Novel selenoprotein neighborhoods suggest specialized biochemical processes.

ABSTRACT: Prokaryotic genomes encode selenoproteins sparsely, roughly one protein per 5,000. Finding novel selenoprotein families can expose unknown biological processes that are enabled, or at least enhanced, by having a selenium atom replace a sulfur atom in some cysteine residues. Here, we report the discovery of 18 novel selenoprotein families or second selenocysteine sites in previously unrecognized extensions of protein translations. Most of these families had some confounding factors-too small a family, too few selenoproteins in the family, selenocysteine (U) too close to one end, a skew toward understudied or uncultured lineages, and consequently were missed previously. Discoveries were triggered by observations during the ongoing construction of protein family models for the National Center

SUBMITTER: Haft DH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12013261 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature