Evolutionary dynamics of duplicated genes in plants

Gene duplication, arising from region-specific duplication or genome-wide polyploidization, is a prominent feature in plant genome evolution. Understanding the mechanisms generating duplicate gene copies and the subsequent dynamics among gene duplicates is vital because these investigations shed light on regional and genome-wide aspects of evolutionary forces shaping intra- and interspecific genome contents, evolutionary relationships, and interactions. This review discusses recent gene duplication analyses in plants, focusing on the molecular and evolutionary dynamics occurring at three different timescales following duplication: (1) initial establishment and persistence of cytotypes, (2) interactions among duplicate gene copies, and (3) longer term differentiation between duplicated genes. These relative time points are presented in terms of their potential adaptive significance and impact on plant evolutionary genomics research. (C) 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.