The glycine brace: a component of Rab, Rho, and Ran GTPases associated with hinge regions of guanine- and phosphate-binding loops.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Ras-like GTPases function as on-off switches in intracellular signalling pathways and include the Rab, Rho/Rac, Ran, Ras, Arf, Sar and G alpha families. How these families have evolutionarily diverged from each other at the sequence level provides clues to underlying mechanisms associated with their functional specialization.

Results

Bayesian analysis of divergent patterns within a multiple alignment of Ras-like GTPase sequences identifies a structural component, termed here the glycine brace, as the feature that most distinguishes Rab, Rho/Rac, Ran and (to some degree) Ras family GTPases from other Ras-like GTPases. The glycine brace consists of four residues: An aromatic residue that forms a stabilizing CH-pi interaction with a conserved glycine at the start of

SUBMITTER: Neuwald AF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2656535 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature