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Molecular evolution of ankyrin: gain of function in vertebrates by acquisition of an obscurin/titin-binding-related domain.

Hopitzan, Alexander A., Baines, Anthony J., Kordeli, Ekaterini (2006) Molecular evolution of ankyrin: gain of function in vertebrates by acquisition of an obscurin/titin-binding-related domain. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 23 (1). pp. 46-55. ISSN 0737-4038. (doi:10.1093/molbev/msj004) (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:8629)

The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided.
Official URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msj004

Abstract

Ankyrins form a family of modular adaptor proteins that link between integral membrane proteins and the cytoskeleton. They evolved within the Metazoa as an adaptation for organizing membrane microstructure and directing membrane traffic. Molecular cloning has identified one Caenorhabditis elegans (unc-44), two Drosophila (Dank1, Dank2), and three mammalian (Ank1, Ank2, Ank3) genes. We have previously identified a 76-amino acid (aa) alternatively spliced sequence that is present in muscle polypeptides encoded by the rat Ank3 gene. A closely related sequence in a muscle Ank1 product binds the cytoskeletal muscle proteins obscurin and titin. This obscurin/titin-binding-related domain (OTBD) contains repeated modules of 18 aa: three are encoded by Ank1 and Ank2, two by Ank3; this pattern is conserved throughout vertebrate ankyrin genes. The C. elegans ankyrin, UNC-44, contains one 18-aa module as does the ankyrin gene in the urochordate Ciona intestinalis, but the insect ankyrins contain none. Our data indicate that an ancestral ankyrin acquired an 18-aa module which was preserved in the Ecdysozoa/deuterostome divide, but it was subsequently lost from arthropods. Successive duplications of the module led to a gain of function in vertebrates as it acquired obscurin/titin-binding activity. We suggest that the OTBD represents an adaptation of the cytoskeleton that confers muscle cells with resilience to the forces associated with vertebrate life.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1093/molbev/msj004
Subjects: Q Science
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Natural Sciences > Biosciences
Depositing User: Anthony Baines
Date Deposited: 05 Sep 2008 20:50 UTC
Last Modified: 16 Nov 2021 09:46 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/8629 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

Baines, Anthony J..

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