What is Homology?
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Homology is the study and classification of shared characteristics between different species [1]. Homology can be used to analyze species likeness at the morphological level, such as in the figure below. Here we see how organisms with differing lifestyles have distinct forelimbs but the same bone structures, indicating common ancestry.
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Homology of different species can also be examined at the molecular level by comparing their protein and DNA sequences [2]. Genes that share a common ancestral DNA sequence can be related to one another using statistical tools such as Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST).
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Homologs of the Human ABCA12
Homo sapiens Pan troglodytes Mus musculus
(Humans) (Chimpanzee) (Mouse)
ATP binding cassette sub family A, isoform C
Ascension number: NP_001259764.1 Length: 1709 AA Identity: 31.48% |
aligned_fasta_homolog_species.txt |
References:
[1] Homologies. Retrieved from https://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/0_0_0/lines_04 [2] Homologous Genes. Retrieved from https://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/1_0_0/eyes_10 |
Image References:
Homologous Forelimb Structures: https://www.deviantart.com/alithographica/art/Science-Fact-Friday-Homology-670901312 Human: https://www.1001freedownloads.com/free-vector/free-vector-human-silhouette Chimpanzee: https://www.vinylsilhouettes.com/content/images/thumbs/0003007_chimpanzee-32-safari-animal-silhouette-decals_550.gif Mouse: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/1d/d1/a9/1dd1a9204d27832232e706d75b9fd6e5.jpg Fruit Fly: https://www.vectorstock.com/royalty-free-vector/fly-silhouette-vector-577785 Round Worm: https://imageog.flaticon.com/icons/png/512/47/47217.png?size=1200x630f&pad=10,10,10,10&ext=png&bg=FFFFFFFF Zebra fish: https://www.colourbox.com/vector/vector-silhouette-of-fish-on-white-background-vector-1651698 |
This web page was produced as an assignment for Genetics 564, an undergraduate capstone course at UW-Madison