Molecular evolution of the Yap/Yorkie proto-oncogene and elucidation of its core transcriptional program.

ABSTRACT: Throughout Metazoa, developmental processes are controlled by a surprisingly limited number of conserved signaling pathways. Precisely how these signaling cassettes were assembled in early animal evolution remains poorly understood, as do the molecular transitions that potentiated the acquisition of their myriad developmental functions. Here we analyze the molecular evolution of the proto-oncogene yes-associated protein (Yap)/Yorkie, a key effector of the Hippo signaling pathway that controls organ size in both Drosophila and mammals. Based on heterologous functional analysis of evolutionarily distant Yap/Yorkie orthologs, we demonstrate that a structurally distinct interaction interface between Yap/Yorkie and its partner TEAD/Scalloped became fixed in the eumetazoan common ancestor. We th

SUBMITTER: Ikmi A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4032125 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature