Histones are proteins that play important roles in gene regulation. Between plants and animals, only two amino acid changes have occurred in the histone H4 protein, despite many synonymous changes. What can we infer from this observation?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The fact that there have only been two amino acid changes despite many synonymous changes suggests that there is strong stabilizing selection acting on this gene. This means that mutations in the amino acid sequence of histone H4 are not well tolerated and may disrupt its important roles in gene regulation.

Histones Are Proteins That Play Important Roles in Gene Regulation