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Updated: Jan 1, 2026

Spatial and Temporal Analysis of Active ERK in the C. elegans Germline
Published on: November 29, 2016
Emergence and Evolution of ERM Proteins and Merlin in Metazoans
Victoria Shabardina1, Yukie Kashima2, Yutaka Suzuki3
1Institue of Bioinformatics, University of Muenster, Germany.
Abstract:
Ezrin, radixin, moesin, and merlin are cytoskeletal proteins, whose functions are specific to metazoans. They participate in cell cortex rearrangement, including cell-cell contact formation, and play an important role in cancer progression. Here, we have performed a comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of the proteins spanning 87 species. The results describe a possible mechanism for the protein family origin in the root of Metazoa, paralogs diversification in vertebrates, and acquisition of novel functions, including tumor suppression. In addition, a merlin paralog, present in most vertebrates but lost in mammals, has been described here for the first time. We have also highlighted a set of amino acid variations within the conserved motifs as the candidates for determining physiological differences between ERM paralogs.
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