Nested gene
A nested gene is a
coding sequence for a nested gene differs greatly from the coding sequence for its external host gene. Typically, nested genes and their host genes encode functionally unrelated proteins, and have different expression patterns
in an organism.
There are two categories of nested genes:
- genes nested within an intron of a larger gene
- genes which lie opposite the coding sequence of a larger gene
Nested intronic genes
A nested intronic gene lies within the non-coding
eukaryotes. Because only eukaryotic DNA contains intronic regions, this type of gene does not occur in bacteria or archaea.[1]
The
chromosomes, and the majority code for proteins that are functionally unrelated to their host genes.[2][1]
Genes nested opposite coding sequences
Genes nested opposite the coding sequences of their host genes are very rare, and have been observed in
metazoan genomes. As with intronic nested genes, nonintronic nested genes typically do not share functions or expression patterns with their host genes.[1]