biostudies-literatureMichel FEuropean Research CouncilVolkswagen Foundatione4793https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC10601554biostudies-literatureUnknown32(11)Investigating the evolution of structural features in modern multidomain proteins helps to understand their immense diversity and functional versatility. The class of periplasmic binding proteins (PBPs) offers an opportunity to interrogate one of the main processes driving diversification: the duplication and fusion of protein sequences to generate new architectures. The symmetry of their two-lobed topology, their mechanism of binding, and the organization of their operon structure led to the hypothesis that PBPs arose through a duplication and fusion event of a single common ancestor. To investigate this claim, we set out to reverse the evolutionary process and recreate the structural equivalent of a single-lobed progenitor using ribose-binding protein (RBP) as our model. We found that thProtein science : a publication of the Protein SocietyRetracing the evolution of a modern periplasmic binding protein.PMC10601554647548Romero-Romero SHocker BMichel FfalseRetracing the evolution of a modern periplasmic binding protein.Investigating the evolution of structural features in modern multidomain proteins helps to understand their immense diversity and functional versatility. The class of periplasmic binding proteins (PBPs) offers an opportunity to interrogate one of the main processes driving diversification: the duplication and fusion of protein sequences to generate new architectures. The symmetry of their two-lobed topology, their mechanism of binding, and the organization of their operon structure led to the hypothesis that PBPs arose through a duplication and fusion event of a single common ancestor. To investigate this claim, we set out to reverse the evolutionary process and recreate the structural equivalent of a single-lobed progenitor using ribose-binding protein (RBP) as our model. We found that th2023-01-01T00:00:00Z2023 Nov2026-05-28T13:16:55.466Z2025-06-01T00:33:22.33ZS-EPMC106015543778898010.1002/pro.4793