Evolution of the MAGUK protein gene family in premetazoan lineages.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Cell-to-cell communication is a key process in multicellular organisms. In multicellular animals, scaffolding proteins belonging to the family of membrane-associated guanylate kinases (MAGUK) are involved in the regulation and formation of cell junctions. These MAGUK proteins were believed to be exclusive to Metazoa. However, a MAGUK gene was recently identified in an EST survey of Capsaspora owczarzaki, an unicellular organism that branches off near the metazoan clade. To further investigate the evolutionary history of MAGUK, we have undertook a broader search for this gene family using available genomic sequences of different opisthokont taxa.

Results

Our survey and phylogenetic analyses show that MAGUK proteins are present not only in Metazoa, but also in the c

SUBMITTER: de Mendoza A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2859873 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature