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Evolutionary expansion of CRIB-containing Cdc42 effector proteins
D M Pirone1, D E Carter, P D Burbelo
1Department of Oncology, Lombardi Cancer Center, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC 20007, USA.
Trends in Genetics : TIG
|June 22, 2001
Summary
The study reveals that the number of Cdc42 effector proteins with CRIB domains expanded across species, from yeast to humans. This expansion correlates with the evolution of more complex cellular signaling pathways in higher organisms.
Area of Science:
- Cell Biology
- Evolutionary Biology
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Cdc42 is a small GTPase crucial for regulating actin polymerization and cellular signaling.
- Downstream effector proteins interact with Cdc42, often through a conserved Cdc42-binding domain known as the CRIB domain.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the evolutionary trajectory of CRIB-containing effector proteins across different species.
- To understand how the expansion of these effector proteins relates to the complexity of signaling pathways.
Main Methods:
- Comparative evolutionary analysis of CRIB-containing proteins.
- Examination across diverse model organisms including yeast, worms, flies, and humans.
Main Results:
- The repertoire of CRIB-containing effector proteins significantly increased from yeast to humans.
- This increase involved both diversification within existing protein families and the emergence of novel families.
- A positive correlation was observed between the number of CRIB-containing proteins and the complexity of signaling pathways in higher organisms.
Conclusions:
- The evolution of Cdc42 effector proteins, marked by an expansion of CRIB-domain containing proteins, is a key feature accompanying the development of complex signaling networks.
- This evolutionary expansion likely underpins the increased regulatory capacity required for the sophisticated cellular functions in multicellular organisms.
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