Evolutionary diversification of the vertebrate transferrin multi-gene family

In a phylogenetic analysis of vertebrate transferrins (TFs), six major clades (subfamilies) were identified: (a) S, the mammalian serotransferrins; (b) ICA, the mammalian inhibitor of carbonic anhydrase (ICA) homologs; (c) L, the mammalian lactoferrins; (d) O, the ovotransferrins of birds and reptiles; (e) M, the melanotransferrins of bony fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals; and (f) M-like, a newly identified TF subfamily found in bony fishes, amphibians, reptiles, and birds. A phylogenetic tree based on the joint alignment of N-lobes and C-lobes supported the hypothesis that three separate events of internal duplication occurred in vertebrate TFs: (a) in the common ancestor of the M subfamily, (b) in the common ancestor of the M-like subfamily, and (c) in the common ancestor of other vertebrate TFs. The S, ICA, and L subfamilies were found only in placental mammals, and the phylogenetic analysis supported the hypothesis that these three subfamilies arose by gene duplication after the divergence of placental mammals from marsupials. The M-like subfamily was unusual in several respects, including the presence of a uniquely high proportion of clade-specific conserved residues, including distinctive but conserved residues in the sites homologous to those functioning in carbonate binding of human serotransferrin. The M-like family also showed an unusually high proportion of cationic residues in the positively charged region corresponding to human lactoferrampin, suggesting a distinctive role of this region in the M-like subfamily, perhaps in antimicrobial defense.