Dpy-19 Like Protein 2 (DPY19L2)

Low copy repeats (LCRs) are thought to play an important role in recent gene evolution, especially when they facilitate gene duplications.Two members of a novel transmembrane gene family, DPY19L, were identified in these regions, along with six transcribed pseudogenes.

One of these genes, DPY19L2, is found on Chromosome 12 and is not syntenic with its mouse orthologue. Instead, the human locus syntenic to mouse Dpy19l2 contains a pseudogene, DPY19L2P1. This indicates that the ancestral copy of this gene has been silenced, while the descendant copy has remained active. Thus, the functional copy of this gene has been relocated to a new genomic locus. Ancient duplications have led to multiple homologues in different lineages, with three in fish, frogs and birds and four in mammals.