Superoxide dismutase 1 is positively selected to minimize protein aggregation in great apes.

ABSTRACT: Positive (adaptive) selection has recently been implied in human superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1), a highly abundant antioxidant protein with energy signaling and antiaging functions, one of very few examples of direct selection on a human protein product (exon); the molecular drivers of this selection are unknown. We mapped 30 extant SOD1 sequences to the recently established mammalian species tree and inferred ancestors, key substitutions, and signatures of selection during the protein's evolution. We detected elevated substitution rates leading to great apes (Hominidae) at ~1 per 2 million years, significantly higher than in other primates and rodents, although these paradoxically generally evolve much faster. The high evolutionary rate was partly due to relaxation of some selection pressu

SUBMITTER: Dasmeh P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11107616 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature