What Is The Proper Definition For The Term "Segmental Duplication"

Question

[dem]

Hi,

I search in internet what is a good definition of segmental duplication but I don't find it.

I supply if you can give me this definition, what is the origin of this duplcation, what can the differences with the others duplications?

Thank you a lot.

Answer 1

[Istvan Albert]

The wikipedia link and the papers that are listed there are a good starting point for their definitions.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Segmental_duplication

and the paper here:

Primate segmental duplications: crucibles of evolution, diversity and disease

In a nutshell the term "segmental duplication" was introduced to distinguish it from whole genome duplication. By that definition every duplication that is not whole genome duplication is a segmental duplication.

As it turns out the term is not part of the Sequence Ontolgy:

http://www.sequenceontology.org/browser/current_svn/term/SO:1000035

In that terminology duplications are categorized as intrachromosomal_transposition, intrachromosomal_duplication, tandem_duplication, distal_duplication