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Cohesive versus flexible evolution of functional modules in eukaryotes.

ABSTRACT: Although functionally related proteins can be reliably predicted from phylogenetic profiles, many functional modules do not seem to evolve cohesively according to case studies and systematic analyses in prokaryotes. In this study we quantify the extent of evolutionary cohesiveness of functional modules in eukaryotes and probe the biological and methodological factors influencing our estimates. We have collected various datasets of protein complexes and pathways in Saccheromyces cerevisiae. We define orthologous groups on 34 eukaryotic genomes and measure the extent of cohesive evolution of sets of orthologous groups of which members constitute a known complex or pathway. Within this framework it appears that most functional modules evolve flexibly rather than cohesively. Even after correcting for uncertain module definitions and potentially problematic orthologous groups, only 46% of pathways and complexes evolve more cohesively than random modules. This flexibility seems partly coupled to the nature of the functional module because biochemical pathways are generally more cohesively evolving than complexes.

SUBMITTER: Fokkens L

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2615111 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Cohesive versus flexible evolution of functional modules in eukaryotes.

Fokkens Like L Snel Berend B

PLoS computational biology 20090130 1

Although functionally related proteins can be reliably predicted from phylogenetic profiles, many functional modules do not seem to evolve cohesively according to case studies and systematic analyses in prokaryotes. In this study we quantify the extent of evolutionary cohesiveness of functional modules in eukaryotes and probe the biological and methodological factors influencing our estimates. We have collected various datasets of protein complexes and pathways in Saccheromyces cerevisiae. We de ...[more]

PMID: 19180181

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Project description:BackgroundClass C G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) represent a distinct group of the GPCR family, which structurally possess a characteristically distinct extracellular domain inclusive of the Venus flytrap module (VFTM). The VFTMs of the class C GPCRs is responsible for ligand recognition and binding, and share sequence similarity with bacterial periplasmic amino acid binding proteins (PBPs). An extensive phylogenetic investigation of the VFTMs was conducted by analyzing for functional divergence and testing for positive selection for five typical groups of the class C GPCRs. The altered selective constraints were determined to identify the sites that had undergone functional divergence via positive selection. In order to structurally demonstrate the pattern changes during the evolutionary process, three-dimensional (3D) structures of the GPCR VFTMs were modelled and reconstructed from ancestral VFTMs.ResultsOur results show that the altered selective constraints in the VFTMs of class C GPCRs are statistically significant. This implies that functional divergence played a key role in characterizing the functions of the VFTMs after gene duplication events. Meanwhile, positive selection is involved in the evolutionary process and drove the functional divergence of the VFTMs. Our results also reveal that three continuous duplication events occurred in order to shape the evolutionary topology of class C GPCRs. The five groups of the class C GPCRs have essentially different sites involved in functional divergence, which would have shaped the specific structures and functions of the VFTMs.ConclusionTaken together, our results show that functional divergence involved positive selection and is partially responsible for the evolutionary patterns of the class C GPCR VFTMs. The sites involved in functional divergence will provide more clues and candidates for further research on structural-function relationships of these modules as well as shedding light on the activation mechanism of the class C GPCRs.

Dataset Information

Cohesive versus flexible evolution of functional modules in eukaryotes.

Publications

Cohesive versus flexible evolution of functional modules in eukaryotes.

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