Citrullination Was Introduced into Animals by Horizontal Gene Transfer from Cyanobacteria.

ABSTRACT: Protein posttranslational modifications add great sophistication to biological systems. Citrullination, a key regulatory mechanism in human physiology and pathophysiology, is enigmatic from an evolutionary perspective. Although the citrullinating enzymes peptidylarginine deiminases (PADIs) are ubiquitous across vertebrates, they are absent from yeast, worms, and flies. Based on this distribution PADIs were proposed to have been horizontally transferred, but this has been contested. Here, we map the evolutionary trajectory of PADIs into the animal lineage. We present strong phylogenetic support for a clade encompassing animal and cyanobacterial PADIs that excludes fungal and other bacterial homologs. The animal and cyanobacterial PADI proteins share functionally relevant primary and tertiar

SUBMITTER: Cummings TFM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8826395 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature