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Intracellular bacteria and viruses often comprise a group of highly infectious pathogens that can cause several diseases. Bacterial pathogens include those belonging to the genus Rickettsia responsible for conditions such as rocky mountain spotted fever and the Mediterranean spotted fever; Chlamydia, a genus responsible for a sexually transmitted disease; Coxiella burnetii, an agent responsible for Q fever. Viral pathogens include vaccinia—a poxvirus, and herpes simplex virus—a...
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Actin is a family of globular proteins that are highly abundant in eukaryotic cells. It makes up approximately 1-5% of total cell protein concentration. Actin monomers polymerize to form a complex network of polarized filaments, the actin cytoskeleton, that plays a crucial role in many cellular processes, including cell motility, division, endocytosis, and metastasis of cancer cells.
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Introduction to Actin01:26

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Actin is a highly conserved cytoskeletal protein found abundantly in eukaryotic cells. It constitutes 10% weight of the total cellular protein in muscle cells, while in non-muscle cells, it is lower and makes up around 1–5 percent of the total cell protein. Actin found in the unicellular amoebae and complex multicellular animals is around 80% similar, demonstrating their conservation over a billion years of evolution.  Actin coding genes are conserved within species and across...
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Bacterial cells were initially considered simple, randomly organized structures lacking a cytoskeleton. However, the discovery of cytoskeleton homologs in bacteria led to the change of this opinion. Bacterial cytoskeletal filaments regulate the cell shape, cell polarity, cell division, and partitioning of plasmids during cell division. It was later discovered that bacterial cytoskeletal proteins, mainly actin and tubulin homologs, are diverse compared to their eukaryotic counterparts. On the...
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The straight or branched structure formation of actin filaments is controlled by nucleating proteins such as the formins and Arp2/3 complex. Formin-mediated assembly results in straight filaments, whereas Arp2/3 protein complex-mediated assembly results in branched actin filaments.
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The polymerization of G-actin monomers into filamentous F-actin is a multi-step process. Once the F-actins are formed, they can bundle together in different arrangements to form higher-order networks and regulate cellular functions. Common examples include the formation of lamellipodia and filopodia at the cell's leading edge by actin reorganization in a migrating cell. The microvilli on the brush border epithelial cells are also formed through the F-actin network.
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Giant Viruses Encode Actin-Related Proteins.

Violette Da Cunha1, Morgan Gaia2, Hiroyuki Ogata3

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Molecular Biology and Evolution
|February 12, 2022
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Viruses may have contributed to the evolution of the eukaryotic cytoskeleton. Actin-related genes found in viruses suggest a coevolutionary history with early protoeukaryotes before the Last Eukaryotic Common Ancestor.

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NucleoCytoplasmic Large DNA virusactin and actin-related proteinsviral eukaryogenesis

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Molecular biology
  • Cell biology

Background:

  • The eukaryotic cytoskeleton, crucial for cell structure and function, emerged during eukaryogenesis.
  • Actin and actin-related proteins (ARPs) are fundamental components of this cytoskeleton.
  • The genetic origins of eukaryotic actin and ARPs remain incompletely understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the evolutionary origins of actin-related genes.
  • To explore the potential role of viruses in the development of the eukaryotic cytoskeleton.
  • To analyze actin-related genes within viral genomes.

Main Methods:

  • Phylogenetic analysis of actin-related genes.
  • Identification and characterization of viractins in the Imitervirales order.
  • Comparative genomics of viral and eukaryotic actin-related genes.

Main Results:

  • Actin-related genes (viractins) were identified in the genomes of Imitervirales viruses.
  • Phylogenetic analyses indicate early viral acquisition of actin-related genes from protoeukaryotic hosts.
  • Evidence suggests a potential back-transfer of these genes to protoeukaryotic lineages, contributing to eukaryotic actin evolution.

Conclusions:

  • Viruses likely played a role in the early evolution of actin-related genes.
  • A coevolutionary relationship between viruses and pre-Last Eukaryotic Common Ancestor (pre-LECA) entities is proposed.
  • This viral-protoeukaryotic interaction may have been pivotal for the emergence of the modern eukaryotic cytoskeleton.