This web page was produced as an assignment for Genetics 564, an undergraduate capstone course at UW-Madison.
What is Homology?
Homology describes organs, structures, or proteins that are similar in different organisms due to a common ancestor. The similar features may have different functions depending on the organism, but what is important is their shared common ancestor and evolutionary relatedness [1]. There are two types of homologs: orthologs and paralogs. Orthologs refer to both common ancestors and common function. Paralogs share a common ancestor, but have developed a new function for the trait [2].
Homo sapiens (Humans) G6PD-1 isoform a NP_000393.4
The G6PD gene and protein are highly conserved, being present in both plant and animal species. The large variety of homologs for G6PD allows researchers to use a wide spectrum of model organisms depending on their phenotypes of interest. Conserved protein functions gives us an idea of the biological functions and important pathways that G6PD is a part of. Homologs were found by performing reciprocal BLASTs. We used Homologene and Ensembl to confirm the homology. For my specific aims, I will be using the model organism Danio rerio, or as commonly called, zebrafish.