Fungi and animals may share a common ancestor to nuclear receptors.

ABSTRACT: Nuclear receptors (NRs) are a large family of transcription factors. One hallmark of this family is the ligand-binding domain (LBD), for its primary sequence, structure, and regulatory function. To date, NRs have been found exclusively in animals and sponges, which has led to the generally accepted notion that they arose with them. We have overcome the limitations of primary sequence searches by combining sequence profile searches with structural predictions at a genomic scale, and have discovered that the heterodimeric transcription factors Oaf1/Pip2 of the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae contain putative LBDs resembling those of animal NRs. Although the Oaf1/Pip2 LBDs are embedded in an entirely different architecture, the regulation and function of these transcription factors are

SUBMITTER: Phelps C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1459020 | biostudies-literature | 2006 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature