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Voronin DA, Kiseleva EV. [Functional role of proteins containing ankyrin repeats]. TSITOLOGIIA 2007; 49:989-999. [PMID: 18318217] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
This review describes and discusses new data about the structure and function of proteins which contain ankyrin-like repeats in their structure. These proteins have been found in cells of different organisms but they are not belonging to the cytoskeletal proteins. Many important functions of such proteins are provided by ankyrin repeats which maintain protein-protein interactions involved in the formation of transcription complexes, initiation of immuno-responses, biogenesis and assembly of cation channels in the membranes, regulation of some cell cycle stages, symbiotic interactions and many other processes. Mutations in genes encoding ankyrin-like proteins can cause defects in gene expression leading to diseases onset and progression in animals and humans. Therefore, the structure, dynamics and function of these proteins is an area of extensive research in modern biology.
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Schnurr-Pütz S, Bååth E, Guggenberger G, Drake HL, Küsel K. Compaction of forest soil by logging machinery favours occurrence of prokaryotes. FEMS Microbiol Ecol 2006; 58:503-16. [PMID: 17117992 DOI: 10.1111/j.1574-6941.2006.00175.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Soil compaction caused by passage of logging machinery reduces the soil air capacity. Changed abiotic factors might induce a change in the soil microbial community and favour organisms capable of tolerating anoxic conditions. The goals of this study were to resolve differences between soil microbial communities obtained from wheel-tracks (i.e. compacted) and their adjacent undisturbed sites, and to evaluate differences in potential anaerobic microbial activities of these contrasting soils. Soil samples obtained from compacted soil had a greater bulk density and a higher pH than uncompacted soil. Analyses of phospholipid fatty acids demonstrated that the eukaryotic/prokaryotic ratio in compacted soils was lower than that of uncompacted soils, suggesting that fungi were not favoured by the in situ conditions produced by compaction. Indeed, most-probable-number (MPN) estimates of nitrous oxide-producing denitrifiers, acetate- and lactate-utilizing iron and sulfate reducers, and methanogens were higher in compacted than in uncompacted soils obtained from one site that had large differences in bulk density. Compacted soils from this site yielded higher iron-reducing, sulfate-reducing and methanogenic potentials than did uncompacted soils. MPN estimates of H2-utilizing acetogens in compacted and uncompacted soils were similar. These results indicate that compaction of forest soil alters the structure and function of the soil microbial community and favours occurrence of prokaryotes.
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Abstract
The DJ-1 gene is extensively studied because of its involvement in familial Parkinson disease. DJ-1 belongs to a complex superfamily of genes that includes both prokaryotic and eukaryotic representatives. We determine that many prokaryotic groups, such as proteobacteria, cyanobacteria, spirochaetes, firmicutes, or fusobacteria, have genes, often incorrectly called "Thij," that are very close relatives of DJ-1, to the point that they cannot be clearly separated from the eukaryotic DJ-1 genes by phylogenetic analyses of their sequences. In addition, and contrary to a previous study that suggested that DJ-1 genes were animal specific, we show that DJ-1 genes are found in at least 5 of the 6 main eukaryotic groups: opisthokonta (both animals and fungi), plantae, chromalveolata, excavata, and amoebozoa. Our results thus provide strong evidence for DJ-1 genes originating before the origin of eukaryotes. Interestingly, we found that some fungal species, among them the model yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, have DJ-1-like genes, most likely orthologous to the animal genes. This finding opens new ways for the analysis of the functions of this group of genes.
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Attwood PV, Piggott MJ, Zu XL, Besant PG. Focus on phosphohistidine. Amino Acids 2006; 32:145-56. [PMID: 17103118 DOI: 10.1007/s00726-006-0443-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 127] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2006] [Accepted: 09/09/2006] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Phosphohistidine has been identified as an enzymic intermediate in numerous biochemical reactions and plays a functional role in many regulatory pathways. Unlike the phosphoester bond of its cousins (phosphoserine, phosphothreonine and phosphotyrosine), the phosphoramidate (P-N) bond of phosphohistidine has a high DeltaG degrees of hydrolysis and is unstable under acidic conditions. This acid-lability has meant that the study of protein histidine phosphorylation and the associated protein kinases has been slower to progress than other protein phosphorylation studies. Histidine phosphorylation is a crucial component of cell signalling in prokaryotes and lower eukaryotes. It is also now becoming widely reported in mammalian signalling pathways and implicated in certain human disease states. This review covers the chemistry of phosphohistidine in terms of its isomeric forms and chemical derivatives, how they can be synthesized, purified, identified and the relative stabilities of each of these forms. Furthermore, we highlight how this chemistry relates to the role of phosphohistidine in its various biological functions.
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Richardson J, Blunck R, Ge P, Selvin PR, Bezanilla F, Papazian DM, Correa AM. Distance measurements reveal a common topology of prokaryotic voltage-gated ion channels in the lipid bilayer. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2006; 103:15865-70. [PMID: 17043236 PMCID: PMC1635094 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0607532103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Voltage-dependent ion channels are fundamental to the physiology of excitable cells because they underlie the generation and propagation of the action potential and excitation-contraction coupling. To understand how ion channels work, it is important to determine their structures in different conformations in a membrane environment. The validity of the crystal structure for the prokaryotic K(+) channel, K(V)AP, has been questioned based on discrepancies with biophysical data from functional eukaryotic channels, underlining the need for independent structural data under native conditions. We investigated the structural organization of two prokaryotic voltage-gated channels, NaChBac and K(V)AP, in liposomes by using luminescence resonance energy transfer. We describe here a transmembrane packing representation of the voltage sensor and pore domains of the prokaryotic Na channel, NaChBac. We find that NaChBac and K(V)AP share a common arrangement in which the structures of the Na and K selective pores and voltage-sensor domains are conserved. The packing arrangement of the voltage-sensing region as determined by luminescence resonance energy transfer differs significantly from that of the K(V)AP crystal structure, but resembles that of the eukaryotic K(V)1.2 crystal structure. However, the voltage-sensor domain in prokaryotic channels is closer to the pore domain than in the K(V)1.2 structure. Our results indicate that prokaryotic and eukaryotic channels that share similar functional properties have similar helix arrangements, with differences arising likely from the later introduction of additional structural elements.
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Beuming T, Shi L, Javitch JA, Weinstein H. A comprehensive structure-based alignment of prokaryotic and eukaryotic neurotransmitter/Na+ symporters (NSS) aids in the use of the LeuT structure to probe NSS structure and function. Mol Pharmacol 2006; 70:1630-42. [PMID: 16880288 DOI: 10.1124/mol.106.026120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 226] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The recently elucidated crystal structure of a prokaryotic member of the neurotransmitter/sodium symporter (NSS) family (Yamashita et al., 2005) is a major advance toward understanding structure-function relationships in this important class of transporters. To aid in the generalization of these results, we present here a comprehensive sequence alignment of all known prokaryotic and eukaryotic NSS proteins, based on the crystal structure of the leucine transporter from Aquifex aeolicus (LeuT). Regions of low sequence identity between prokaryotic and eukaryotic transporters were aligned with the aid of a number of bioinformatics tools, and the resulting alignments were validated by comparison with experimental data. In a number of regions, including the transmembrane segments 4, 5, and 9 as well as extracellular loops 2, 3, and 4, our alignment differs from the one proposed previously [Nature (Lond) 437: 215-223, 2005]. Important similarities and differences among the sequences of NSS proteins in regions likely to determine selectivity in substrate binding and mechanisms of transport regulation are discussed in the context of the LeuT structure and the alignment.
