De novo origin of numerous microproteins in enterobacteria.

ABSTRACT: Bacterial genomes encompass numerous small open reading frames (smORFs), some of which encode functional microproteins or perform noncoding regulatory roles. The evolution of microproteins remains poorly understood, largely due to challenges in homology detection for these short sequences. To address this challenge, we constructed 36 957 orthologous groups of microproteins (microOGs) across 5668 Enterobacteriaceae genomes. Our pipeline identified dozens of novel, widely distributed microprotein families and refined conservation patterns for known ones. However, 86% of the microOGs are genus-specific and functionally uncharacterized, suggesting that enterobacteria harbor a pool of evolutionarily young, de novo-originated small genes. Nevertheless, the microprotein-encoding smORFs in the mic

SUBMITTER: Fesenko I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12700099 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature