灵长类核糖核酸酶基因独特家族的快速进化。

Rapid evolution of a unique family of primate ribonuclease genes.

作者信息

Rosenberg H F, Dyer K D, Tiffany H L, Gonzalez M

机构信息

Laboratory of Host Defenses, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA.

出版信息

Nat Genet. 1995 Jun;10(2):219-23. doi: 10.1038/ng0695-219.

DOI:10.1038/ng0695-219

PMID:7663519

Abstract

We have traced the rapid molecular evolution of eosinophil-derived neurotoxin (EDN) and eosinophil cationic protein (ECP), two host defense proteins that are members of the mammalian ribonuclease gene family. The EDN/ECP gene pair arose from a recent duplication event that occurred after the divergence of New World and Old World monkeys. Since duplication, the genes encoding EDN and ECP have accumulated non-silent mutations at rates exceeding those of all other functional coding sequences studied in primates, while retaining both the structural and catalytic components required for ribonuclease activity. These results suggest that both EDN and ECP may be responding to unusual evolutionary constraints, which has prompted a reexamination of their physiologic function.

摘要

我们追踪了嗜酸性粒细胞衍生神经毒素（EDN）和嗜酸性粒细胞阳离子蛋白（ECP）这两种宿主防御蛋白的快速分子进化过程，它们是哺乳动物核糖核酸酶基因家族的成员。EDN/ECP基因对起源于新大陆猴和旧大陆猴分化之后发生的一次近期基因复制事件。自复制以来，编码EDN和ECP的基因积累了非沉默突变，其速率超过了在灵长类动物中研究的所有其他功能编码序列，同时保留了核糖核酸酶活性所需的结构和催化成分。这些结果表明，EDN和ECP可能都在应对异常的进化限制，这促使人们重新审视它们的生理功能。