A Systematic Survey of Mini-Proteins in Bacteria and Archaea
2008

Survey of Mini-Proteins in Bacteria and Archaea

Sample size: 532 publication Evidence: moderate

Author Information

Author(s): Wang Fengyu, Xiao Jingfa, Pan Linlin, Yang Ming, Zhang Guoqiang, Jin Shouguang, Yu Jun

Primary Institution: CAS Key Laboratory of Genome Sciences and Information, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

Hypothesis

What roles do mini-proteins play in bacteria and archaea?

Conclusion

Mini-proteins are common in bacteria and archaea, with significant variations in their numbers across different species.

Supporting Evidence

  • 180,879 mini-proteins were extracted from 532 sequenced genomes.
  • Mini-proteins account for approximately 10.99% of all genomic proteins.
  • 58.79% of mini-proteins are species-specific.
  • 70.03% of mini-proteins are classified as hypothetical proteins.

Takeaway

Mini-proteins are tiny proteins found in bacteria and archaea that help them do important jobs, but we don't know what many of them do yet.

Methodology

Analyzed 532 sequenced genomes and extracted mini-proteins of 100 amino acids or less.

Limitations

Many mini-proteins are hypothetical and their functions remain largely unknown.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1371/journal.pone.0004027

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