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Krause F. Detection and analysis of protein–protein interactions in organellar and prokaryotic proteomes by native gel electrophoresis: (Membrane) protein complexes and supercomplexes. Electrophoresis 2006; 27:2759-81. [PMID: 16817166 DOI: 10.1002/elps.200600049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 144] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
It is an essential and challenging task to unravel protein-protein interactions in their actual in vivo context. Native gel systems provide a separation platform allowing the analysis of protein complexes on a rather proteome-wide scale in a single experiment. This review focus on blue-native (BN)-PAGE as the most versatile and successful gel-based approach to separate soluble and membrane protein complexes of intricate protein mixtures derived from all biological sources. BN-PAGE is a charge-shift method with a running pH of 7.5 relying on the gentle binding of anionic CBB dye to all membrane and many soluble protein complexes, leading to separation of protein species essentially according to their size and superior resolution than other fractionation techniques can offer. The closely related colorless-native (CN)-PAGE, whose applicability is restricted to protein species with intrinsic negative net charge, proved to provide an especially mild separation capable of preserving weak protein-protein interactions better than BN-PAGE. The essential conditions determining the success of detecting protein-protein interactions are the sample preparations, e.g. the efficiency/mildness of the detergent solubilization of membrane protein complexes. A broad overview about the achievements of BN- and CN-PAGE studies to elucidate protein-protein interactions in organelles and prokaryotes is presented, e.g. the mitochondrial protein import machinery and oxidative phosphorylation supercomplexes. In many cases, solubilization with digitonin was demonstrated to facilitate an efficient and particularly gentle extraction of membrane protein complexes prone to dissociation by treatment with other detergents. In general, analyses of protein interactomes should be carried out by both BN- and CN-PAGE.
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Subramanyam MB, Gnanamani M, Ramachandran S. Simple sequence proteins in prokaryotic proteomes. BMC Genomics 2006; 7:141. [PMID: 16762057 PMCID: PMC1524752 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2164-7-141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2006] [Accepted: 06/08/2006] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The structural and functional features associated with Simple Sequence Proteins (SSPs) are non-globularity, disease states, signaling and post-translational modification. SSPs are also an important source of genetic and possibly phenotypic variation. Analysis of 249 prokaryotic proteomes offers a new opportunity to examine the genomic properties of SSPs. Results SSPs are a minority but they grow with proteome size. This relationship is exhibited across species varying in genomic GC, mutational bias, life style, and pathogenicity. Their proportion in each proteome is strongly influenced by genomic base compositional bias. In most species simple duplications is favoured, but in a few cases such as Mycobacteria, large families of duplications occur. Amino acid preference in SSPs exhibits a trend towards low cost of biosynthesis. In SSPs and in non-SSPs, Alanine, Glycine, Leucine, and Valine are abundant in species widely varying in genomic GC whereas Isoleucine and Lysine are rich only in organisms with low genomic GC. Arginine is abundant in SSPs of two species and in the non-SSPs of Xanthomonas oryzae. Asparagine is abundant only in SSPs of low GC species. Aspartic acid is abundant only in the non-SSPs of Halobacterium sp NRC1. The abundance of Serine in SSPs of 62 species extends over a broader range compared to that of non-SSPs. Threonine(T) is abundant only in SSPs of a couple of species. SSPs exhibit preferential association with Cell surface, Cell membrane and Transport functions and a negative association with Metabolism. Mesophiles and Thermophiles display similar ranges in the content of SSPs. Conclusion Although SSPs are a minority, the genomic forces of base compositional bias and duplications influence their growth and pattern in each species. The preferences and abundance of amino acids are governed by low biosynthetic cost, evolutionary age and base composition of codons. Abundance of charged amino acids Arginine and Aspartic acid is severely restricted. SSPs preferentially associate with cell surface and interface functions as opposed to metabolism, wherein proteins of high sequence complexity with globular structures are preferred. Mesophiles and Thermophiles are similar with respect to the content of SSPs. Our analysis serves to expandthe commonly held views on SSPs.
