Ancient gene duplications in RNA viruses revealed by protein tertiary structure comparisons.

ABSTRACT: To date only a handful of duplicated genes have been described in RNA viruses. This shortage can be attributed to different factors, including the RNA viruses with high mutation rate that would make a large genome more prone to acquire deleterious mutations. This may explain why sequence-based approaches have only found duplications in their most recent evolutionary history. To detect earlier duplications, we performed protein tertiary structure comparisons for every RNA virus family represented in the Protein Data Bank. We present a list of thirty pairs of possible paralogs with <30 per cent sequence identity. It is argued that these pairs are the outcome of six duplication events. These include the α and β subunits of the fungal toxin KP6 present in the dsRNA Ustilago maydis virus

SUBMITTER: Cisneros-Martinez AM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7967035 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature