Highly conserved sequence

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A highly conserved sequence is a region of DNA in a gene that contains a sequence of nucleotides that is identical or very homologous to genes of a wide range of organisms. When a section of a gene is found to be highly conserved, it is inferred that

  1. the species sharing the conserved sequence share a common evolutionary ancestor, and
  2. the sequence codes for a key segment of an important protein.

The mechanism of conservation is assumed to be natural selection: mutations of this area of the gene are likely to impair survival or reproductive function of the organism.

There are many thousands of examples of highly conserved sequences in thousands of organisms, from bacteria to humans. Typical highly conserved sequences involve 10-50 base sequences, but may be much longer in closely related organisms.

Among the common protein products of highly conserved sequences are the active sites of enzymes and the binding sites of a protein receptors.

See also Conservation (genetics).


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