BACKGROUND Ubiquitin (Ub) and Ub-like proteins (Ub-L) are critical regulators of complex cellular processes such as the cell cycle, DNA repair, transcription, chromatin remodeling, signal translation, and protein degradation. Giardia intestinalis possesses an experimentally proven Ub-conjugation system; however, a limited number of enzymes involved in this process were identified using basic local alignment search tool (BLAST). This is due to the limitations of BLAST's ability to identify homologous functional regions when similarity between the sequences dips to < 30%. In addition Ub-Ls and their conjugating enzymes have not been fully elucidated in Giardia. OBJETIVE To identify the enzymes involved in the Ub and Ub-Ls conjugation processes using intelligent systems based on the hidden Markov models (HMMs). METHODS We performed an HMM search of functional Pfam domains found in the key enzymes of these pathways in Giardia's proteome. Each open reading frame identified was analysed by sequence homology, domain architecture, and transcription levels. FINDINGS We identified 118 genes, 106 of which corresponded to the ubiquitination process (Ub, E1, E2, E3, and DUB enzymes). The E3 ligase group was the largest group with 82 members; 71 of which harbored a characteristic RING domain. Four Ub-Ls were identified and the conjugation enzymes for NEDD8 and URM1 were described for first time. The 3D model for Ub-Ls displayed the β-grasp fold typical. Furthermore, our sequence analysis for the corresponding activating enzymes detected the essential motifs required for conjugation. MAIN CONCLUSIONS Our findings highlight the complexity of Giardia's Ub-conjugation system, which is drastically different from that previously reported, and provides evidence for the presence of NEDDylation and URMylation enzymes in the genome and transcriptome of G. intestinalis. Key words: ubiquitin-ubiquitin-like protein-ubiquitin ligase-deubiquitinating enzymes-Giardia-hidden Markov models Ubiquitin (Ub) and ubiquitin-like modifiers (Ub-Ls) are small proteins that covalently attach to protein substrates and regulate various cellular processes such as the cell cycle, endocytosis, signaling pathways, intracellular trafficking, DNA repair and transcription, among others. (1) Ub and Ub-Ls share two common features: a β-grasp fold composed of a five-stranded β-sheet and a C-terminal diglycine motif (GG) used for conjugation to target proteins. Currently, the Ub-L family includes 10 members: small ubiquitin modifier (SUMO), neural precursor cell expressed developmentally downregulated 8 (NEDD8) or Related to Ubiquitin 1 (RUB 1) in yeast, Ubiquitin-Related Modifier-1 (URM1), Ubiquitinfold Modifier 1 (UFM1), autophagy-related proteins 8 and 12 (ATG8 and ATG12), interferon-stimulated gene 15 (ISG15), human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-F adjacent transcript 10 (FAT10), fan ubiquitin-like protein 1 (FUB1), and histone mono-ubiquitination 1 (HUB1). (2) The first step in the Ub-conjugation cascade is activation, which is mediated by the E1 protein (UBA1 in the b...
The mobility and invasion strategy of Plasmodium falciparum is governed by a protein complex known as the glideosome, which contains an actin-myosin motor. It has been shown that myosin A of the parasite (PfMyoA) is the myosin of the glideosome, and the interaction of PfMyoA with myosin tail domain interacting protein (MTIP) determines its correct location and its ability to function in the complex. Because PfMyoA and myosin B of P. falciparum (PfMyoB) share high sequence identity, are both small proteins without a tail domain, belong to the class XIV myosins, and are expressed in late schizonts and merozoites, we suspect that these myosins may have similar or redundant functions. Therefore, this work examined the structural similarity between PfMyoA and PfMyoB and performed a molecular docking between PfMyoB and MTIP. Three-dimensional (3D) models obtained for PfMyoA and PfMyoB achieved high scores in the structural validation programs used, and their superimposition revealed high structural similarity, supporting the hypothesis of possible similar functions for these two proteins. The 3D interaction models obtained and energy values found suggested that interaction between PfMyoB and MTIP is possible. Given the apparent abundance of PfMyoA relative to PfMyoB in the parasite, we believe that the interaction between PfMyoB and MTIP would only be detectable in specific cellular environments because under normal circumstances, it would be masked by the interaction between PfMyoA and MTIP.
Los recientes problemas ambientales asociados a la contaminación atmosférica evocan un especial énfasis investigativo en la búsqueda de fuentes de energía que remplacen los combustibles fósiles, uno de los mayores generadores de contaminación. Desde hace varios años el biodiesel se ha convertido en una alternativa para esta problemática. Este biocombustible se puede producir a partir de diferentes materias primas que minimizan la generación de contaminantes, no obstante, el uso de aceites vegetales o grasas animales como materia prima origina problemáticas asociadas a la deforestación con relación al monocultivo y la promoción de actividadesganaderas.Bajo este panorama, la producción de biodiesel con base en microalgas como fuente de lípidos se ha proyectado como una alternativa sostenible para la industria de biocombustibles. Esta revisión presenta la producción de lípidos a partir de microalgas y plantea nuevos retos dentro de la industria energética, ya que las microalgas se postulan como una fuente de biodiesel renovable que es capaz de satisfacer la demanda mundial de combustibles para el transporte, sin poner en riesgo aspectos sociales ni ambientales. Las microalgas, además de ser la materia prima para el biodiesel, brindan una alternativa en la descontaminación del ambiente, especialmente del aire y del agua. Su producción es económicamente viable, equitativa dentro de la sociedad y ambientalmente soportable; en una palabra, es sostenible.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.