What I am talking about are the
>processed pseudogenes--control section cut out, tail added introns gone. In
>your above case where you say the pseudogene resides just before the 3
>successively synthesized genes, the 3 genes are in the order of function in
>development. I presume that the pseudogene is not synthesized. In this case
>you have not really answered the problem because as I understand your
>description it looks like this:
>
>pseduogene-gene 1-gene 2-gene3
>
>which relates to
>
>unused-used-used-used.
>
>
>
>What is it missing on the pseudogene in comparison with its neighbors? If it
>is not synthesized, then how do you know it has a function?
>
>
>By the way, do you have a reference?
The sequence is :
"pseudogene"(stops in all 3 reading frames), gene1, gene2, gene3,
"pseudogene", gene4, gene5. The first three beta globins are produced
sequentially during gestation. The last two are successively activated
around parturition and are the only forms found in the adult. The
placement of the two regions of non-coding DNA in the gene family is
certainly suggestive of a regulatory function, although other suggestions
are possible. Although I believe the beta globin pseudogenes are not
"processed", but are beta globin-like regions with stop codons in all three
reading frames, a question arises about supposed "processed" pseudogenes
that are found in close proximity to transcribed genes of the same type. I
don't know of "processed pseudogenes" that are found in the appropriate
gene family space, and if this were indeed true, it would demand an
explanation as to how it got there.
I will look for some references for you, but I know Darnell covers it in
Molecular Cell Biology (3rd edition)(p.311), but in more depth in the
second edition.
Art
http://chadwicka.swau.edu