The Evolution of Transglutaminases Underlies the Origin and Loss of Cornified Skin Appendages in Vertebrates.

ABSTRACT: Transglutaminases (TGMs) cross-link proteins by introducing covalent bonds between glutamine and lysine residues. These cross-links are essential for epithelial cornification which enables tetrapods to live on land. Here, we investigated which evolutionary adaptations of vertebrates were associated with specific changes in the family of TGM genes. We determined the catalog of TGMs in the main clades of vertebrates, performed a comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of TGMs, and localized the distribution of selected TGMs in tissues. Our data suggest that TGM1 is the phylogenetically oldest epithelial TGM, with orthologs being expressed in the cornified teeth of the lamprey, a basal vertebrate. Gene duplications led to the origin of TGM10 in stem vertebrates, the origin of TGM2 in jawed verteb

SUBMITTER: Sachslehner AP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11152450 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature