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PubMed2005

The architecture of the protein domain universe.

Understanding the design of the universe of protein structures may provide insights into protein evolution. We study the architecture of the protein domain universe, which has been found to poses peculiar scale-free properties. We examine the origin of these scale-free properties of the graph of protein domain structures (PDUG) and determine that that the PDUG is not modular, i.e. it does not consist of modules with uniform properties. Instead, we find the PDUG to be self-similar at all scales. We further characterize the PDUG architecture by studying the properties of the hub nodes that are responsible for the scale-free connectivity of the PDUG. We introduce a measure of the betweenness centrality of protein domains in the PDUG and find a power-law distribution of the betweenness centrality values. The scale-free distribution of hubs in the protein universe suggests that a set of specific statistical mechanics models, such as the self-organized criticality model, can potentially identify the principal driving forces of protein evolution. We also find a gatekeeper protein domain, removal of which partitions the largest cluster into two large sub-clusters. We suggest that the loss of such gatekeeper protein domains in the course of evolution is responsible for the creation of new fold families.

Databases, Protein↗
PubMed2005

Native-state dynamics of the ubiquitin family: implications for function and evolution.

Protein dynamics are integral to protein function. In recent years, the use of computer simulation to understand the molecular motions of proteins has become widespread. However, there are few such studies which compare the dynamics of proteins that are structurally and functionally related. In this study, we present native-state molecular dynamic simulations of four proteins which possess a ubiquitin-like fold. Three of these proteins are thought to have evolved from a common ancestral ubiquitin-like protein and have similarities in their function. A fourth protein, which is structurally homologous but which appears to have a different function, is also studied. Local fluctuations in the native state simulations are analysed, and conserved motions of the C-alpha backbone atoms are identified in residues which are important for function. In addition, the global dynamics of the proteins are analysed using the essential-dynamics method. This analysis reveals a slightly higher degree of conservation in dynamics for the three proteins which are functionally related. Both the global and local analyses illustrate how nature has optimized and conserved protein motions for specific biological activity within the ubiquitin family.

Biological Evolution↗
PubMed1998

The correlation of protein structure and evolution of a protein-coding gene: phylogenetic inference using cytochrome oxidase III.

Discriminating phylogenetic signal from noise in DNA sequence data is a difficult problem in phylogenetic inference at higher systematic levels. For protein-coding genes, noise at synonymous (silent) positions can be filtered by deleting entire codon positions or types of change at a codon position. This method is not appropriate for replacement sites, because changes at each site within a codon may not be independent. This research presents a method using information from protein structure to evaluate variation in replacement sites. Analysis of the correlation of amino acid variation with protein structure identified rapidly evolving codons in the COIII gene. In a series of phylogenetic analyses attempting to recover a known set of vertebrate relationships, downweighting these labile codons produced the most accurate results. Structural correlates of variable and invariant residues identified in this study can be used to increase the accuracy of models used for phylogenetic inference. Viewing amino acid variation within a phylogenetic framework provided insight into residue changes important in the secondary and tertiary structures of the molecule, changes that were correlated between pairs of neighboring residues or between residues in neighboring helices.

Amino Acid Substitution↗
PubMed2001

Packing is a key selection factor in the evolution of protein hydrophobic cores.

The energy derived from optimized van der Waals interactions in closely packed, folded proteins has been proposed to be of similar energetic magnitude to hydrophobicity in stabilizing the native state. If packing is this energetically important, it should influence the evolution of protein core sequences. To test this hypothesis, the occurrence of various amino acid side chains in the major hydrophobic core of staphylococcal nuclease and 42 homologous proteins was determined. Most such positions in this protein family are usually isoleucine, leucine, or valine. Previously we have constructed and measured the stabilities of 12 single, 44 double, 64 triple, and 32 quadruple mutants, representing all possible permutations of these three side chains at two overlapping sets of four positions in the core of staphylococcal nuclease. The stabilities and interaction energies of those mutants with various combinations of the most common, or consensus, sequence were compared to the stabilities of all other mutants. Mutants which had the consensus side-chain combinations were not necessarily the most stable, but usually were found to have the best interaction energies. In other words, these proteins were far more stable than would be predicted from simply summing the observed energetic effects of the component single mutations, apparently reflecting particularly favorable packing interactions that are possible for the most common side chains. An additional 12 mutants which tested possible alternate explanations of the results were constructed. The stabilities and interaction energies of these mutants also support the conclusion that packing is a crucial determinant guiding the sequence evolution of protein cores.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2006

Testing for covarion-like evolution in protein sequences.

The covarion hypothesis of molecular evolution proposes that selective pressures on an amino acid or nucleotide site change through time, thus causing changes of evolutionary rate along the edges of a phylogenetic tree. Several kinds of Markov models for the covarion process have been proposed. One model, proposed by Huelsenbeck (2002), has 2 substitution rate classes: the substitution process at a site can switch between a single variable rate, drawn from a discrete gamma distribution, and a zero invariable rate. A second model, suggested by Galtier (2001), assumes rate switches among an arbitrary number of rate classes but switching to and from the invariable rate class is not allowed. The latter model allows for some sites that do not participate in the rate-switching process. Here we propose a general covarion model that combines features of both models, allowing evolutionary rates not only to switch between variable and invariable classes but also to switch among different rates when they are in a variable state. We have implemented all 3 covarion models in a maximum likelihood framework for amino acid sequences and tested them on 23 protein data sets. We found significant likelihood increases for all data sets for the 3 models, compared with a model that does not allow site-specific rate switches along the tree. Furthermore, we found that the general model fit the data better than the simpler covarion models in the majority of the cases, highlighting the complexity in modeling the covarion process. The general covarion model can be used for comparing tree topologies, molecular dating studies, and the investigation of protein adaptation.

Algorithms↗
PubMed2004

Highly specific protein-protein interactions, evolution and negative design.

We consider highly specific protein-protein interactions in proteomes of simple model proteins. We are inspired by the work of Zarrinpar et al (2003 Nature 426 676). They took a binding domain in a signalling pathway in yeast and replaced it with domains of the same class but from different organisms. They found that the probability of a protein binding to a protein from the proteome of a different organism is rather high, around one half. We calculate the probability of a model protein from one proteome binding to the protein of a different proteome. These proteomes are obtained by sampling the space of functional proteomes uniformly. In agreement with Zarrinpar et al we find that the probability of a protein binding a protein from another proteome is rather high, of order one tenth. Our results, together with those of Zarrinpar et al, suggest that designing, say, a peptide to block or reconstitute a single signalling pathway, without affecting any other pathways, requires knowledge of all the partners of the class of binding domains the peptide is designed to mimic. This knowledge is required to use negative design to explicitly design out interactions of the peptide with proteins other than its target. We also found that patches that are required to bind with high specificity evolve more slowly than those that are required only to not bind to any other patch. This is consistent with some analysis of sequence data for proteins engaged in highly specific interactions.

Evolution, Molecular↗
PubMed1994

Evidence for intron capture: an unusual path for the evolution of proteins.

Most new genes are thought to evolve from preexisting genes but duplications of entire genes or shuffling of preexisting exons provides only a limited repertoire of new sequences that can be presented to a cell. Only pieces that previously existed can be used in the construction and any further divergence depends on the slow accumulation of mutations. We show here the presence of a small, in-frame intron in a ciliate phosphoglycerate kinase gene and the insertion of an unusually random amino acid sequence at the same position in trypanosome phosphoglycerate kinase. The unusual sequences in trypanosomes were likely to have originally been introns that have been subsequently captured by the protein and have now been incorporated as part of the coding sequence. Via this path a truly unique sequence can be incorporated into an existing protein, leading in time to the evolution of a new, functionally distinct protein.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2004

Directed evolution of protein inhibitors of DNA-nucleases by in vitro compartmentalization (IVC) and nano-droplet delivery.

