Slipknotted and unknotted monovalent cation-proton antiporters evolved from a common ancestor.

ABSTRACT: While the slipknot topology in proteins has been known for over a decade, its evolutionary origin is still a mystery. We have identified a previously overlooked slipknot motif in a family of two-domain membrane transporters. Moreover, we found that these proteins are homologous to several families of unknotted membrane proteins. This allows us to directly investigate the evolution of the slipknot motif. Based on our comprehensive analysis of 17 distantly related protein families, we have found that slipknotted and unknotted proteins share a common structural motif. Furthermore, this motif is conserved on the sequential level as well. Our results suggest that, regardless of topology, the proteins we studied evolved from a common unknotted ancestor single domain protein. Our phylogenetic ana

SUBMITTER: Zayats V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8562792 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature