Thermostable ancestors enabled evolutionary diversification of promiscuous chemical defence enzymes

ABSTRACT: Enzymes are generally believed to evolve from promiscuous ancestors to more specialized descendants under some selection pressure related to their function. However, enzymes whose function depends on substrate promiscuity have not been studied. Here we show that a group of highly diverse and xenobiotic-metabolizing enzymes, responsible for defence against a constantly changing battery of xenobiotic chemicals, evolved from highly thermostable ancestors. Thermostability declined in parallel with accumulation of sequence diversity through evolution. The major lineages differed in their relative diversification, with the more stable lineage leading to greater extant sequence diversity. Thermostability was associated with a trend towards better sequestration of hydrophobic residues within the c

SUBMITTER: Raine, E.S. Thomson 

PROVIDER: S-SCDT-10_1038-S44318-026-00699-Y | biostudies-other |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other