Xanthine dehydrogenase (XDH): episodic evolution of a "neutral" protein

We investigated the evolution of xanthine dehydrogenase (Xdh) in 34 species from the three multicellular kingdoms, including one plant, two fungi, and three animal phyla, two classes of vertebrates, four orders of mammals, and two orders of insects. We adopted a model-based maximum-likelihood framew...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of molecular evolution 2001-10, Vol.53 (4-5), p.485-495
Main Authors: Rodríguez-Trelles, F, Tarrío, R, Ayala, F J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amino acid composition
Amino Acid Substitution
Amino acids
Amino Acids - analysis
Animals
Base Composition
Dehydrogenase
Diptera - enzymology
Diptera - genetics
DNA - chemistry
DNA - genetics
Drosophila
Drosophila - enzymology
Drosophila - genetics
Enzymes
Evolution, Molecular
Evolutionary biology
Genomics
Insects
Mammalia
Mammals
Models, Genetic
Molecular biology
Mutation
Phylogeny
Proteins
Xanthine Dehydrogenase - chemistry
Xanthine Dehydrogenase - genetics
Xdh gene
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Summary:We investigated the evolution of xanthine dehydrogenase (Xdh) in 34 species from the three multicellular kingdoms, including one plant, two fungi, and three animal phyla, two classes of vertebrates, four orders of mammals, and two orders of insects. We adopted a model-based maximum-likelihood framework of inference. After accounting for among-site rate variation and heterogeneous nucleotide composition of the sequences using the discrete gamma distribution, and using nonhomogeneous nonstationary representations of the substitution process, the rate of amino acid replacement is 30.4 x 10(-10)/site/year when Drosophila species are compared but only approximately 18 x 10(-10)/site/year when comparisons are made between mammal orders, between insect orders, or between different animal phyla and approximately 11 x 10(-10)/site/year when comparisons are made between birds and mammals, between fungi, or between the three multicellular kingdoms. To account for these observations, the rate of amino acid replacement must have been eight or more times higher in some lineages and at some times than in others. Spastic evolution of Xdh appears to be related to the particularities of the genomes in which the locus is embedded.
ISSN:0022-2844
1432-1432
DOI:10.1007/s002390010239