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Searching protein space for ancient sub-domain segments.

Rachel Kolodny1

  • 1Department of Computer Science, University of Haifa, 3498838 Haifa, Israel.

Current Opinion in Structural Biology
|January 21, 2021
PubMed
Summary

Researchers explored reused protein segments, or "themes," at the sub-domain level. These ancient evolutionary traces may reveal how protein domains initially emerged.

Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Structural Bioinformatics
  • Genomics

Background:

  • Proteins are composed of homologous segments, or "themes," that are reused across different proteins.
  • While protein domains are well-studied themes, smaller, sub-domain scale themes offer insights into more ancient evolutionary events.
  • Understanding these smaller themes can illuminate the emergence and evolution of larger protein domains.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To survey computational studies that identify reused themes at the sub-domain level.
  • To investigate themes that are reused across dissimilar protein contexts.
  • To explore the evolutionary significance of sub-domain scale theme reuse.

Main Methods:

  • Computational analysis of protein sequences and structures.

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  • Identification and characterization of homologous segments (themes) within proteins.
  • Comparative analysis of theme reuse across diverse protein families and domains.

    • Main Results:

    • Sub-domain scale themes are prevalent and reused across various protein contexts.
    • The reuse of themes in dissimilar contexts suggests ancient evolutionary origins.
    • Characterization of these themes provides potential clues to the early evolution of protein domains.

    Conclusions:

    • Sub-domain scale themes represent ancient evolutionary relics.
    • Studying reused themes at this finer scale aids in understanding domain emergence.
    • This research highlights the importance of exploring smaller homologous segments for evolutionary insights.