Problems and paradigms: Redundancies, development and the flow of information
- 1 April 1992
- Vol. 14 (4) , 263-266
- https://doi.org/10.1002/bies.950140410
Abstract
There is increasing evidence for the wide-spread existence of functionally redundant genetic pathways in developmental processes. However, both their significance and manner of evolution are still matters of debate. I will argue here that redundancy of gene actions may, in fact, be a necessary requirement for the development and evolution of complex life forms. One can view development as a process that transmits information from the egg to the adult organism. Transmission of information is, however, always an error-prone process, which can only be safeguarded by including redundancies in the message. Molecular examples for well analysed redundant processes indicate that redundancies may best be understood within a conceptual framework of overlaps between different gene functions.Keywords
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