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Moonlighting Peptides with Emerging Function

Hunter-killer peptides combine two activities in a single polypeptide that work in an independent fashion like many other multi-functional, multi-domain proteins. We hypothesize that emergent functions may result from the combination of two or more activities in a single protein domain and that coul...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Rodríguez Plaza, Jonathan G., Villalón Rojas, Amanda, Herrera, Sur, Garza-Ramos, Georgina, Torres Larios, Alfredo, Amero, Carlos, Zarraga Granados, Gabriela, Gutiérrez Aguilar, Manuel, Lara Ortiz, María Teresa, Polanco Gonzalez, Carlos, Uribe Carvajal, Salvador, Coria, Roberto, Peña Díaz, Antonio, Bredesen, Dale E., Castro-Obregon, Susana, del Rio, Gabriel
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2012
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3396687/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22808104
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0040125
Descripción
Sumario:Hunter-killer peptides combine two activities in a single polypeptide that work in an independent fashion like many other multi-functional, multi-domain proteins. We hypothesize that emergent functions may result from the combination of two or more activities in a single protein domain and that could be a mechanism selected in nature to form moonlighting proteins. We designed moonlighting peptides using the two mechanisms proposed to be involved in the evolution of such molecules (i.e., to mutate non-functional residues and the use of natively unfolded peptides). We observed that our moonlighting peptides exhibited two activities that together rendered a new function that induces cell death in yeast. Thus, we propose that moonlighting in proteins promotes emergent properties providing a further level of complexity in living organisms so far unappreciated.