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Xia X, Wang H, Xie Z, Carullo M, Huang H, Hickey D. Cytosine usage modulates the correlation between CDS length and CG content in prokaryotic genomes. Mol Biol Evol 2006; 23:1450-4. [PMID: 16687416 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msl012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous studies have argued that, given the AT-rich nature of stop codons, the length and CG% of coding sequences (CDSs) should be positively correlated. This prediction is generally supported empirically by prokaryotic genomes. However, the correlation is weak for a number of species, with 4 species showing a negative correlation. Here we formulate a more general hypothesis incorporating selection against cytosine (C) usage to explain the lack of strong positive correlation between the length and GC% of CDSs. Two factors contribute to the selection against C usage in long CDSs. First, C is the least abundant nucleotide in the cell, and a long CDS should have fewer Cs to increase transcription efficiency. Second, C is prone to mutation to U/T and selection for increased reliability should reduce C usage in long CDSs. Empirical data from prokaryotic genomes lend strong support for this new hypothesis.
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Wu LC, Horng JT, Huang SL, Huang HD, Liu BJ. Detection of discriminative sequence motifs in proteins obtained from prokaryotes grown at various temperatures. J Comput Chem 2006; 27:798-808. [PMID: 16534753 DOI: 10.1002/jcc.20391] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Recent investigations on the stability of proteins have demonstrated various structural factors, but few have considered sequence factors such as protein motifs. These motifs represent highly conserved regions and describe critical regions that may only exist on proteins that remain functional at high temperatures. This investigation presents a method for identifying and comparing corresponding mesophilic and thermophilic sequence motifs between protein families. Discriminative motifs that are conserved only in the mesophilic or thermophilic subfamily are identified. Analysis of the results shows that, although the subfamilies of most protein families share similar motifs, some discriminative motifs are present in particular thermophilic/mesophilic subfamilies. The thermophilic discriminative motifs are conserved only in thermophilic organisms, revealing that physiochemical principles support thermostability.
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Paparcone R, Morosetti S, Scipioni A, De Santis P. A statistical approach for analyzing structural and regulative information in prokaryotic genomes. Biophys Chem 2006; 120:71-9. [PMID: 16298036 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpc.2005.09.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2005] [Accepted: 09/11/2005] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Although DNA is iconized as a straight double helix, it does not exist in this canonical form in biological systems. Instead, it is characterized by sequence dependent structural and dynamic deviations from the monotonous regularity of the canonical B-DNA. Despite the complexity of the system, we showed that DNA structural and dynamics large-scale properties can be predicted starting from the simple knowledge of nucleotide sequence by adopting a statistical approach. The paper reports the statistical analysis of large pools of different prokaryotic genes in terms of the sequence-dependent curvature and flexibility. Conserved features characterize the regions close to the Start Translation Site, which are related to their function in the regulation system. In addition, regular patterns with three-fold periodicity were found in the coding regions. They were reproduced in terms of the nucleotide frequency expected on the basis of the genetic code and the pertinent occurrence of the aminoacid residues.
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Pascal G, Médigue C, Danchin A. Persistent biases in the amino acid composition of prokaryotic proteins. Bioessays 2006; 28:726-38. [PMID: 16850406 DOI: 10.1002/bies.20431] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Correspondence analysis of 28 proteomes selected to span the entire realm of prokaryotes revealed universal biases in the proteins' amino acid distribution. Integral Inner Membrane Proteins always form an individual cluster, which can then be used to predict protein localisation in unknown proteomes, independently of the organism's biotope or kingdom. Orphan proteins are consistently rich in aromatic residues. Another bias is also ubiquitous: the amino acid composition is driven by the G + C content of the first codon position. An unexpected bias is driven, in many proteomes, by the AAN box of the genetic code, suggesting some functional biochemical relationship between asparagine and lysine. Less-significant biases are driven by the rare amino acids, cysteine and tryptophan. Some allow identification of species-specific functions or localisation such as surface or exported proteins. Errors in genome annotations are also revealed by correspondence analysis, making it useful for quality control and correction.
