Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 2, 2025

Validation of a Mouse Model to Disrupt LINC Complexes in a Cell-specific Manner
Published on: December 10, 2015
The emergence of nebulin repeats and evolution of lasp family proteins
Yuki Fujita1, Tamami Chokki1, Tatsuji Nishioka1
1Department of Biology, Graduate School of Science, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan.
Abstract:
The LIM and SH3 domain protein (lasp) family, the smallest proteins in the nebulin superfamily, consists of vertebrate lasp-1 expressed in various non-muscle tissues, vertebrate lasp-2 expressed in the brain and cardiac muscle, and invertebrate lasp whose functions have been analyzed in Ascidiacea and Insecta. Gene evolution of the lasp family proteins was investigated by multiple alignments, comparison of gene structure, and synteny analyses in eukaryotes in which mRNA expression was confirmed. All invertebrates analyzed in this study belonging to the clade Filasterea, with the exception of Placozoa, have at least one lasp gene. The minimal actin-binding region (LIM domain and first nebulin repeat) and SH3 domain detected in vertebrate lasp-2 were found to be conserved among the lasp family proteins, and we showed that nematode lasp has actin-binding activity. The linker sequences vary among invertebrate lasp proteins, implying that the lasp family proteins have universal and diverse functions. Gene structures and syntenic analyses suggest that a gene fragment encoding two nebulin repeats and a linker emerged in Filasterea or Holozoa, and the first lasp gene was generated following combination of three gene fragments encoding the LIM domain, two nebulin repeats with a linker, and the SH3 domain.
Related Concept Videos
Mechanism of Lamellipodia Formation
Bacterial RNA Polymerase
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...
Laminins are the Adhesive Proteins of Basal Lamina
In humans, the five forms of alpha chains are LAMA 1, LAMA 2, LAMA 3, LAMA 4, and LAMA 5. The four forms of beta chains are LAMB 1, LAMB 2, LAMB 3, and LAMB 4. The three forms of gamma...
Mechanism of Filopodia Formation
Their main function is to guide migrating cells during normal tissue morphogenesis or cancer metastasis by recognizing and making initial contacts with the extracellular matrix. However, they can also act as stationary cell anchors or help to establish communication...
Conservation of Protein Domains Over Different Proteins
A limited set of protein domains often duplicate and recombine during evolution. These domains can be organized in different combinations to...
Conserved Binding Sites
Binding sites are often located in large pockets, and if their location on a protein’s surface is unknown, it can be predicted using various approaches. The energetic method computationally...

