Sequence divergence and diversity suggests ongoing functional diversification of vertebrate NAD metabolism.

ABSTRACT: NAD is not only an important cofactor in redox reactions but has also received attention in recent years because of its physiological importance in metabolic regulation, DNA repair and signaling. In contrast to the redox reactions, these regulatory processes involve degradation of NAD and therefore necessitate a constant replenishment of its cellular pool. NAD biosynthetic enzymes are common to almost all species in all clades, but the number of NAD degrading enzymes varies substantially across taxa. In particular, vertebrates, including humans, have a manifold of NAD degrading enzymes which require a high turnover of NAD. As there is currently a lack of a systematic study of how natural selection has shaped enzymes involved in NAD metabolism we conducted a comprehensive evolutionary analy

SUBMITTER: Gossmann TI 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4248024 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature