The Human Beta-­Globin Pseudogene is Non-­Variable and Functional | The Institute for Creation Research

 
The Human Beta-­Globin Pseudogene is Non-­Variable and Functional

In Answers Research Journal 6 (2013): 293-301

One of the iconic (yet enigmatic) arguments for human-ape common ancestry has been the β-globin pseudogene (HBBP1). Evolutionists originally speculated that apparent mutations in HBBP1 were shared mutational mistakes derived from a human-chimpanzee common ancestor. However, others noted that if the gene was indeed non-functional, then it should have mutated markedly in the past 3 to 6 million years of human evolution due to a lack of selective constraint on the region. Recent research confirms that the HBBP1 region of the 6-gene β-globulin cluster is highly non-variable compared to the other β-globin genes based on large-scale DNA diversity assessment within both humans and chimpanzees. Highlighting the lack of HBBP1 sequence variability is genetic data from three different reports that link point mutations in the HBBP1 gene with β-thalassemia disease pathologies. Biochemical evidence for functionality is indicated by multiple categories of functional genomics data showing that the HBBP1 gene is transcriptionally active and a key interactive component of the β-globin gene network. In brief, the HBBP1 gene encodes two consensus regulatory RNAs that are alternatively transcribed and/or post-transcriptionally spliced. This functional complexity produces at least 16 different exon variant transcripts and 42 different intron variant transcripts. Two major regulatory regions in the HBBP1 locus contain active transcription factor binding sites that overlap multiple categorical regions of epigenetic data for functionally active chromatin. The HBBP1 gene also has the most regulatory associations with active and open chromatin within the entire β-globin cluster and its transcripts are expressed in at least 251 different human cell and/or tissue types. Instead of being a useless genomic fossil according to evolutionary predictions, the HBBP1 gene appears to be a highly functional and cleverly integrated feature of the human genome that is intolerant of mutation.

Click here to read the full article text.

The Latest
NEWS
Creation's Easter Message
While many Christians still consider the creation doctrine a fringe issue, a proper understanding of the Christian message finds creation at its core...

NEWS
ICR Veteran Don Barber Retires
Don Barber   After 34 years with the Institute for Creation Research, Director of Enterprise Technology Don Barber will retire...

CREATION.LIVE PODCAST
The Sanctity of Life | Creation.Live Podcast: Episode 23
Abortion is a big issue culturally and in the church. How can believers love our neighbors and act as the hands and feet of Christ when it comes...

NEWS
Plant Receptors Are Designed to Control Immunity and Development
God has designed plants to continuously track their environment.1 They do so with specially designed detectors (also called receptors) on...

CREATION PODCAST
Homo Naledi: The Lies Behind Evolution's Rising Star | The Creation...
Homo naledi, once evolution's 'rising star,' was considered to be a prime example of human evolution. But is it really proof? Or...

NEWS
A Subsurface Ocean on Mimas?
Scientists have analyzed data obtained from the Cassini spacecraft and concluded that irregularities in the orbit of Saturn’s moon Mimas indicate...

NEWS
In Theaters March 20 & 21: The Ark and the Darkness
Is Genesis true? What about Noah’s Flood? How did Noah fit the animals on the ark? Wasn’t it a local flood? Have you asked these questions? Though...

NEWS
Enigmatic Fossil Plants
The pre-Flood world thousands of years ago was unlike the world of today.1 Unfamiliar animals and plants were common, and there were a lot...

NEWS
Surprisingly Colorful Fossil Snail Shells
Finding organic compounds such as flexible dinosaur collagen and complete bone cells1,2 is becoming common, much to the shock and consternation...

NEWS
March 2024 ICR Wallpaper
"He is not here; for He is risen, as He said." (Matthew 28:6 NKJV) ICR March 2024 wallpaper is now available for mobile, tablet,...