Animal deoxyribonucleoside kinases: 'forward' and 'retrograde' evolution of their substrate specificity

FEBS Lett. 2004 Feb 27;560(1-3):3-6. doi: 10.1016/S0014-5793(04)00081-X.

Abstract

Deoxyribonucleoside kinases, which catalyse the phosphorylation of deoxyribonucleosides, are present in several copies in most multicellular organisms and therefore represent an excellent model to study gene duplication and specialisation of the duplicated copies through partitioning of substrate specificity. Recent studies suggest that in the animal lineage one of the progenitor kinases, the so-called dCK/dGK/TK2-like gene, was duplicated prior to separation of the insect and mammalian lineages. Thereafter, insects lost all but one kinase, dNK (EC 2.7.1.145), which subsequently, through remodelling of a limited number of amino acid residues, gained a broad substrate specificity.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Animals
  • Conserved Sequence
  • DNA / chemistry
  • Evolution, Molecular*
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Nucleic Acid Precursors / chemistry
  • Phosphorylation
  • Phosphotransferases (Alcohol Group Acceptor) / chemistry*
  • Phosphotransferases (Alcohol Group Acceptor) / genetics*
  • Phosphotransferases (Alcohol Group Acceptor) / metabolism
  • Phylogeny
  • Point Mutation
  • Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
  • Structure-Activity Relationship
  • Substrate Specificity

Substances

  • Nucleic Acid Precursors
  • DNA
  • Phosphotransferases (Alcohol Group Acceptor)
  • deoxyribonucleoside kinases