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Hellgren M, Sandberg L, Edholm O. A comparison between two prokaryotic potassium channels (KirBac1.1 and KcsA) in a molecular dynamics (MD) simulation study. Biophys Chem 2005; 120:1-9. [PMID: 16253415 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpc.2005.10.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2005] [Revised: 10/03/2005] [Accepted: 10/03/2005] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
The two potassium ion channels KirBac1.1 and KcsA are compared in a Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulation study. The location and motion of the potassium ions observed in the simulations are compared to those in the X-ray structures and previous simulations. In our simulations several of the crystallography resolved ion sites in KirBac1.1 are occupied by ions. In addition to this, two in KirBac1.1 unresolved sites where occupied by ions at sites that are in close correspondence to sites found in KcsA. There is every reason to believe that the conserved alignment of the selectivity filter in the potassium ion channel family corresponds to a very similar mechanism for ion transport across the filter. The gate residues, Phe146 in KirBac1.1 and Ala111 in KcsA acted in the simulations as effective barriers which never were passed by ions nor water molecules.
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Arai M, Fukushi T, Satake M, Shimizu T. A proteome-wide analysis of domain architectures of prokaryotic single-spanning transmembrane proteins. Comput Biol Chem 2005; 29:379-87. [PMID: 16213795 DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiolchem.2005.08.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2005] [Accepted: 08/08/2005] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
We performed a proteome-wide survey of the domain architectures in single-spanning transmembrane (TM) proteins (single-spannings) from 87 sequenced prokaryotic (Bacterial and Archaean) genomes by assigning Pfam domains to their N-tail and C-tail loops. Out of 14,625 single-spannings, 3,516 sequences have at least one domain assigned, and no domains were assigned to 7,850, with the remaining 3,259 with less reliable assignment. In the domain-assigned sequences, 3116 sequences are with at most two domains, and the other 400 sequences with more than two. The assigned domains distribute over 651 Pfam families, which account for 11.4% of the total Pfam-A families. Among the 651 families are mostly soluble-protein-originated ones, but only 21 families are unique to TM proteins. The occurrence frequency of the individual domain families follows a power-law, that is, 264 families occur only once, 106 just twice, and the families appeared more than 30 times are counted by only 39. It is found that the great majority of the sequences having one or two domains are of the type II topology with the C-tail loop containing domains on it. On the contrary, the N-tail loop of the same type topology seldom carries domains. Importantly, the assigned domains are always found on the tail loops longer than 60 residues, even for the small domains with less than 30 residues. There are still as many as 5,800 sequences without assigned domains in spite of having at least one long tail, on which no less than 1,000 novel domain families are expected most likely to lie concealed unknown yet. We also investigated the domain arrangement preference and the domain family combination patterns in 'singlets' (single-spannings with one assigned domain) and 'doublets' (with two domains).
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Schneider D, Schmidt CL. Multiple Rieske proteins in prokaryotes: where and why? BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-BIOENERGETICS 2005; 1710:1-12. [PMID: 16271700 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbabio.2005.09.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2004] [Revised: 09/19/2005] [Accepted: 09/20/2005] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Many microbial genomes have been sequenced in the recent years. Multiple genes encoding Rieske iron-sulfur proteins, which are subunits of cytochrome bc-type complexes or oxygenases, have been detected in many pro- and eukaryotic genomes. The diversity of substrates, co-substrates and reactions offers obvious explanations for the diversity of the low potential Rieske proteins associated with oxygenases, but the physiological significance of the multiple genes encoding high potential Rieske proteins associated with the cytochrome bc-type complexes remains elusive. For some organisms, investigations into the function of the later group of genes have been initiated. Here, we summarize recent finding on the characteristics and physiological functions of multiple high potential Rieske proteins in prokaryotes. We suggest that the existence of multiple high potential Rieske proteins in prokaryotes could be one way of allowing an organism to adapt their electron transfer chains to changing environmental conditions.
