Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 3, 2026

Genome-wide Protein-protein Interaction Screening by Protein-fragment Complementation Assay (PCA) in Living Cells
Published on: March 3, 2015
Impacts of protein-protein interaction domains on organism and network complexity
1Chinese Academy of Sciences, Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Center for Molecular Systems Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Beijing 100101, China.
Abstract:
It has been a puzzle that genome or proteome sizes are not correlated with the complexity of the organisms. Although alternative splicing and noncoding and regulatory elements explain some of the differences, the complexity of the protein interaction network and regulatory network may provide additional explanations. Here, we collected 642 domains that mediate protein-protein interactions (PPIs) and examined the evolution of the PPI domains and its impact on organismal complexity and PPI network complexity. In agreement with previous more general studies of protein domains, a significant expansion of PPI domains per proteome was found in metazoa. We also found both the number and coverage of PPI domains per protein increased. However, a better correlation with complexity was seen with increasing PPI domain coverage per protein, so that proteins in complex organisms are more compact and specialized in PPI. Such a structural adaptation of the proteins is correlated with the number of interactions that the proteins can make in PPI networks, and seems to be a more favorable way to increase network connectivity than other structural adaptations.
Related Concept Videos
Protein Networks
These interactions can be represented through maps depicting protein-protein interaction networks, represented as nodes and edges. Nodes are circles that are representative of a protein,...
Protein Networks
These interactions can be represented through maps depicting protein-protein interaction networks, represented as nodes and edges. Nodes are circles that are representative of a protein,...
Protein-protein Interfaces
Protein-Protein Interfaces
Conservation of Protein Domains Over Different Proteins
A limited set of protein domains often duplicate and recombine during evolution. These domains can be organized in different combinations to form...
Conservation of Protein Domains
A limited set of protein domains often duplicate and recombine during evolution. These domains can be organized in different combinations to form...

