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Science & ResearchJul 22, 2026

Identification and Classification of Expressed Orphan Genes, Spurious Orphan Genes, and Conserved Genes in the Human Gut Microbiome

Orphan genes - genes lacking detectable homologs outside a species - are widespread in microbial genomes and are thought to contribute to their adaptation and molecular innovation.

Orphan genes - genes lacking detectable homologs outside a species - are widespread in microbial genomes and are thought to contribute to their adaptation and molecular innovation. However, not all predicted orphan genes may represent novel functional coding sequences. False…

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