Internal and external paralogy in the evolution of tropomyosin genes in metazoans.

ABSTRACT: Nature contains a tremendous diversity of forms both at the organismal and genomic levels. This diversity motivates the twin central questions of molecular evolution: what are the molecular mechanisms of adaptation, and what are the functional consequences of genomic diversity. We report a 22-species comparative analysis of tropomyosin (PPM) genes, which exist in a variety of forms and are implicated in the emergence of a wealth of cellular functions, including the novel muscle functions integral to the functional diversification of bilateral animals. TPM genes encode either or both of long-form [284 amino acid (aa)] and short-form (approximately 248 aa) proteins. Consistent with a role of TPM diversification in the origins and radiation of bilaterians, we find evidence that the muscle-spe

SUBMITTER: Irimia M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2912468 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature