Protein Evolution in Human Signaling Networks
Author Information
Author(s): Cui Qinghua, Purisima Enrico O, Wang Edwin
Primary Institution: Biotechnology Research Institute, National Research Council Canada
Hypothesis
How do signaling networks influence protein evolution and how does protein evolution affect the functionality of these networks?
Conclusion
Signaling networks impose major constraints on protein evolution, and the characteristics of these networks can modify the functionalities of proteins.
Supporting Evidence
- Proteins in the extracellular space evolve faster than those in the nucleus.
- Neighbor proteins tend to have similar evolutionary rates.
- Different types of protein interactions affect evolutionary rates differently.
- Fast evolving apoptotic proteins co-evolve with other signaling proteins.
Takeaway
This study shows that proteins evolve at different rates depending on where they are in the signaling network, with those on the outside evolving faster than those on the inside.
Methodology
The study constructed a human signaling network and analyzed the dN/dS values of human-mouse orthologues to assess protein evolutionary rates.
Potential Biases
Potential biases due to the manual curation of signaling pathways.
Limitations
The human signaling network is incomplete and may contain errors.
Statistical Information
P-Value
3.36 × 10-7
Confidence Interval
[0.007, 0.668]
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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