A Case Study of Eukaryogenesis: The Evolution of Photoreception by Photolyase/Cryptochrome Proteins.

ABSTRACT: Eukaryogenesis, the origin of the eukaryotes, is still poorly understood. Herein, we show how a detailed all-kingdom phylogenetic analysis overlaid with a map of key biochemical features can provide valuable clues. The photolyase/cryptochrome family of proteins are well known to repair DNA in response to potentially harmful effects of sunlight and to entrain circadian rhythms. Phylogenetic analysis of photolyase/cryptochrome protein sequences from a wide range of prokaryotes and eukaryotes points to a number of horizontal gene transfer events between ancestral bacteria and ancestral eukaryotes. Previous experimental research has characterised patterns of tryptophan residues in these proteins that are important for photoreception, specifically a tryptophan dyad, a canonical tryptophan triad

SUBMITTER: Miles JA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7560933 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature