DDB_G0270072 - dictyBase/community-annotations GitHub Wiki

There is a chance that DDB_G0270072 codes for an SMC protein. The blast homology to Ciona XCAP-E is weak, but when the predicted XCAP-E protein is compared with DDB_G0270072 by Blast2Sequences, multiple regions of homology are found, and the overall E-value is 0,001. The strongest homology is in the N-terminus, where SMC proteins are generally strongly conserved. SMC proteins contain two prominent coiled-coil domains (separated by a hinge region); according to the Dictybase curators, these regions are present in DDB_G0270072.

SMC proteins are involved in sister chromosome cohesion and mitotic chromosome condensation. Most genes with functions in cell cycle progression are overexpressed in a strain lacking the Dicty Rb ortholog rblA. The Dicty SMC genes are highly overexpressed in this strain (10-15-fold) DDB_G0270072 is overexpressed 23-fold, a really exceptional value.

Three further features argue for a cell cycle role of DDB_GO270072:

  • The DDB_G0270072 promoter contains a subsequence (AATTGCGCGC) which fulfills the E2F binding consensus. Similar elements are found in the promoters of many Dicty cell cycle genes, including all Dicty SMC genes.

  • DDB_G0270072 shows a developmental expression trajectory resembling those of most cell cycle genes. In D. discoideum there is an additional expression at T24, when most cell cycle genes are silent; this late expression is missing, however, in D. purpureum.

  • The protein coded by DDB_G0270072 contains a putative mitotic destruction box (RqrLnfsnN) which is conserved in the D. purpureum ortholog DPU0039022 (RnrLnfgsN). Only 336 of the roughly 14000 Amebozoan proteins have conserved mitotic destruction boxes.

Harry MacWilliams, May 2010

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