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Updated: Jun 18, 2026
12:04
Interactome-Seq: A Protocol for Domainome Library Construction, Validation and Selection by Phage Display and Next Generation Sequencing
Published on: October 3, 2018
Eukaryotic protein domains as functional units of cellular evolution
Jing Jin1, Xueying Xie, Chen Chen
1Centre for Systems Biology, Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital, Ontario, Canada. jjin@lunenfeld.ca
Science Signaling
|November 26, 2009
Summary
Protein domains evolve new functions by combining or acquiring activities, leading to distinct evolutionary paths. This study defines "domain clubs" to reveal how domain interactions shape cellular processes and protein evolution.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary biology
- Proteomics
- Molecular biology
Background:
- Modular protein domains are key functional units driving protein evolution.
- Modification of domains, through new activities or combinations, generates novel biological properties.
Purpose of the Study:
- To define and analyze
- domain clubs
- to understand protein evolution across eukaryotic proteomes.
- To correlate domain evolutionary trajectories with the dynamics of biological processes.
Main Methods:
- Proteins were grouped into
- domain clubs
- based on shared domain composition and function.
- Covalent and noncovalent interactions of domain types were analyzed to determine their cellular localization.
Main Results:
- Different domain types exhibit distinct evolutionary trajectories, linked to the conservation, gain, expansion, or loss of cellular functions.
- Evolutionary leaps occur when domains gain new intrinsic functions and enter new
- domain clubs
- , accessing new cellular environments.
- Specific domain subsets are associated with key cellular processes like signaling, chromatin remodeling, and vesicular trafficking.
Conclusions:
- Protein domains and their associated proteins are selected through reciprocal interactions within their microenvironment.
- A model for Tudor domain evolution in epigenetic regulation is proposed, highlighting a role in Piwi-regulated RNA biology.
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