6533b86dfe1ef96bd12caade
RESEARCH PRODUCT
A new evolutionary paradigm for the Parkinson disease gene DJ-1.
J. Ignasi LucasIgnacio Marínsubject
Models MolecularGenes FungalMolecular Sequence DataProtein Deglycase DJ-1Genes PlantAmoebozoaEvolution MolecularPhylogeneticsGeneticsAmino Acid SequenceMolecular BiologyGeneEcology Evolution Behavior and SystematicsPhylogenyChromalveolataGeneticsComparative genomicsOncogene ProteinsPhylogenetic treebiologyIntracellular Signaling Peptides and ProteinsFusobacteriaParkinson Diseasebiology.organism_classificationEukaryotic CellsProkaryotic CellsGenes BacterialSchizosaccharomyces pombeSequence Alignmentdescription
The DJ-1 gene is extensively studied because of its involvement in familial Parkinson disease. DJ-1 belongs to a complex superfamily of genes that includes both prokaryotic and eukaryotic representatives. We determine that many prokaryotic groups, such as proteobacteria, cyanobacteria, spirochaetes, firmicutes, or fusobacteria, have genes, often incorrectly called "Thij," that are very close relatives of DJ-1, to the point that they cannot be clearly separated from the eukaryotic DJ-1 genes by phylogenetic analyses of their sequences. In addition, and contrary to a previous study that suggested that DJ-1 genes were animal specific, we show that DJ-1 genes are found in at least 5 of the 6 main eukaryotic groups: opisthokonta (both animals and fungi), plantae, chromalveolata, excavata, and amoebozoa. Our results thus provide strong evidence for DJ-1 genes originating before the origin of eukaryotes. Interestingly, we found that some fungal species, among them the model yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, have DJ-1-like genes, most likely orthologous to the animal genes. This finding opens new ways for the analysis of the functions of this group of genes.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006-12-02 | Molecular biology and evolution |