Molecular evolution of multiple-level control of heme biosynthesis pathway in animal kingdom.

ABSTRACT: Adaptation of enzymes in a metabolic pathway can occur not only through changes in amino acid sequences but also through variations in transcriptional activation, mRNA splicing and mRNA translation. The heme biosynthesis pathway, a linear pathway comprised of eight consecutive enzymes in animals, provides researchers with ample information for multiple types of evolutionary analyses performed with respect to the position of each enzyme in the pathway. Through bioinformatics analysis, we found that the protein-coding sequences of all enzymes in this pathway are under strong purifying selection, from cnidarians to mammals. However, loose evolutionary constraints are observed for enzymes in which self-catalysis occurs. Through comparative genomics, we found that in animals, the first intron o

SUBMITTER: Tzou WS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3904948 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature