Neutral genetic drift can alter promiscuous protein functions, potentially aiding functional evolution.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Many of the mutations accumulated by naturally evolving proteins are neutral in the sense that they do not significantly alter a protein's ability to perform its primary biological function. However, new protein functions evolve when selection begins to favor other, "promiscuous" functions that are incidental to a protein's original biological role. If mutations that are neutral with respect to a protein's primary biological function cause substantial changes in promiscuous functions, these mutations could enable future functional evolution.

Results

Here we investigate this possibility experimentally by examining how cytochrome P450 enzymes that have evolved neutrally with respect to activity on a single substrate have changed in their abilities to catalyze reacti

SUBMITTER: Bloom JD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1914045 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature