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Function driven protein evolution. A possible proto-protein for the RNA-binding proteins

J S Fetrow1, A Godzik

  • 1University at Albany, SUNY, Albany, USA.

Pacific Symposium on Biocomputing. Pacific Symposium on Biocomputing
|August 11, 1998
PubMed
Summary
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Modern proteins likely evolved from ancient "proto-proteins." Similarities in protein structures suggest common evolutionary origins, not just convergent evolution driven by function.

Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Structural Biology
  • Biochemistry

Background:

  • Proteins are essential molecules with diverse structures and functions.
  • Understanding protein evolution is key to deciphering biological complexity.
  • Existing theories often attribute protein similarities to convergent evolution.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To propose a novel hypothesis for protein evolution.
  • To re-interpret structural similarities in proteins.
  • To trace the evolutionary origins of protein families.

Main Methods:

  • Hypothesizing the existence of ancestral "proto-proteins."
  • Analyzing structural similarities between protein fragments.
  • Constructing a hypothetical evolutionary tree for RNA-binding proteins.

Related Experiment Videos

Main Results:

  • Proto-proteins, small peptides with basic structures, are proposed as evolutionary precursors.
  • Protein domains and modules evolved by adding structural elements to proto-proteins.
  • Observed similarities in protein structures are interpreted as evidence of common ancestry.

Conclusions:

  • Protein evolution likely involved the gradual accretion of structural elements onto primordial proto-proteins.
  • Convergent evolution may not fully explain all observed protein structural similarities.
  • RNA-binding protein families, like OB and RBD folds, may share a common evolutionary origin from a single RNA-binding proto-protein motif.