Paralogous Genes (paralogou + gene)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Characterization of chitinase-like proteins (Cg -Clp1 and Cg -Clp2) involved in immune defence of the mollusc Crassostrea gigas

FEBS JOURNAL, Issue 14 2007
Fabien Badariotti
Chitinase-like proteins have been identified in insects and mammals as nonenzymatic members of the glycoside hydrolase family 18. Recently, the first molluscan chitinase-like protein, named Crassostrea gigas (Cg)-Clp1, was shown to control the proliferation and synthesis of extracellular matrix components of mammalian chondrocytes. However, the precise physiological roles of Cg -Clp1 in oysters remain unknown. Here, we report the cloning and the characterization of a new chitinase-like protein (Cg -Clp2) from the oyster Crassostrea gigas. Gene expression profiles monitored by quantitative RT-PCR in adult tissues and through development support its involvement in tissue growth and remodelling. Both Cg -Clp1- and Cg -Clp2-encoding genes were transcriptionally stimulated in haemocytes in response to bacterial lipopolysaccharide challenge, strongly suggesting that these two close paralogous genes play a role in oyster immunity. [source]


The fabp4 gene of zebrafish (Danio rerio) , genomic homology with the mammalian FABP4 and divergence from the zebrafish fabp3 in developmental expression

FEBS JOURNAL, Issue 6 2007
Rong-Zong Liu
Teleost fishes differ from mammals in their fat deposition and distribution. The gene for adipocyte-type fatty acid-binding protein (A-FABP or FABP4) has not been identified thus far in fishes. We have determined the cDNA sequence and defined the structure of a fatty acid-binding protein gene (designated fabp4) from the zebrafish genome. The polypeptide sequence encoded by zebrafish fabp4 showed highest identity to the Had -FABP or H6-FABP from Antarctic fishes and the putative orthologs from other teleost fishes (83,88%). Phylogenetic analysis clustered the zebrafish FABP4 with all Antarctic fish H6-FABPs and putative FABP4s from other fishes in a single clade, and then with the mammalian FABP4s in an extended clade. Zebrafish fabp4 was assigned to linkage group 19 at a distinct locus from fabp3. A number of closely linked syntenic genes surrounding the zebrafish fabp4 locus were found to be conserved with human FABP4. The zebrafish fabp4 transcripts showed sequential distribution in the developing eye, diencephalon and brain vascular system, from the middle somitogenesis stage to 48 h postfertilization, whereas fabp3 mRNA was located widely in the embryonic and/or larval central nervous system, retina, myotomes, pancreas and liver from middle somitogenesis to 5 days postfertilization. Differentiation in developmental regulation of zebrafish fabp4 and fabp3 gene transcription suggests distinct functions for these two paralogous genes in vertebrate development. [source]


Isolation and characterization of the Xenopus HIVEP gene family

FEBS JOURNAL, Issue 6 2004
Ulrike Dürr
The HIVEP gene family encodes for very large sequence-specific DNA binding proteins containing multiple zinc fingers. Three mammalian paralogous genes have been identified, HIVEP1, - 2 and - 3, as well as the closely related Drosophila gene, Schnurri. These genes have been found to directly participate in the transcriptional regulation of a variety of genes. Mammalian HIVEP members have been implicated in signaling by TNF-, and in the positive selection of thymocytes, while Schnurri has been shown to be an essential component of the TGF-, signaling pathway. In this study, we describe the isolation of Xenopus HIVEP1, as well as partial cDNAs of HIVEP2 and - 3. Analysis of the temporal and spatial expression of the XHIVEP transcripts during early embryogenesis revealed ubiquitous expression of the transcripts. Assays using Xenopus oocytes mapped XHIVEP1 domains that are responsible for nuclear export and import activity. The DNA binding specificity of XHIVEP was characterized using a PCR-mediated selection and gel mobility shift assays. [source]


A tomato mutant that shows stunting, wilting, progressive necrosis and constitutive expression of defence genes contains a recombinant Hcr9 gene encoding an autoactive protein

