[Studies on the molecular evolution of glucose transporter gene family]

Glucose transporter gene family which was involved in the glucose metabolism in the body has been considered as a candidate gene in the development of diabetes mellitus. We compared the nucleotide and amino acid sequences of the family in different species; deduced the hydrophilicity and hydrophobicity distribution of the amino acid; calculated the genetic distance and constructed the phylogenetic trees by UPGMA and N-J method. The results showed that the members of glucose transporter gene family are homologous; all the members of this family have a similar topology; It is suggested that the family may derived from a remote common ancester in which the gene duplication events of different origins took place; this evolutionary process is advantageous to the stability of the structure. The different branch length in the phylogenetic trees constructed by the N-J method indicated difference of evolutionary rates in the process of evolution. Also, the difference between the trees at protein and nucleotide level may result from the hidden substitution in the genome.