and technology news stories 2009
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They predicted that these species would have copies of the gene that codes for the tooth-specific enamelin protein, but this gene would show evidence of molecular decay in these species.
PhysOrg.com - latest science and technology news stories 2009
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In every case, they discovered mutations in the gene that disrupt the proper reading frame that codes for the enamelin protein.
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Using modern gene sequencing technology, Meredith discovered mutations in the enamelin gene that disrupt how the enamelin protein is coded, resulting in obliteration of the genetic blueprint for the enamelin protein.
PhysOrg.com - latest science and technology news stories 2009
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Prediction about enamelin gene by UC Riverside biologists upheld by evidence Biologists at the California, Riverside report new evidence for evolutionary change recorded in both the fossil record
WN.com - Articles related to Obama EPA releases Bush-era global warming finding 2009
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"In our research we clearly see the parallel evolution of enamel loss in the fossil record and the molecular decay of the enamelin gene into a pseudogene in representatives of four different orders of mammals that have lost enamel."
PhysOrg.com - latest science and technology news stories 2009
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