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The LAP family: a phylogenetic point of view
Marie-Josée Santoni1, Pierre Pontarotti, Daniel Birnbaum
1U119 INSERM, Molecular Oncology and Institut Paoli-Calmettes, Molecular Pharmacology, 27, Bd Leï Roure, 13009 Marseille, France.
Abstract:
Recently, the LAP (for 'LRR and PDZ') family of adaptor proteins was described in vertebrates and invertebrates. The proteins are involved in cell polarity and receptor targeting, and they contain both LRR and PDZ domains in the same molecule, a combination that is specifically bilaterian. A search of available genome sequences reveals a limited number of lap genes, which we have classified by phylogenetic analysis. We propose a functional hypothesis for the origin of this protein family in bilaterians, and give a phylogenetic interpretation of their diversity.