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Sobolevsky Y, Trifonov EN. Conserved Sequences of Prokaryotic Proteomes and Their Compositional Age. J Mol Evol 2005; 61:591-6. [PMID: 16205982 DOI: 10.1007/s00239-004-0256-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2004] [Accepted: 05/26/2005] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
A full repertoire of octapeptides which are present in at least 30 bacterial proteomes of total 131 currently available is computationally derived and filtered. An original search technique is used that, in terms of computational time and memory, is similar to the Suffix tree method. The presence of a given sequence in a large number of proteomes qualifies it as a conserved sequence. The larger the number of proteomes where it is found, the higher is the conservation. The concept of compositional age of the amino acid sequences ("compositional clock") is introduced for the first time. The compositional age is calculated on the basis of the consensus temporal order of appearance of amino acids in early evolution. The correlation between the compositional age and the sequence conservation is established.
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Bapteste E, Charlebois RL, MacLeod D, Brochier C. The two tempos of nuclear pore complex evolution: highly adapting proteins in an ancient frozen structure. Genome Biol 2005; 6:R85. [PMID: 16207356 PMCID: PMC1257468 DOI: 10.1186/gb-2005-6-10-r85] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2005] [Revised: 07/15/2005] [Accepted: 09/01/2005] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
An analysis of the taxonomic distribution, evolutionary rates and phylogenies of 65 proteins related to the nuclear pore complex shows high heterogeneity of evolutionary rates between these proteins. Background The origin of the nuclear compartment has been extensively debated, leading to several alternative views on the evolution of the eukaryotic nucleus. Until recently, too little phylogenetic information was available to address this issue by using multiple characters for many lineages. Results We analyzed 65 proteins integral to or associated with the nuclear pore complex (NPC), including all the identified nucleoporins, the components of their anchoring system and some of their main partners. We used reconstruction of ancestral sequences of these proteins to expand the detection of homologs, and showed that the majority of them, present all over the nuclear pore structure, share homologs in all extant eukaryotic lineages. The anchoring system, by contrast, is analogous between the different eukaryotic lineages and is thus a relatively recent innovation. We also showed the existence of high heterogeneity of evolutionary rates between these proteins, as well as between and within lineages. We show that the ubiquitous genes of the nuclear pore structure are not strongly conserved at the sequence level, and that only their domains are relatively well preserved. Conclusion We propose that an NPC very similar to the extant one was already present in at least the last common ancestor of all extant eukaryotes and it would not have undergone major changes since its early origin. Importantly, we observe that sequences and structures obey two very different tempos of evolution. We suggest that, despite strong constraints that froze the structural evolution of the nuclear pore, the NPC is still highly adaptive, modern, and flexible at the sequence level.
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Sperisen P, Pagni M. JACOP: a simple and robust method for the automated classification of protein sequences with modular architecture. BMC Bioinformatics 2005; 6:216. [PMID: 16135248 PMCID: PMC1208858 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2105-6-216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2005] [Accepted: 08/31/2005] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Whole-genome sequencing projects are rapidly producing an enormous number of new sequences. Consequently almost every family of proteins now contains hundreds of members. It has thus become necessary to develop tools, which classify protein sequences automatically and also quickly and reliably. The difficulty of this task is intimately linked to the mechanism by which protein sequences diverge, i.e. by simultaneous residue substitutions, insertions and/or deletions and whole domain reorganisations (duplications/swapping/fusion). Results Here we present a novel approach, which is based on random sampling of sub-sequences (probes) out of a set of input sequences. The probes are compared to the input sequences, after a normalisation step; the results are used to partition the input sequences into homogeneous groups of proteins. In addition, this method provides information on diagnostic parts of the proteins. The performance of this method is challenged by two data sets. The first one contains the sequences of prokaryotic lyases that could be arranged as a multiple sequence alignment. The second one contains all proteins from Swiss-Prot Release 36 with at least one Src homology 2 (SH2) domain – a classical example for proteins with modular architecture. Conclusion The outcome of our method is robust, highly reproducible as shown using bootstrap and resampling validation procedures. The results are essentially coherent with the biology. This method depends solely on well-established publicly available software and algorithms.
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Larsabal E, Danchin A. Genomes are covered with ubiquitous 11 bp periodic patterns, the "class A flexible patterns". BMC Bioinformatics 2005; 6:206. [PMID: 16120222 PMCID: PMC1242344 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2105-6-206] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2005] [Accepted: 08/24/2005] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The genomes of prokaryotes and lower eukaryotes display a very strong 11 bp periodic bias in the distribution of their nucleotides. This bias is present throughout a given genome, both in coding and non-coding sequences. Until now this bias remained of unknown origin. Results Using a technique for analysis of auto-correlations based on linear projection, we identified the sequences responsible for the bias. Prokaryotic and lower eukaryotic genomes are covered with ubiquitous patterns that we termed "class A flexible patterns". Each pattern is composed of up to ten conserved nucleotides or dinucleotides distributed into a discontinuous motif. Each occurrence spans a region up to 50 bp in length. They belong to what we named the "flexible pattern" type, in that there is some limited fluctuation in the distances between the nucleotides composing each occurrence of a given pattern. When taken together, these patterns cover up to half of the genome in the majority of prokaryotes. They generate the previously recognized 11 bp periodic bias. Conclusion Judging from the structure of the patterns, we suggest that they may define a dense network of protein interaction sites in chromosomes.
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Kell DB, Brown M, Davey HM, Dunn WB, Spasic I, Oliver SG. Metabolic footprinting and systems biology: the medium is the message. Nat Rev Microbiol 2005; 3:557-65. [PMID: 15953932 DOI: 10.1038/nrmicro1177] [Citation(s) in RCA: 261] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
One element of classical systems analysis treats a system as a black or grey box, the inner structure and behaviour of which can be analysed and modelled by varying an internal or external condition, probing it from outside and studying the effect of the variation on the external observables. The result is an understanding of the inner make-up and workings of the system. The equivalent of this in biology is to observe what a cell or system excretes under controlled conditions - the 'metabolic footprint' or exometabolome - as this is readily and accurately measurable. Here, we review the principles, experimental approaches and scientific outcomes that have been obtained with this useful and convenient strategy.
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Basak S, Ghosh TC. On the origin of genomic adaptation at high temperature for prokaryotic organisms. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2005; 330:629-32. [PMID: 15809043 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2005.02.134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2005] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
For a long time, the central issue of evolutionary genomics was to find out the adaptive strategy of nucleic acid molecules of various microorganisms having different optimal growth temperatures (Topt). Long-standing controversies exist regarding the correlations between genomic G+C content and Topt, and this debate has not been yet settled. We address this problem by considering the fact that adaptation to growth at high temperature requires a coordinated set of evolutionary changes affecting: (i) nucleic acid thermostability and (ii) stability of codon-anticodon interactions. In the present study, we analyzed 16 prokaryotic genomes having intermediate G+C content and widely varying optimal growth temperatures. Results show that elevated growth temperature imposes selective constraints not only on nucleic acid level but also affects the stability of codon-anticodon interaction. We observed a decrease in the frequency of SSC and SSG codons with the increase in Topt to avoid the formation of side-by-side GC base pairs in the codon-anticodon interaction, thereby making it impossible for a genome to increase GC composition uniformly through the whole coding sequence. Thus, we suggest that any attempt to obtain a generalized relation between genomic GC composition and optimal growth temperature would hardly evolve any satisfactory result.
