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Protein-coding Regions (protein-coding + regions)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Life Sciences50%

Selected Abstracts

THE LOCUS OF EVOLUTION: EVO DEVO AND THE GENETICS OF ADAPTATION

EVOLUTION, Issue 5 2007
Hopi E. Hoekstra
An important tenet of evolutionary developmental biology ("evo devo") is that adaptive mutations affecting morphology are more likely to occur in the cis -regulatory regions than in the protein-coding regions of genes. This argument rests on two claims: (1) the modular nature of cis -regulatory elements largely frees them from deleterious pleiotropic effects, and (2) a growing body of empirical evidence appears to support the predominant role of gene regulatory change in adaptation, especially morphological adaptation. Here we discuss and critique these assertions. We first show that there is no theoretical or empirical basis for the evo devo contention that adaptations involving morphology evolve by genetic mechanisms different from those involving physiology and other traits. In addition, some forms of protein evolution can avoid the negative consequences of pleiotropy, most notably via gene duplication. In light of evo devo claims, we then examine the substantial data on the genetic basis of adaptation from both genome-wide surveys and single-locus studies. Genomic studies lend little support to the cis -regulatory theory: many of these have detected adaptation in protein-coding regions, including transcription factors, whereas few have examined regulatory regions. Turning to single-locus studies, we note that the most widely cited examples of adaptive cis -regulatory mutations focus on trait loss rather than gain, and none have yet pinpointed an evolved regulatory site. In contrast, there are many studies that have both identified structural mutations and functionally verified their contribution to adaptation and speciation. Neither the theoretical arguments nor the data from nature, then, support the claim for a predominance of cis -regulatory mutations in evolution. Although this claim may be true, it is at best premature. Adaptation and speciation probably proceed through a combination of cis -regulatory and structural mutations, with a substantial contribution of the latter. [source]

Experimental annotation of channel catfish virus by probabilistic proteogenomic mapping

PROTEINS: STRUCTURE, FUNCTION AND BIOINFORMATICS, Issue 10 2009
Dusan Kunec Dr.
Abstract Experimental identification of expressed proteins by proteomics constitutes the most reliable approach to identify genomic location and structure of protein-coding genes and substantially complements computational genome annotation. Channel catfish herpesvirus (CCV) is a simple comparative model for understanding herpesvirus biology and the evolution of the Herpesviridae. The canonical CCV genome has 76 predicted ORF and only 12 of these have been confirmed experimentally. We describe a modification of a statistical method, which assigns significance measures, q -values, to peptide identifications based on 2-D LC ESI MS/MS, real-decoy database searches and SEQUEST XCorr and ,Cn scores. We used this approach to identify CCV proteins expressed during its replication in cell culture, to determine protein composition of mature virions and, consequently, to refine the canonical CCV genome annotation. To complement trypsin, we used partial proteinase K digestion, which yielded greater proteome coverage. At FDR <5%, for peptide identifications, we identified 25/76 previously predicted ORF using trypsin and 31/76 using proteinase K. Furthermore, we identified 17 novel protein-coding regions (7 potential ATG-initiated ORF). Most of these novel ORF encode small proteins (<100 amino acids). Directed, strand-specific reverse transcription real-time PCR confirmed RNA expression from 6/7 novel ATG-initiated ORF investigated. [source]

Plasma Proteome Database as a resource for proteomics research

PROTEINS: STRUCTURE, FUNCTION AND BIOINFORMATICS, Issue 13 2005
Babylakshmi Muthusamy
Abstract Plasma is one of the best studied compartments in the human body and serves as an ideal body fluid for the diagnosis of diseases. This report provides a detailed functional annotation of all the plasma proteins identified to date. In all, gene products encoded by 3778,distinct genes were annotated based on proteins previously published in the literature as plasma proteins and the identification of multiple peptides from proteins under HUPO's Plasma Proteome Project. Our analysis revealed that 51% of these genes encoded more than one protein isoform. All single nucleotide polymorphisms involving protein-coding regions were mapped onto the protein sequences. We found a number of examples of isoform-specific subcellular localization as well as tissue expression. This database is an attempt at comprehensive annotation of a complex subproteome and is available on the web at http://www.plasmaproteomedatabase.org. [source]

The complete mitochondrial genome of the domestic red deer (Cervus elaphus) of New Zealand and its phylogenic position within the family Cervidae

ANIMAL SCIENCE JOURNAL, Issue 5 2010
Kenta WADA
ABSTRACT We determined the complete nucleotide sequence of the mitochondrial genome of the semidomestic red deer (Cervus elaphus) of New Zealand. The genome was 16 357 bp long and contained 13 protein-coding genes, 12SrRNA, 16SrRNA, 22 tRNAs and a D-loop as found in other mammals. Database homology searches showed that the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence from the New Zealand semidomestic deer was similar to partial mtDNA sequences from the European, Norwegian (C. e. atlanticus) and Spanish red deer (C. e. hispanicus). Phylogenetic analysis of the mitochondrial protein-coding regions revealed two well-defined monophyletic clades in subfamilies Cervinae and Muntiacinae. However, red deer and Sika deer were not found to be close relatives. The analysis did identify the red deer as a sister taxon of a Samber/Sika deer clade, although it was more closely related to the Samber than the Sika group. [source]