Related Experiment Video

Updated: Dec 1, 2025

In Vitro Directed Evolution of a Restriction Endonuclease with More Stringent Specificity
09:16

In Vitro Directed Evolution of a Restriction Endonuclease with More Stringent Specificity

Published on: March 25, 2020

7.6K

Molecular evolution and functional divergence of UDP-hexose 4-epimerases

Shinya Fushinobu1

  • 1Department of Biotechnology, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, 113-8657, Japan; Collaborative Research Institute for Innovative Microbiology, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, 113-8657, Japan.

Current Opinion in Chemical Biology
|November 10, 2020
PubMed
Summary

UDP-glucose 4-epimerase (GalE) enzymes interconvert essential sugar metabolites. Their substrate specificities and evolutionary diversification are explored, offering insights into sugar metabolism across organisms.

Keywords:
GalEMolecular evolutionPhylogenetic treeSDRShort-chain dehydrogenase/reductaseSubstrate specificityUDP-glucose 4-epimerase

More Related Videos

Structural Biology and Analytical Chemistry Approaches for Characterizing C-Glycoside Metabolic Enzymes in Human Gut Microbiota13:35

Structural Biology and Analytical Chemistry Approaches for Characterizing C-Glycoside Metabolic Enzymes in Human Gut Microbiota

Published on: May 23, 2025

736
Design and Use of a Low Cost, Automated Morbidostat for Adaptive Evolution of Bacteria Under Antibiotic Drug Selection10:50

Design and Use of a Low Cost, Automated Morbidostat for Adaptive Evolution of Bacteria Under Antibiotic Drug Selection

Published on: September 27, 2016

10.0K

Related Concept Videos

Bacterial RNA Polymerase00:43

Bacterial RNA Polymerase

Unlike eukaryotes, bacteria use a single RNA Polymerase (RNAP) to transcribe all genes. The different subunits of bacterial RNAPhave distinct functions. The multisubunit structure of the bacterial RNAP helps the enzyme to maintain catalytic function, facilitate assembly, interact with DNA and RNA, and self-regulate its activity.
In most genes, the transcription site is a single base present upstream of the coding sequence. Though RNAP is a catalytically efficient enzyme, it does not recognize...
31.9K
Exon Recombination02:32

Exon Recombination

The evolution of new genes is critical for speciation. Exon recombination, also known as exon shuffling or domain shuffling, is an important means of new gene formation. It is observed across vertebrates, invertebrates, and in some plants such as potatoes and sunflowers. During exon recombination, exons from the same or different genes recombine and produce new exon-intron combinations, which might evolve into new genes. 
Exon shuffling follows “splice frame rules.” Each exon...
3.9K
Gene Duplication and Divergence02:37

Gene Duplication and Divergence

The seminal work of Ohno in 1970 popularized the idea of gene duplication and divergence. DNA sequence comparison studies reveal that a large portion of the genes in bacteria, archaebacteria, and eukaryotes was  generated by gene duplication and divergence, indicating its critical role in evolution.
The duplicated copies of the gene are called Paralogs. Paralogs with similar sequences and functions form a gene family. Across several species, a large number of gene families are...
7.5K
Bacterial Transcription01:53

Bacterial Transcription

RNA polymerase (RNAP) carries out DNA-dependent RNA synthesis in both bacteria and eukaryotes. Bacteria do not have a membrane-bound nucleus. So, transcription and translation occur simultaneously, on the same DNA template.
Transcription can be divided into three main stages, each involving distinct DNA sequences to guide the polymerase. These are:
33.9K
Gene Evolution - Fast or Slow?02:05

Gene Evolution - Fast or Slow?

The genomes of eukaryotes are punctuated by long stretches of sequence which do not code for proteins or RNAs. Although some of these regions do contain crucial regulatory sequences, the vast majority of this DNA serves no known function. Typically, these regions of the genome are the ones in which the fastest change, in evolutionary terms, is observed, because there is typically little to no selection pressure acting on these regions to preserve their sequences.
In contrast, regions which code...
7.8K
Conservative Site-specific Recombination and Phase Variation02:53

Conservative Site-specific Recombination and Phase Variation

Because the DNA segments are cut and reorganized in a direction-specific manner, site-specific recombination has emerged as an efficient genetic engineering technique. Flippase and Cyclization recombinases or Flp and Cre, respectively, are two members of the tyrosine recombinase family derived from bacteriophages, that are used to mediate site-specific DNA insertions, deletions, and targeted expression of proteins in mammalian cell lines.
The recognition sites for Cre recombinase called LoxP...
6.4K