THE PLANT JOURNAL, Issue 3 2006
Claire L. Barker
Summary The tomato Cf-9 gene confers resistance to races of the leaf mould fungus Cladosporium fulvum that carry the Avr9 avirulence gene. Cf-9 resides at a locus containing five paralogous genes and was isolated by transposon tagging using a modified maize Dissociation (Ds) element. The tagging experiment generated an allelic series of Ds -induced mutations of Cf-9, most of which were wild type in appearance. However, one mutant, designated M205, showed stunted growth, wilting, progressive leaf chlorosis and necrosis and constitutive expression of defence genes. The phenotype of M205 was caused by a semidominant, Avr9 -independent mutation that co-segregated with a Ds element insertion at the Cf-9 locus. Molecular genetic analysis indicated that the Cf-9 locus of M205 had undergone recombination, generating a chimeric gene, designated Hcr9-M205, that comprised an in-frame fusion between the 5, coding region of the Cf-9 paralogue, Hcr9-9A, and the 3, coding region of Cf-9. The presence of a possible excision footprint adjacent to the junction between Hcr9-9A and Cf-9, and a Ds insertion at the homologous position in the downstream paralogue Hcr9-9D, is consistent with recombination between Hcr9-9A and Cf-9 promoted by transposition of Ds from Cf-9 into Hcr9-9D. Agrobacterium tumefaciens -mediated transient expression of Hcr9-M205 in Nicotiana tabacum caused chlorosis and the accumulation of defence gene transcripts, indicating that the protein encoded by this novel Hcr9 gene is autoactive. [source]


Paralogs and mutational robustness linked through transcriptional reprogramming,

BIOESSAYS, Issue 9 2005
Eugene V. Koonin
A recent analysis of genome-wide expression patterns and regulatory motif content of paralogous yeast genes1 strongly suggests that mutational robustness (backup) between paralogous genes is achieved via transcriptional reprogramming of one paralog to compensate for the loss or silencing of the other. BioEssays 27:865,868, 2005. Published 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]


Structure of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Rv2714, a representative of a duplicated gene family in Actinobacteria

ACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA SECTION F (ELECTRONIC), Issue 10 2009
Martin Graña
The gene Rv2714 from Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which codes for a hypothetical protein of unknown function, is a representative member of a gene family that is largely confined to the order Actinomycetales of Actinobacteria. Sequence analysis indicates the presence of two paralogous genes in most mycobacterial genomes and suggests that gene duplication was an ancient event in bacterial evolution. The crystal structure of Rv2714 has been determined at 2.6,Å resolution, revealing a trimer in which the topology of the protomer core is similar to that observed in a functionally diverse set of enzymes, including purine nucleoside phosphorylases, some carboxypeptidases, bacterial peptidyl-tRNA hydrolases and even the plastidic form of an intron splicing factor. However, some structural elements, such as a ,-hairpin insertion involved in protein oligomerization and a C-terminal ,-helical domain that serves as a lid to the putative substrate-binding (or ligand-binding) site, are only found in Rv2714 bacterial homologues and represent specific signatures of this protein family. [source]


Liver invasion by malarial parasites , how do malarial parasites break through the host barrier?

CELLULAR MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 12 2004
Masao Yuda
Summary Malarial transmission to the human host is established by sporozoite infection of the liver. Sporozoites are released from the mosquito salivary glands and carried by the blood flow to the liver sinusoid. In the sinusoid, sporozoites leave the blood circulation by crossing the sinusoidal cell layer to infect hepatocytes, the site for their development into the erythrocyte-invasive forms. Traversal of the sinusoidal cell layer and subsequent hepatocyte infection are the most important events in sporozoite liver invasion, but the molecular basis of both events remains to be elucidated. The present review of sporozoite liver invasion focuses on recent advances in this topic obtained by application of reverse genetics. Sporozoites traverse host cells, rupturing the host cell membrane in the process. Three microneme proteins have important roles in this motility. Disruption of one of these genes abolishes or severely impairs cell traversal without affecting other types of invasive motility. Studies using these disruptant parasites indicate that cell-traversal ability is required for crossing the sinusoidal cell layer and accessing the hepatocytes for infection. This process is homologous to midgut epithelium penetration by the malarial ookinete, because identical or paralogous genes are critically involved in both processes. After arrival at the hepatocyte, the invasion mode of the sporozoites switches from cell traversal to hepatocyte infection. [source]