scholarly journals The Remarkable Conservation of Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone (CRH)-Binding Protein in the Honeybee (Apis mellifera) Dates the CRH System to a Common Ancestor of Insects and Vertebrates

Endocrinology ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 146 (5) ◽  
pp. 2165-2170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark O. Huising ◽  
Gert Flik
Keyword(s):  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Common Ancestor ◽  
Binding Protein ◽  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
Gene Organization ◽  
G Protein Coupled Receptors ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
The Common ◽  
G Protein Coupled ◽  
Crh Receptors

Abstract CRH-binding protein (CRH-BP) is a key factor in the regulation of CRH signaling; it modulates the bioactivity and bioavailability of CRH and its related peptides. The conservation of CRH-BP throughout vertebrates was only recently demonstrated. Here we report the presence of CRH-BP in the honeybee (Apis mellifera) and other insects. Honeybee CRH-BP resembles previously characterized vertebrate CRH-BP sequences with respect to conserved cysteine residues, gene organization, and overall sequence identity. Phylogenetic analyses confirm the unambiguous orthology of insect and vertebrate CRH-BP sequences. Soon after their discovery, it was noted that insect diuretic hormone-I (DH-I) and its receptor share similarities with the vertebrate CRH family and their receptors. Despite these similarities, demonstration of common ancestry of DH-I and the vertebrate CRH family is still speculative: the mature neuropeptides are short, and their genes differ substantially with regard to the number of coding exons. Moreover, DH and CRH receptors belong to the much larger family of G protein-coupled receptors. In contrast, the unique and conspicuous features of CRH-BP greatly facilitate the establishment of orthology over much larger evolutionary distances. The identification of CRH-BP in insects clearly indicates that this gene predates vertebrates by at least several hundred million years. Moreover, our findings imply that a CRH system is shared by insects and vertebrates alike and, consequently, that it has been present at least since the common ancestor to both phylogenetic lines of proto- and deuterostomians.

Mapping the Heart

2010 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 6-8
Author(s):  
Stephen W. Carmichael
Keyword(s):  
Cyclic Adenosine Monophosphate ◽  
Adenosine Monophosphate ◽  
G Protein Coupled Receptors ◽  
Receptor Subtypes ◽  
Cardiac Muscle Cells ◽  
Guanine Nucleotide Binding Protein ◽  
The Common ◽  
Guanine Nucleotide Binding ◽  
First Time ◽  
G Protein Coupled

Some of the receptors on the surface of cardiac muscle cells (cardiomyocytes) mediate the response of these cells to catecholamines by causing the production of the common second messenger cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP). An example of such receptors are the β1- and β2-adrenergic receptors (βARs) that are heterotrimeric guanine nucleotide-binding protein (G protein)-coupled receptors. Selective stimulation of these two receptor subtypes leads to distinct physiological and pathophysiological responses, but their precise location on the surface of cardiomyocytes has not been correlated with these responses. In an ingenious combination of techniques, Viacheslav Nikolaev, Alexey Moshkov, Alexander Lyon, Michele Miragoli, Pavel Novak, Helen Paur, Martin Lohse, Yuri Korchev, Sian Harding, and Julia Gorelik have mapped the function of these receptors for the first time.

scholarly journals Placenta-Specific Protein 1 Is Conserved throughout the Placentalia under Purifying Selection

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric J. Devor
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Analysis ◽  
Common Ancestor ◽  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
Mammalian Species ◽  
Purifying Selection ◽  
Specific Protein ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Crucial Component ◽  
Successful Group ◽  
The Common

Placental mammals (Placentalia) are a very successful group that, today, comprise 94% of all mammalian species. Recent phylogenetic analyses, coupled with new, quite complete fossils, suggest that the crown orders were all established rapidly from a common ancestor just after the Cretaceous/Tertiary (K/T) boundary 65 million years ago. Extensive molecular and morphologic evidence has led to a description of the common ancestor of all Placentalia in which a two-horned uterus and a hemochorial placenta are present. Thus, the process of placentation in which the placenta invades and anchors to the uterine epithelium was already established. One factor that has been suggested as a crucial component of this process is placenta-specific protein 1 (PLAC1). A phylogenetic analysis of the PLAC1 protein in 25 placental mammal species, representing nine of the sixteen crown orders of the Placentalia, suggests that this protein was present in the placental common ancestor in the form we see it today, that it evolved in the Placentalia and has been subject to the effects of purifying selection since its appearance.