In vitro compartmentalization (IVC) uses water-in-oil emulsions to create artificial cell-like compartments in which genes can be individually transcribed and translated. Here, we present a new application of IVC for the selection of DNA-nuclease inhibitors. We developed a nano-droplets delivery system that allows the transport of various solutes, including metal ions, into the emulsion droplets. This transport mechanism was used to regulate the activity of colicin nucleases that were co-compartmentalized with the genes, so that the nucleases were activated by nickel or cobalt ions only after the potential inhibitor genes have been translated. Thus, genes encoding nuclease inhibitors survived the digestion and were subsequently amplified and isolated. Selection is therefore directly for inhibition, and not for binding of the nuclease. The stringency of selection can be easily modulated to give high enrichments (100-500-fold) and recoveries. We demonstrated its utility by selecting libraries of the gene encoding the cognate inhibitor of colicin E9 (immunity protein 9, or Im9) for inhibition of another colicin (ColE7). The in vitro evolved inhibitors show significant inhibition of ColE7 both in vitro and in vivo. These Im9 variants carry mutations into residues that determine the selectivity of the natural counterpart (Im7) while completely retaining the residues that are conserved throughout the family of immunity protein inhibitors. The in vitro evolution process confirms earlier hypotheses regarding the "dual recognition" binding mechanism and the way in which new colicin-immunity pairs diverged from existing ones.

Colicins↗
PubMed2005

Relationship between SPRY and B30.2 protein domains. Evolution of a component of immune defence?

SPRY and B30.2 are homologous domains which can be identified in 11 protein families encoded in the human genome. These include cell surface receptors of the immunoglobulin super-family (BTNs), negative regulators of the JAK/STAT pathway (SOCS-box SSB1-4) and proteins encoded by the numerous TRIM genes. Collectively, proteins containing SPRY and B30.2 domains cover a wide range of functions, including regulation of cytokine signalling (SOCS), RNA metabolism (DDX1, hnRNPs), intracellular calcium release (RyR receptors), immunity to retroviruses (TRIM5alpha) as well as regulatory and developmental processes (HERC1, Ash2L). In order to clarify the evolutionary relationship between the two domains, we compiled a curated database of SPRY and B30.2-domain sequences. We show that while SPRY domains are evolutionarily ancient, B30.2 domains, found in BTN and TRIM proteins, are a more recent evolutionary adaptation, comprising the combination of SPRY with an additional domain, PRY. The combination of SPRY and PRY to produce B30.2 domains may have been selected and maintained as a component of immune defence.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2001

The structure of an engineered domain-swapped ribonuclease dimer and its implications for the evolution of proteins toward oligomerization.

BACKGROUND: Domain swapping has been proposed as a mechanism that explains the evolution from monomeric to oligomeric proteins. Bovine and human pancreatic ribonucleases are monomers with no biological properties other than their RNA cleavage ability. In contrast, the closely related bovine seminal ribonuclease is a natural domain-swapped dimer that has special biological properties, such as cytotoxicity to tumour cells. Several recombinant ribonuclease variants are domain-swapped dimers, but a structure of this kind has not yet been reported for the human enzyme. RESULTS: The crystal structure at 2 A resolution of an engineered ribonuclease variant called PM8 reveals a new kind of domain-swapped dimer, based on the change of N-terminal domains between the two subunits. The swapping is fastened at both hinge peptides by the newly introduced Gln101, involved in two intermolecular hydrogen bonds and in a stacking interaction between residues of different chains. Two antiparallel salt bridges and water-mediated hydrogen bonds complete a new interface between subunits, while the hinge loop becomes organized in a 3(10) helix structure. CONCLUSIONS: Proteins capable of domain swapping may quickly evolve toward an oligomeric form. As shown in the present structure, a single residue substitution reinforces the quaternary structure by forming an open interface. An evolutionary advantage derived from the new oligomeric state will fix the mutation and favour others, leading to a more extended complementary dimerization surface, until domain swapping is no longer necessary for dimer formation. The newly engineered swapped dimer reported here follows this hypothetical pathway for the rapid evolution of proteins.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1994

Import of a mitochondrial presequence into P. denitrificans. Insight into the evolution of protein transport.

