Authors: Banerjee-Basu S.; Baxevanis A.D.

Source: Nucleic Acids Research, Volume 29, Number 15, 1 August 2001 , pp. 3258-3269(12)

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Abstract:

The homeodomain family of transcription factors plays a fundamental role in a diverse set of functions that include body plan specification, pattern formation and cell fate determination during metazoan development. Members of this family are characterized by a helix–turn–helix DNA-binding motif known as the homeodomain. Homeodomain proteins regulate various cellular processes by specifically binding to the transcriptional control region of a target gene. These proteins have been conserved across a diverse range of species, from yeast to human. A number of inherited human disorders are caused by mutations in homeodomain-containing proteins. In this study, we present an evolutionary classification of 129 human homeodomain proteins. Phylogenetic analysis of these proteins, whose sequences were aligned based on the three-dimensional structure of the homeodomain, was performed using a distance matrix approach. The homeodomain proteins segregate into six distinct classes, and this classification is consistent with the known functional and structural characteristics of these proteins. An ancestral sequence signature that accurately describes the unique sequence characteristics of each of these classes has been derived. The phylogenetic analysis, coupled with the chromosomal localization of these genes, provides powerful clues as to how each of these classes arose from the ancestral homeodomain.

Document Type: Original article

Publication date: 2001-08-01

More about this publication?

• Nucleic Acids Research (NAR) is a fully Open Access journal, providing rapid publication of leading edge research into the nucleic acids under the following categories: chemistry, computational biology, genomics, molecular biology, nucleic acid enzymes, RNA and structural biology. There is a Survey and Summary section, and methods papers are published
  in NAR Methods Online. Each year the first issue is devoted to biological databases, and a later issue to relevant web-based software resources.

Related content

• In this: publication
• By this: publisher
• In this Subject: Anatomy & Physiology
• By this author: Banerjee-Basu S. ;  Baxevanis A.D.

Website © Publishing Technology. Article copyright remains with the publisher, society or author(s) as specified within the article.

• Terms and conditions
• Privacy policy
• Information for advertisers