Insights into the activation mechanism of the visual receptor rhodopsin

2012 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 389-393 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven O. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Structural Biology ◽  
G Protein Coupled Receptors ◽  
Activation Mechanism ◽  
Class A ◽  
Highly Sensitive ◽  
The Common ◽  
Dim Light ◽  
And Function ◽  
G Protein Coupled ◽  
Visual Receptor

Recent advances in the structural biology of GPCRs (G-protein-coupled receptors) have provided insights into their structure and function. Comparisons of the visual and ligand-activated receptors highlight the unique elements of rhodopsin that allow it to function as a highly sensitive dim-light photoreceptor in vertebrates, as well as the common elements that it shares with the large class A GPCR family. However, despite progress, a number of questions remain unanswered about how these receptors are activated.

scholarly journals Identification of a Novel, Putative Rho-specific GDP/GTP Exchange Factor and a RhoA-binding Protein: Control of Neuronal Morphology

1997 ◽  
Vol 137 (7) ◽  
pp. 1603-1613 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martijn F.B.G. Gebbink ◽  
Onno Kranenburg ◽  
Mieke Poland ◽  
Francis P.G. van Horck ◽  
Brahim Houssa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neurite Outgrowth ◽  
G Protein ◽  
Binding Protein ◽  
Neuronal Morphology ◽  
G Protein Coupled Receptors ◽  
Dominant Negative ◽  
Cell Rounding ◽  
Exchange Factor ◽  
Neurite Retraction ◽  
G Protein Coupled

The small GTP-binding protein Rho has been implicated in the control of neuronal morphology. In N1E-115 neuronal cells, the Rho-inactivating C3 toxin stimulates neurite outgrowth and prevents actomyosin-based neurite retraction and cell rounding induced by lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), sphingosine-1-phosphate, or thrombin acting on their cognate G protein–coupled receptors. We have identified a novel putative GDP/GTP exchange factor, RhoGEF (190 kD), that interacts with both wild-type and activated RhoA, but not with Rac or Cdc42. RhoGEF, like activated RhoA, mimics receptor stimulation in inducing cell rounding and in preventing neurite outgrowth. Furthermore, we have identified a 116-kD protein, p116Rip, that interacts with both the GDP- and GTP-bound forms of RhoA in N1E-115 cells. Overexpression of p116Rip stimulates cell flattening and neurite outgrowth in a similar way to dominant-negative RhoA and C3 toxin. Cells overexpressing p116Rip fail to change their shape in response to LPA, as is observed after Rho inactivation. Our results indicate that (a) RhoGEF may link G protein–coupled receptors to RhoA activation and ensuing neurite retraction and cell rounding; and (b) p116Rip inhibits RhoA-stimulated contractility and promotes neurite outgrowth.

scholarly journals The Common Ancestor of Archaea and Eukarya Was Not an Archaeon

Archaea ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Forterre
Keyword(s):  
Common Ancestor ◽  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Last Common Ancestor ◽  
Dna Viruses ◽  
The Common ◽  
Basic Features ◽  
Origin Of Eukaryotes ◽  
Archaeal Ancestor ◽  
Selection Of

It is often assumed that eukarya originated from archaea. This view has been recently supported by phylogenetic analyses in which eukarya are nested within archaea. Here, I argue that these analyses are not reliable, and I critically discuss archaeal ancestor scenarios, as well as fusion scenarios for the origin of eukaryotes. Based on recognized evolutionary trends toward reduction in archaea and toward complexity in eukarya, I suggest that their last common ancestor was more complex than modern archaea but simpler than modern eukaryotes (the bug in-between scenario). I propose that the ancestors of archaea (and bacteria) escaped protoeukaryotic predators by invading high temperature biotopes, triggering their reductive evolution toward the “prokaryotic” phenotype (the thermoreduction hypothesis). Intriguingly, whereas archaea and eukarya share many basic features at the molecular level, the archaeal mobilome resembles more the bacterial than the eukaryotic one. I suggest that selection of different parts of the ancestral virosphere at the onset of the three domains played a critical role in shaping their respective biology. Eukarya probably evolved toward complexity with the help of retroviruses and large DNA viruses, whereas similar selection pressure (thermoreduction) could explain why the archaeal and bacterial mobilomes somehow resemble each other.

scholarly journals The molecular evolution of Dabie bandavirus (Phenuiviridae: Bandavirus: Dabie bandavirus), the agent of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome

2022 ◽  
Vol 66 (6) ◽  
pp. 409-416
Author(s):  
T. E. Sizikova ◽  
V. N. Lebedev ◽  
S. V. Borisevich
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Evolution ◽  
Phylogenetic Trees ◽  
Common Ancestor ◽  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
Virus Transmission ◽  
Infectious Agent ◽  
Global Public Health ◽  
The Common ◽  
Epidemiological Characteristics ◽  
Severe Fever

