Evolutionary and molecular foundations of multiple contemporary functions of the nitroreductase superfamily.

ABSTRACT: Insight regarding how diverse enzymatic functions and reactions have evolved from ancestral scaffolds is fundamental to understanding chemical and evolutionary biology, and for the exploitation of enzymes for biotechnology. We undertook an extensive computational analysis using a unique and comprehensive combination of tools that include large-scale phylogenetic reconstruction to determine the sequence, structural, and functional relationships of the functionally diverse flavin mononucleotide-dependent nitroreductase (NTR) superfamily (>24,000 sequences from all domains of life, 54 structures, and >10 enzymatic functions). Our results suggest an evolutionary model in which contemporary subgroups of the superfamily have diverged in a radial manner from a minimal flavin-binding scaffold. We

SUBMITTER: Akiva E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5692541 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature