Manyuan Long, Ph.D.

Arbeitsvorhaben

The Origin of Genes

How a gene originates is a fundamental problem for understanding life. Newly evolved genes contribute to the diversity of gene functions, playing a foundational role in the diversity of organisms on all levels of complexity and across phenotypes. Over the previous century, revolutionary advancements in the study of biology, especially the rise of molecular biology as a field, have profoundly addressed an old scientific problem: What is a gene? A natural extension of this problem can be defined as: How is a gene created?
Over the past three decades, along with other scientists, I have investigated various scientific questions derived from the grand problem of the origin of genes. These scientific explorations have led to meaningful discoveries in both phenomenology and conceptual frameworks, shaping the study of gene origination and creating a rich and fascinating repository of knowledge. However, there is currently a lack of books that summarize and explain in depth the major discoveries regarding this problem.
While continuing the investigation of mechanisms and evolutionary forces of new gene evolution, I propose to create a book with the working title The Origin of Genes. Taking advantage of the fellowship from the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin, I plan to increase interactions with global scholars from across disciplines represented by the Fellows, to make my book and scientific research more comprehensive.
The foremost opportunity is to interact with other Fellows of the Wissenschaftskolleg and scientists in Berlin and other European institutes, from whom I expect to learn and develop new ideas.

Recommended Reading

Long, Manyuan, and Charles H. Langley (1993). “Natural Selection and the Origin of jingwei, a Chimeric Processed Functional Gene in Drosophila.” Science 260 (5104): 91–95. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.7682012.
Xia, Shengqian, Jianhai Chen, Deanna Arsala, J.J. Emerson, and Manyuan Long (2025). “Functional Innovation Through New Genes as a General Evolutionary Process.” Nature Genetics 57: 295–309. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-024-02059-0.
Long, Manyuan, Shengqian Xia, Jared Atlas, and Nicholas W. VanKuren (forthcoming). “Dominant Role of Sexually Antagonistic Effects in Drosophila Genomic Evolution.” Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics 57. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-102723-064352.

Publikationen aus der Fellowbibliothek

Long, Manyuan (London, 2019)

Rapid evolution of protein diversity by de novo origination in Oryza

Long, Manyuan (London, 2003)

The origin of new genes : glimpses from the young and old

Long, Manyuan (Washington, DC, 1993)

Natural selection and the origin of jingwei, a chimeric processed functional gene in Drosophila