Since the Dabie bandavirus (DBV; former SFTS virus, SFTSV) was identified, the epidemics of severe fever with thrombocytopenic syndrome (SFTS) caused by this virus have occurred in several countries in East Asia. The rapid increase in incidence indicates that this infectious agent has a pandemic potential and poses an imminent global public health threat.The analysis of molecular evolution of SFTS agent that includes its variants isolated in China, Japan and South Korea was performed in this review. The evolution rate of DBV and the estimated dates of existence of the common ancestor were ascertained, and the possibility of reassortation was demonstrated.The evolutionary rates of DBV genome segments were estimated to be 2.28 × 10-4 nucleotides/site/year for S-segment, 2.42 × 10-4 for M-segment, and 1.19 × 10-4 for L-segment. The positions of positive selection were detected in the viral genome.Phylogenetic analyses showed that virus may be divided into two clades, containing six different genotypes. The structures of phylogenetic trees for S-, M- and L-segments showed that all genotypes originate from the common ancestor.Data of sequence analysis suggest that DBV use several mechanisms to maintain the high level of its genetic diversity. Understanding the phylogenetic factors that determine the virus transmission is important for assessing the epidemiological characteristics of the disease and predicting its possible outbreaks.

scholarly journals The small GTP-binding protein, Rhes, regulates signal transduction from G protein-coupled receptors

Oncogene ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 559-568 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierfrancesco Vargiu ◽  
Ricardo De Abajo ◽  
Juan Antonio Garcia-Ranea ◽  
Alfonso Valencia ◽  
Pilar Santisteban ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Signal Transduction ◽  
G Protein ◽  
Binding Protein ◽  
G Protein Coupled Receptors ◽  
Gtp Binding Protein ◽  
Gtp Binding ◽  
G Protein Coupled

scholarly journals The Complete Nucleotide Sequence of the Mitochondrial DNA of the Dogfish, Scyliorhinus canicula

Genetics ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 150 (1) ◽  
pp. 331-344
Author(s):  
Christiane Delarbre ◽  
Nathalie Spruyt ◽  
Cateline Delmarre ◽  
Cyril Gallut ◽  
Véronique Barriel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mitochondrial Dna ◽  
Nucleotide Sequence ◽  
Complete Nucleotide Sequence ◽  
Common Ancestor ◽  
Petromyzon Marinus ◽  
Sister Group ◽  
Sea Lamprey ◽  
Gene Organization ◽  
Scyliorhinus Canicula ◽  
The Common

Abstract We have determined the complete nucleotide sequence of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of the dogfish, Scyliorhinus canicula. The 16,697-bp-long mtDNA possesses a gene organization identical to that of the Osteichthyes, but different from that of the sea lamprey Petromyzon marinus. The main features of the mtDNA of osteichthyans were thus established in the common ancestor to chondrichthyans and osteichthyans. The phylogenetic analysis confirms that the Chondrichthyes are the sister group of the Osteichthyes.

scholarly journals Analysis of the first complete genome sequence of an Old World monkey adenovirus reveals a lineage distinct from the six human adenovirus species

2004 ◽  
Vol 85 (10) ◽  
pp. 2799-2807 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gábor M. Kovács ◽  
Andrew J. Davison ◽  
Alexender N. Zakhartchouk ◽  
Balázs Harrach
Keyword(s):  
Common Ancestor ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
World Monkey ◽  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
Human Adenovirus ◽  
Genomic Comparison ◽  
Old World ◽  
Simian Adenovirus ◽  
The Common

Simian adenovirus 3 (SAdV-3) is one of several adenoviruses that were isolated decades ago from Old World monkeys. Determination of the complete DNA sequence of SAdV-3 permitted the first full genomic comparison of a monkey adenovirus with adenoviruses of humans (HAdVs) and chimpanzees, which are recognized formally as constituting six of the species (HAdV-A to HAdV-F) within the genus Mastadenovirus. The SAdV-3 genome is 34 246 bp in size and has a G+C content of 55·3 mol%. It contains all the genes that are characteristic of the genus Mastadenovirus and has a single VA-RNA gene and six genes in each of the E3 and E4 regions. The genetic organization is the same as that of HAdV-12, a member of the HAdV-A species. Phylogenetic analyses showed that although SAdV-3 is related marginally more closely to HAdV-A and HAdV-F than to other species, it represents a unique lineage that branched at an early stage of primate adenovirus divergence. The results imply that the genetic layout in SAdV-3 and HAdV-12 may also have characterized the common ancestor of all sequenced primate adenoviruses.

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