History of medicine

The case of homologous monomeric c-type and oligomeric b-type crystallins has been described and analyzed in evolutionary terms. Data and hypotheses from molecular genetics and structural investigations converge and suggest a novel three-phase model for the evolutionary history of crystallin-type proteins. In the divergent cascades of monomeric and oligomeric crystallins, a pivotal role was played by alterations in the gene segments encoding the C-terminal extensions and the intermotif or interdomain linker peptides.

9p system191 01-06-2013 41 4   Download

Thebandccrystallins are evolutionarily related families of proteins that make up a large part of the refractive structure of the vertebrate eye lens. Each family has a distinctive gene structure that reflects a history of succes-sive gene duplications. A survey ofc-crystallins expressed in mammal, rep-tile, bird and fish species (particularly in the zebrafish, Danio rerio) has led to the discovery of cN-crystallin, an evolutionary bridge between theband cfamilies.

16p awards 06-04-2013 39 2   Download

Geodin is a protein encoded by a sponge gene homologous to genes from the bc-crystallins superfamily. The interest for this crystallin-type protein stems from the phylogenesis of porifera, commonly called sponges, the earliest divergence event in the history of metazoans. Here we report the preparation of geodin as a recombinant protein fromEscherichia coli, its characterization through physico-chemical analyses, and a model of its 3D structure based on homology modelling.

13p awards 05-04-2013 55 4   Download

Molecular phylogeny among catalase–peroxidases, cyto-chromecperoxidases, and ascorbate peroxidases was ana-lysed. Sixty representative sequences covering all known subgroups of class I of the superfamily of bacterial, fungal, and plant heme peroxidases were selected. Each sequence analysed contained the typical peroxidase motifs evolved to bind effectively the prosthetic heme group, enabling per-oxidatic activity.

13p awards 05-04-2013 58 6   Download

Horizontal gene transfer has been a major force for genome plasticity over evolutionary history, and is largely responsible for fitness-enhancing traits, including antibiotic resistance and virulence factors. In particular, for adap-tation of prokaryotes to extreme environments, lateral gene transfer seems to have played a crucial role.

9p inspiron33 25-03-2013 41 3   Download

The identification of TUBBY-like genes in organisms ranging from single-celled to multicellular eukaryotes has allowed the phylogenetic history of this gene family to be traced back to the early evolutionary stages of eukaryote development.

9p media19 05-03-2013 28 1   Download

In an effort to shed more light on the early evolutionary history of the heavy-chain subunits of heteromeric amino acid transporters (hcHATs) rBAT and 4F2hc within the a-amylase family GH13, a bioinformatics study was undertaken.

14p vinaphone15 27-02-2013 29 2   Download

The dominant perciform suborder Notothenioidei is an excellent study group for assessing the evolution and functional importance of biochemical adaptations to temperature. The availability of notothenioid taxa in a wide range of latitudes (Antarctic and non-Antarctic) provides a tool to enable identification of physiological and biochemical characteristics gained and lost during evolutionary history.

12p viettel02 22-02-2013 37 3   Download