Coevolution within and between genes.

摘要: Interacting biological systems do not evolve independently, as exemplified many times at the cellular, organismal and ecosystem levels. Biological molecules interact tightly, should therefore coevolve well. Here we review literature about molecular coevolution, between residues within RNAs or proteins, proteins. A panel of methodological bioinformatic approaches have been developed to address this issue, yielding contrasting results: a strong coevolutionary signal is detected in RNA stems, whereas proteins show only moderate, uneasy interpret departure from independence hypothesis. The reasons for discrepancy are discussed.