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Abstract
The levels of cellular organization in living organisms are the results of a variety of selection pressures. We have investigated here the final outcome of this integrated selective process in proteins of the best known microbial models Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, and Methanococcus jannaschii, supposed to have undergone separate evolution for more than 1 billion years. Using multivariate analysis methods, including correspondence analysis, we studied the overall amino acid composition of all proteins making a proteome. Starting from and further developing previous results that had pointed out some general forces driving the amino acid composition of the proteomes of these model bacteria, we explored the correlations existing between the structure and functions of the proteins forming a proteome and their amino acid composition. The electric charge of amino acids measured against hydrophobicity creates a highly homogeneous cluster, made exclusively of proteins that are core components of the cytoplasmic membrane of the cell (integral inner membrane proteins). A second bias is imposed by the G+C content of the genome, indicating that protein functions are so robust with respect to amino acid changes that they can accommodate a large shift in the nucleotide content of the genome. A remarkable role of aromatic amino acids was uncovered. Expressed orphan proteins are enriched in these residues, suggesting that they might participate in a process of gain of function during evolution.
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Lin L, Nakano H, Uchiyama S, Fujimoto S, Matsunaga S, Nakamura S, Kobayashi Y, Ohkubo T, Fukui K. Crystallization and preliminary X-ray crystallographic analysis of a conserved domain in plants and prokaryotes from Pyrococcus horikoshii OT3. Acta Crystallogr Sect F Struct Biol Cryst Commun 2005; 61:414-6. [PMID: 16511056 PMCID: PMC1952417 DOI: 10.1107/s1744309105007815] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2005] [Accepted: 03/11/2005] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
A plant- and prokaryote-conserved domain (PPC) has previously been found in AT-hook motif nuclear localized protein 1 (AHL1) localized in the nuclear matrix of Arabidopsis thaliana (AtAHL1). AtAHL1 has a DNA-binding function. Mutation analyses of AtAHL1 has previously revealed that the hydrophobic region of the PPC domain is essential for its nuclear localization. In this study, the PPC of the hyperthermophilic archaebacterium Pyrococcus horikoshii (PhPPC) was crystallized using the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method. The crystals belonged to the hexagonal space group P6(3)22, with unit-cell parameters a = b = 53.69, c = 159.2 A. Data were obtained at 100 K, with diffraction being observed to a resolution of 1.7 A. A complete data set from crystals of the SeMet-substituted protein was also obtained.
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Faux NG, Bottomley SP, Lesk AM, Irving JA, Morrison JR, de la Banda MG, Whisstock JC. Functional insights from the distribution and role of homopeptide repeat-containing proteins. Genome Res 2005; 15:537-51. [PMID: 15805494 PMCID: PMC1074368 DOI: 10.1101/gr.3096505] [Citation(s) in RCA: 129] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Expansion of "low complex" repeats of amino acids such as glutamine (Poly-Q) is associated with protein misfolding and the development of degenerative diseases such as Huntington's disease. The mechanism by which such regions promote misfolding remains controversial, the function of many repeat-containing proteins (RCPs) remains obscure, and the role (if any) of repeat regions remains to be determined. Here, a Web-accessible database of RCPs is presented. The distribution and evolution of RCPs that contain homopeptide repeats tracts are considered, and the existence of functional patterns investigated. Generally, it is found that while polyamino acid repeats are extremely rare in prokaryotes, several eukaryote putative homologs of prokaryote RCP-involved in important housekeeping processes-retain the repetitive region, suggesting an ancient origin for certain repeats. Within eukarya, the most common uninterrupted amino acid repeats are glutamine, asparagines, and alanine. Interestingly, while poly-Q repeats are found in vertebrates and nonvertebrates, poly-N repeats are only common in more primitive nonvertebrate organisms, such as insects and nematodes. We have assigned function to eukaryote RCPs using Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM), the Human Reference Protein Database (HRPD), FlyBase, and Wormpep. Prokaryote RCPs were annotated using BLASTp searches and Gene Ontology. These data reveal that the majority of RCPs are involved in processes that require the assembly of large, multiprotein complexes, such as transcription and signaling.
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