Role of Low-Complexity Sequences in the Formation of Novel Protein Coding Sequences

Low-complexity sequences are extremely abundant in eukaryotic proteins for reasons that remain unclear. One hypothesis is that they contribute to the formation of novel coding sequences, facilitating the generation of novel protein functions. Here, we test this hypothesis by examining the content of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Molecular biology and evolution 2012-03, Vol.29 (3), p.883-886
Main Authors: Toll-Riera, Macarena, Radó-Trilla, Núria, Martys, Florian, Albà, M. Mar
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amino Acid Motifs - genetics
Amino Acid Sequence
Base Composition
Computational Biology
Eukaryotes
Evolution
Evolution, Molecular
Genes
Humans
Models, Genetic
Phylogeny
Proteins
Proteins - genetics
Species Specificity
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Summary:Low-complexity sequences are extremely abundant in eukaryotic proteins for reasons that remain unclear. One hypothesis is that they contribute to the formation of novel coding sequences, facilitating the generation of novel protein functions. Here, we test this hypothesis by examining the content of low-complexity sequences in proteins of different age. We show that recently emerged proteins contain more low-complexity sequences than older proteins and that these sequences often form functional domains. These data are consistent with the idea that low-complexity sequences may play a key role in the emergence of novel genes.
ISSN:0737-4038
1537-1719
DOI:10.1093/molbev/msr263