According to the endosymbiont hypothesis, mitochondria are descended from ancient aerobic bacteria that were engulfed by protoeukaryotic cells. Experiments described here show that a synthetic peptide corresponding to a yeast mitochondrial targeting sequence can be imported into Paracoccus denitrificans, a soil bacterium thought to be closely related to the protomitochondrion. The import is very similar to that observed with isolated yeast mitochondria. The results suggest that the protomitochondrion may have been inherently able to translocate mitochondrial presequences. This ability may partly explain the development of the protein import process during the evolution of the mitochondrion.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2002

CS-PSeq-Gen: simulating the evolution of protein sequence under constraints.

UNLABELLED: CS-PSeq-Gen is a program derived from PSeq-Gen, designed to perform simulations of the evolution of protein sequences under the constraints of a reconstructed phylogeny. It also provides a basis for the investigation of the correlated evolution of sites. AVAILABILITY: http://condor.urbb.jussieu.fr/CS-PSeq-Gen.html

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2005

Diversity and evolution of protein translocation.

Cells need to translocate proteins into and across hydrophobic membranes in order to interact with the extracellular environment. Although a subset of proteins are thought to spontaneously insert into lipid bilayers, translocation of most transported proteins requires additional cellular components. Such components catalyze efficient lateral transport into or across cellular membranes in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. These include, among others, the conserved YidC/Oxa1/Alb3 proteins as well as components of the Sec and the Tat pathways. Our current knowledge of the function and distribution of these components and their corresponding pathways in organisms of the three domains of life is reviewed. On the basis of this information, the evolution of protein translocation is discussed.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗
PubMed2001

Episodic evolution of protein hormones in mammals.

Pituitary growth hormone (GH) and prolactin have been shown previously to display a pattern of evolution in which episodes of rapid change are imposed on a low underlying basal rate (near-stasis). This study was designed to explore whether a similar pattern is seen in the evolution of other protein hormones in mammals. Seven protein hormones were examined (with the common alpha-subunit of the glycoprotein hormones providing an additional polypeptide for analysis)--those for which sequences from at least four eutherian orders are available with a suitable non-eutherian outgroup. Six of these (GH, prolactin, insulin, parathyroid hormone, glycoprotein hormone alpha-subunit, and luteinizing hormone beta-subunit) showed markedly variable evolutionary rates in each case with a pattern of a slow basal rate and bursts of rapid change, the precise positions of the bursts varying from protein to protein. Two protein hormones (follicle-stimulating hormone beta-subunit and thyroid-stimulating hormone beta-subunit) showed no significant rate variation. Based on the sequences currently available, and pooling data from all eight proteins, the phase of slow basal change occupied about 85% of the sampled evolutionary time, but most evolutionary change (about 62% of the substitutions accepted) occurred during the episodes of rapid change. It is concluded that, in mammals at least, a pattern of prolonged periods of near-stasis with occasional episodes of rapid change provides a better model of evolutionary change for protein hormones than the one of constant evolutionary rates that is commonly favored. The mechanisms underlying this episodic evolution are not yet clear, and it may be that they vary from one group to another; in some cases, positive selection appears to underlie bursts of rapid change. Where gene duplication is associated with a period of accelerated evolution this often occurs at the end rather than the beginning of the episode. To what extent the type of pattern seen for protein hormones can be extended to other proteins remains to be established.

Animals↗