Pseudogenes and Their Evolution

Pseudogenes are relics of former genes that no longer possess biological functions. They are abundant in the genomes of complex organisms such as vertebrates and flowering plants and provide a useful resource for study-ing mutation rates and neutral evolutionary patterns. Processed pseudogenes can be regarded as fossilised footprints of past geneexpression, permittingapeek into ancient transcriptomes. Occasionally adaptive, pseudo-genisation is usually a neutral process. Yet, it can have a substantial impact on future evolution by limiting or opening certain evolutionary possibilities. Studies of pseudogenisation may help date key phenotypic changes in evolution and understand the genetic basis of pheno-typic evolution. Recent studies found some pseudogenes topossessapparent functions ingeneregulation, creating a difficulty in defining pseudogenes