Researchers describe how duplications of DNA segments affect the 3-D structure of the genome
Duplications of DNA segments are common in the human genome. Duplications have been proposed as an evolutionary mechanism but they can also be associated with human disease. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics and the Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin have now shown that, depending on their position in the genome, duplications can lead to the formation of new functional units known as topologically associated domains (TADs). In the journal Nature, the researchers describe how the duplication of DNA segments of various sizes gives rise to new TADs and how duplicated genes can acquire new functions. This mechanism represents a possible mechanism how new gene functions can arise in the course of evolution and has far-reaching implications for the interpretation of genetic mutations in humans.