Title: Divergent evolution of a Rossmann fold and identification of its oldest surviving ancestor

Authors: William L. Duax, Robert Huether, Vladimir Pletnev, Timothy C. Umland, Charles M. Weeks

Addresses: Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute, Department of Structural Biology, University at Buffalo, 700 Ellicott St., Buffalo, NY 14203, USA. ' Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute, Department of Structural Biology, University at Buffalo, 700 Ellicott St., Buffalo, NY 14203, USA. ' Shemyakin-Ovchinnikov Institute, Russia Federation Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, 16/10 Miklukho-Maklaya 117997, Moscow, Russia. ' Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute, Department of Structural Biology, University at Buffalo, 700 Ellicott St., Buffalo, NY 14203, USA. ' Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute, Department of Structural Biology, University at Buffalo, 700 Ellicott St., Buffalo, NY 14203, USA

Abstract: β-ketoacyl (acyl carrier protein) reductase (β-k-ACPR) enzymes are essential to fatty acid synthesis in bacteria. The analyses revealed the most primitive member of the β-k-ACPRs family was a NADP reductase where NADP was recognised by a Thr residue in the β2α3 turn. Aromatic residue stacking at the dimer interface and a previously undetected conserved sequence at the C-terminus, stabilise the oligomeric assembly of these proteins. Our analysis indicates that the primordial members of the β-k-ACPR family probably arose in the α-proteobacteria and are characterised by the presence of multiple open reading frames and an extreme codon and amino acid bias.

Keywords: molecular evolution; multiple open reading frames; substrate prediction; MORF; beta-ketoacyl; acyl carrier proteins; reductase; short chain oxidoreductase enzymes; sdr; tetramer assembly; cofactor identification; bioinformatics; divergent evolution; Rossmann fold; fatty acid synthesis; bacteria; aromatic residue stacking; oligomeric assembly.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBRA.2009.026420

International Journal of Bioinformatics Research and Applications, 2009 Vol.5 No.3, pp.280 - 294

Published online: 11 Jun 2009 *

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