Association Rate Constants of Ras-Effector Interactions Are Evolutionarily Conserved
2008

Conservation of Ras-Effector Interaction Rates

Sample size: 12 publication 10 minutes Evidence: moderate

Author Information

Author(s): Kiel Christina, Aydin Dorothee, Serrano Luis

Primary Institution: EMBL-CRG Systems Biology Unit, Centre de Regulacio Genomica, Barcelona, Spain

Hypothesis

Are the association rate constants of Ras-effector interactions conserved through evolution?

Conclusion

The study found that while sequence similarity decreases over time, the association rate constants for Ras-effector interactions are evolutionarily conserved.

Supporting Evidence

  • The study used 10 Ras-effector complexes from 12 organisms to analyze conservation.
  • Homology modeling was performed using the FoldX algorithm to predict interaction energies.
  • The results indicated that association rate constants are conserved despite decreasing sequence similarity.

Takeaway

This study shows that even though proteins change over time, how they interact with each other can stay the same, which is important for how cells send signals.

Methodology

The study used homology interface modeling and energy calculations to analyze Ras-effector interactions across 12 different species.

Limitations

The study did not include plant species and focused only on major eukaryotic branches.

Participant Demographics

The study analyzed proteins from 12 different species, including mammals, birds, amphibians, fishes, arthropods, and nematodes.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1371/journal.pcbi.1000245

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