Molecular co-evolution of a protease and its substrate elucidated by analysis of the activity of predicted ancestral hatching enzyme.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Hatching enzyme is a protease that digests the egg envelope, enabling hatching of the embryo. We have comprehensively studied the molecular mechanisms of the enzyme action to its substrate egg envelope, and determined the gene/protein structure and phylogenetic relationships. Because the hatching enzyme must have evolved while maintaining its ability to digest the egg envelope, the hatching enzyme-egg envelope protein pair is a good model for studying molecular co-evolution of a protease and its substrate.

Results

Hatching enzymes from medaka (Oryzias latipes) and killifish (Fundulus heteroclitus) showed species-specific egg envelope digestion. We found that by introducing four medaka-type residue amino acid substitutions into recombinant killifish hatching enzyme

SUBMITTER: Kawaguchi M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3819744 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature