I have a problem which begins with the fact that I have a nearly
complete ignorance of genetics. My question is: To what extent is the distance
between two particular, unrelated genes conserved between eukaryotic
species. If one finds that gene X and gene Y are close together in the
genome of mouse, would you expect that the human homologues of gene X and
gene Y would also be closely linked, or would you expect that their
positions would be shuffled in the absence of some selective pressure to
maintain their linkage? Some related genes tend to be found in groups
due , I suppose, to recent gene duplication events (I'm told this is true
for some of the members of the interleukin family).But what about genes
with no sequence homology to each other?
I would be grateful if someone could set me straight on this, or
at least point me in the right direction in terms of finding references
which would answer this question.
Thanks in advance,
Chris
