Scorpion Toxins: Positive Selection at a Distal Site Modulates Functional Evolution at a Bioactive Site.

ABSTRACT: The bioactive sites of proteins are those that directly interact with their targets. In many immunity- and predation-related proteins, they frequently experience positive selection for dealing with the changes of their targets from competitors. However, some sites that are far away from the interface between proteins and their targets are also identified to evolve under positive selection. Here, we explore the evolutionary implication of such a site in scorpion α-type toxins affecting sodium (Na+) channels (abbreviated as α-ScNaTxs) using a combination of experimental and computational approaches. We found that despite no direct involvement in interaction with Na+ channels, mutations at this site by different types of amino acids led to toxicity change on both rats and insects in three α-S

SUBMITTER: Zhu L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6367975 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature