Protein moonlighting (or gene sharing) is a phenomenon by which a
protein
Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respon ...
can perform more than one function.
Ancestral moonlighting proteins originally possessed a single function but through
evolution
Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...
, acquired additional functions. Many proteins that moonlight are
enzyme
Enzymes () are proteins that act as biological catalysts by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrate (chemistry), substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different molecule ...
s; others are
receptors,
ion channel
Ion channels are pore-forming membrane proteins that allow ions to pass through the channel pore. Their functions include establishing a resting membrane potential, shaping action potentials and other electrical signals by gating the flow of ...
s or
chaperones. The most common primary function of moonlighting proteins is
enzymatic catalysis, but these enzymes have acquired secondary non-enzymatic roles. Some examples of functions of moonlighting proteins secondary to catalysis include
signal transduction
Signal transduction is the process by which a chemical or physical signal is transmitted through a cell as a series of molecular events, most commonly protein phosphorylation catalyzed by protein kinases, which ultimately results in a cellular ...
,
transcriptional regulation
In molecular biology and genetics, transcriptional regulation is the means by which a cell regulates the conversion of DNA to RNA ( transcription), thereby orchestrating gene activity. A single gene can be regulated in a range of ways, from al ...
,
apoptosis,
motility
Motility is the ability of an organism to move independently, using metabolic energy.
Definitions
Motility, the ability of an organism to move independently, using metabolic energy, can be contrasted with sessility, the state of organisms th ...
, and structural.
Protein moonlighting may occur widely in nature. Protein moonlighting through gene sharing differs from the use of a single gene to generate different proteins by
alternative RNA splicing, DNA rearrangement, or
post-translational processing
Post-translational modification (PTM) is the covalent and generally enzymatic modification of proteins following protein biosynthesis. This process occurs in the endoplasmic reticulum and the golgi apparatus. Proteins are synthesized by ribosomes ...
. It is also different from multifunctionality of the protein, in which the protein has multiple domains, each serving a different function. Protein moonlighting by gene sharing means that a gene may acquire and maintain a second function without gene duplication and without loss of the primary function. Such genes are under two or more entirely different selective constraints.
Various techniques have been used to reveal moonlighting functions in proteins. The detection of a protein in unexpected locations within cells, cell types, or tissues may suggest that a protein has a moonlighting function. Furthermore, sequence or structure homology of a protein may be used to infer both primary function as well as secondary moonlighting functions of a protein.
The most well-studied examples of gene sharing are
crystallins. These proteins, when expressed at low levels in many tissues function as enzymes, but when expressed at high levels in eye tissue, become densely packed and thus form lenses. While the recognition of gene sharing is relatively recent—the term was coined in 1988, after crystallins in chickens and ducks were found to be identical to separately identified enzymes—recent studies have found many examples throughout the living world.
Joram Piatigorsky
Joram Piatigorsky (born February 24, 1940) is an American molecular biologist and eye researcher. He was the founding chief of the Laboratory of Molecular and Developmental Biology, National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health (1981–2 ...
has suggested that many or all proteins exhibit gene sharing to some extent, and that gene sharing is a key aspect of
molecular evolution
Molecular evolution is the process of change in the sequence composition of cell (biology), cellular molecules such as DNA, RNA, and proteins across generations. The field of molecular evolution uses principles of evolutionary biology and popula ...
.
The genes encoding crystallins must maintain sequences for catalytic function and transparency maintenance function.
Inappropriate moonlighting is a contributing factor in some genetic diseases, and moonlighting provides a possible mechanism by which bacteria may become resistant to antibiotics.
Discovery
The first observation of a moonlighting protein was made in the late 1980s by Joram Piatigorsky and Graeme Wistow during their research on
crystallin enzymes. Piatigorsky determined that lens crystallin conservation and variance is due to other moonlighting functions outside of the lens.
Originally Piatigorsky called these proteins "gene sharing" proteins, but the colloquial description
moonlighting was subsequently applied to proteins by
Constance Jeffery in 1999
to draw a similarity between multitasking proteins and people who work two jobs.
The phrase "gene sharing" is ambiguous since it is also used to describe
horizontal gene transfer
Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) or lateral gene transfer (LGT) is the movement of genetic material between unicellular and/or multicellular organisms other than by the ("vertical") transmission of DNA from parent to offspring ( reproduction). ...
, hence the phrase "protein moonlighting" has become the preferred description for proteins with more than one function.
Evolution
It is believed that moonlighting proteins came about by means of
evolution
Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...
through which uni-functional proteins gained the ability to perform multiple functions. With alterations, much of the protein's unused space can provide new functions.
Many moonlighting proteins are the result of
gene fusion of two single function genes.
Alternatively a single gene can acquire a second function since the active site of the encoded protein typically is small compared to the overall size of the protein leaving considerable room to accommodate a second functional site. In yet a third alternative, the same active site can acquire a second function through mutations of the active site.
The development of moonlighting proteins may be evolutionarily favorable to the organism since a single protein can do the job of multiple proteins conserving amino acids and energy required to synthesize these proteins.
However, there is no universally agreed upon theory that explains why proteins with multiple roles evolved.
While using one protein to perform multiple roles seems advantageous because it keeps the genome small, we can conclude that this is probably not the reason for moonlighting because of the large amount of
noncoding DNA.
Functions
Many proteins
catalyze a
chemical reaction
A chemical reaction is a process that leads to the chemical transformation of one set of chemical substances to another. Classically, chemical reactions encompass changes that only involve the positions of electrons in the forming and break ...
. Other proteins fulfill structural, transport, or signaling roles. Furthermore, numerous proteins have the ability to aggregate into
supramolecular assemblies
In chemistry, a supramolecular assembly is a complex of molecules held together by noncovalent bonds. While a supramolecular assembly can be simply composed of two molecules (e.g., a DNA double helix or an inclusion compound), or a defined num ...
. For example, a
ribosome is made up of 90 proteins and
RNA
Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a polymeric molecule essential in various biological roles in coding, decoding, regulation and expression of genes. RNA and deoxyribonucleic acid ( DNA) are nucleic acids. Along with lipids, proteins, and carbohydra ...
.
A number of the currently known moonlighting proteins are evolutionarily derived from highly
conserved enzymes, also called ancient enzymes. These enzymes are frequently speculated to have evolved moonlighting functions. Since highly conserved proteins are present in many different organisms, this increases the chance that they would develop secondary moonlighting functions.
A high fraction of enzymes involved in
glycolysis, an ancient universal metabolic pathway, exhibit moonlighting behavior. Furthermore, it has been suggested that as many as 7 out of 10 proteins in glycolysis and 7 out of 8 enzymes of the tricarboxylic acid cycle exhibit moonlighting behavior.
An example of a moonlighting enzyme is
pyruvate carboxylase. This enzyme catalyzes the carboxylation of
pyruvate
Pyruvic acid (CH3COCOOH) is the simplest of the alpha-keto acids, with a carboxylic acid and a ketone functional group. Pyruvate, the conjugate base, CH3COCOO−, is an intermediate in several metabolic pathways throughout the cell.
Pyruvic aci ...
into
oxaloacetate
Oxaloacetic acid (also known as oxalacetic acid or OAA) is a crystalline organic compound with the chemical formula HO2CC(O)CH2CO2H. Oxaloacetic acid, in the form of its conjugate base oxaloacetate, is a metabolic intermediate in many processes ...
, thereby replenishing the
tricarboxylic acid cycle
The citric acid cycle (CAC)—also known as the Krebs cycle or the TCA cycle (tricarboxylic acid cycle)—is a series of chemical reactions to release stored energy through the oxidation of acetyl-CoA derived from carbohydrates, fats, and protein ...
. Surprisingly, in yeast species such as ''
H. polymorpha'' and ''
P. pastoris'', pyruvate carboylase is also essential for proper targeting and assembly of the peroxisomal protein
alcohol oxidase (AO). AO, the first enzyme of methanol metabolism, is a homo-octameric
flavoenzyme. In wild type cells, this enzyme is present as enzymatically active AO octamers in the
peroxisomal matrix. However, in cells lacking pyruvate carboxylase, AO monomers accumulate in the cytosol, indicating that pyruvate carboxylase has a second fully unrelated function in assembly and import. The function in AO import/assembly is fully independent of the enzyme activity of pyruvate carboxylase, because amino acid substitutions can be introduced that fully inactivate the enzyme activity of pyruvate carboxylase, without affecting its function in AO assembly and import. Conversely, mutations are known that block the function of this enzyme in import and assembly of AO, but have no effect on the enzymatic activity of the protein.
The ''
E. coli'' anti-oxidant
thioredoxin protein is another example of a moonlighting protein. Upon infection with the
bacteriophage T7, ''E. coli'' thioredoxin forms a complex with
T7 DNA polymerase
T7 DNA polymerase is an enzyme used during the DNA replication of the T7 bacteriophage. During this process, the DNA polymerase “reads” existing DNA strands and creates two new strands that match the existing ones. The T7 DNA polymerase requir ...
, which results in enhanced T7 DNA replication, a crucial step for successful T7 infection. Thioredoxin binds to a loop in T7 DNA polymerase to bind more strongly to the DNA. The anti-oxidant function of thioredoxin is fully autonomous and fully independent of T7 DNA replication, in which the protein most likely fulfills the functional role.
ADT2 and ADT5 are another example of moonlighting proteins found in plants. Both of these proteins have roles in phenylalanine biosynthesis like all other ADTs. However ADT2, together with
FtsZ is necessary in chloroplast division and ADT5 is transported by
stromules into the nucleus.
Examples
Mechanisms
In many cases, the functionality of a protein not only depends on its structure, but also its location. For example, a single protein may have one function when found in the cytoplasm of a cell, a different function when interacting with a membrane, and yet a third function if excreted from the cell. This property of moonlighting proteins is known as "differential localization".
For example, in higher temperatures DegP (
HtrA) will function as a
protease
A protease (also called a peptidase, proteinase, or proteolytic enzyme) is an enzyme that catalyzes (increases reaction rate or "speeds up") proteolysis, breaking down proteins into smaller polypeptides or single amino acids, and spurring the form ...
by the directed degradation of proteins and in lower temperatures as a
chaperone by assisting the non-covalent folding or unfolding and the assembly or disassembly of other macromolecular structures.
Furthermore, moonlighting proteins may exhibit different behaviors not only as a result of its location within a cell, but also the type of cell that the protein is expressed in.
Multifunctionality could also be as a consequence of differential post translational modifications (PTMs).
In the case of the glycolytic enzyme glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (
GAPDH) alterations in the PTMs have been shown to be associated with higher order multi functionality.
Other methods through which proteins may moonlight are by changing their
oligomer
In chemistry and biochemistry, an oligomer () is a molecule that consists of a few repeating units which could be derived, actually or conceptually, from smaller molecules, monomers.Quote: ''Oligomer molecule: A molecule of intermediate relat ...
ic state, altering concentrations of the protein's ligand or substrate, use of alternative binding sites, or finally through
phosphorylation
In chemistry, phosphorylation is the attachment of a phosphate group to a molecule or an ion. This process and its inverse, dephosphorylation, are common in biology and could be driven by natural selection. Text was copied from this source, ...
. An example of a protein that displays different function in different oligomeric states is
pyruvate kinase which exhibits metabolic activity as a tetramer and
thyroid hormone
File:Thyroid_system.svg, upright=1.5, The thyroid system of the thyroid hormones T3 and T4
rect 376 268 820 433 Thyroid-stimulating hormone
rect 411 200 849 266 Thyrotropin-releasing hormone
rect 297 168 502 200 Hypothalamus
rect 66 216 38 ...
–binding activity as a monomer. Changes in the concentrations of ligands or substrates may cause a switch in a protein's function. For example, in the presence of high iron concentrations,
aconitase
Aconitase (aconitate hydratase; ) is an enzyme that catalyses the stereo-specific isomerization of citrate to isocitrate via ''cis''-aconitate in the tricarboxylic acid cycle, a non-redox-active process.
Image:Citrate wpmp.png,
Image:Cis ...
functions as an enzyme while at low iron concentration, aconitase functions as an
iron-responsive element-binding protein (IREBP) to increase iron uptake. Proteins may also perform separate functions through the use of alternative binding sites that perform different tasks. An example of this is
ceruloplasmin
Ceruloplasmin (or caeruloplasmin) is a ferroxidase enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ''CP'' gene.
Ceruloplasmin is the major copper-carrying protein in the blood, and in addition plays a role in iron metabolism. It was first described in 1 ...
, a protein that functions as an oxidase in copper metabolism and moonlights as a copper-independent
glutathione peroxidase. Lastly, phosphorylation may sometimes cause a switch in the function of a moonlighting protein. For example, phosphorylation of
phosphoglucose isomerase (PGI) at Ser-185 by
protein kinase CK2
Casein kinase 2 ()(CK2/CSNK2) is a serine/threonine-selective protein kinase that has been implicated in cell cycle control, DNA repair, regulation of the circadian rhythm, and other cellular processes. De-regulation of CK2 has been linked to tumo ...
causes it to stop functioning as an enzyme, while retaining its function as an
autocrine Autocrine signaling is a form of cell signaling in which a cell secretes a hormone or chemical messenger (called the autocrine agent) that binds to autocrine receptors on that same cell, leading to changes in the cell. This can be contrasted with p ...
motility
Motility is the ability of an organism to move independently, using metabolic energy.
Definitions
Motility, the ability of an organism to move independently, using metabolic energy, can be contrasted with sessility, the state of organisms th ...
factor.
Hence when a mutation takes place that inactivates a function of a moonlighting proteins, the other function(s) are not necessarily affected.
The crystal structures of several moonlighting proteins, such as I-AniI
homing endonuclease /
maturase
Maturase K (matK) is a plant plastidial gene. The protein it encodes is an organelle intron maturase, a protein that splices Group II introns. It is essential for ''in vivo'' splicing of Group II introns. Amongst other maturases, this prote ...
and the PutA
proline dehydrogenase
In enzymology, proline dehydrogenase (PRODH) ( EC 1.5.5.2, formerly EC 1.5.99.8) is an enzyme of the oxidoreductase family, active in the oxidation of L-proline to (S)-1-pyrroline-5-carboxylate during proline catabolism. The end product of this re ...
/
transcription factor
In molecular biology, a transcription factor (TF) (or sequence-specific DNA-binding factor) is a protein that controls the rate of transcription of genetic information from DNA to messenger RNA, by binding to a specific DNA sequence. The fu ...
,
have been determined.
An analysis of these crystal structures has demonstrated that moonlighting proteins can either perform both functions at the same time, or through
conformational change
In biochemistry, a conformational change is a change in the shape of a macromolecule, often induced by environmental factors.
A macromolecule is usually flexible and dynamic. Its shape can change in response to changes in its environment or oth ...
s, alternate between two states, each of which is able to perform a separate function. For example, the protein DegP plays a role in proteolysis with higher temperatures and is involved in refolding functions at lower temperatures.
Lastly, these crystal structures have shown that the second function may negatively affect the first function in some moonlighting proteins. As seen in ƞ-crystallin, the second function of a protein can alter the structure, decreasing the flexibility, which in turn can impair enzymatic activity somewhat.
Identification methods
Moonlighting proteins have usually been identified by chance because there is no clear procedure to identify secondary moonlighting functions. Despite such difficulties, the number of moonlighting proteins that have been discovered is rapidly increasing. Furthermore, moonlighting proteins appear to be abundant in all kingdoms of life.
Various methods have been employed to determine a protein's function including secondary moonlighting functions. For example, the tissue, cellular, or subcellular distribution of a protein may provide hints as to the function.
Real-time PCR is used to quantify
mRNA
In molecular biology, messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) is a single-stranded molecule of RNA that corresponds to the genetic sequence of a gene, and is read by a ribosome in the process of synthesizing a protein.
mRNA is created during the ...
and hence infer the presence or absence of a particular protein which is encoded by the mRNA within different cell types. Alternatively
immunohistochemistry
Immunohistochemistry (IHC) is the most common application of immunostaining. It involves the process of selectively identifying antigens (proteins) in cells of a tissue section by exploiting the principle of antibodies binding specifically to a ...
or
mass spectrometry
Mass spectrometry (MS) is an analytical technique that is used to measure the mass-to-charge ratio of ions. The results are presented as a '' mass spectrum'', a plot of intensity as a function of the mass-to-charge ratio. Mass spectrometry is u ...
can be used to directly detect the presence of proteins and determine in which subcellular locations, cell types, and tissues a particular protein is expressed.
Mass spectrometry may be used to detect proteins based on their
mass-to-charge ratio. Because of
alternative splicing and
posttranslational modification, identification of proteins based on the mass of the parent ion alone is very difficult. However
tandem mass spectrometry
Tandem mass spectrometry, also known as MS/MS or MS2, is a technique in instrumental analysis where two or more mass analyzers are coupled together using an additional reaction step to increase their abilities to analyse chemical samples. A comm ...
in which each of the parent peaks is in turn fragmented can be used to unambiguously identify proteins. Hence tandem mass spectrometry is one of the tools used in
proteomics
Proteomics is the large-scale study of proteins. Proteins are vital parts of living organisms, with many functions such as the formation of structural fibers of muscle tissue, enzymatic digestion of food, or synthesis and replication of DNA. In ...
to identify the presence of proteins in different cell types or subcellular locations. While the presence of a moonlighting protein in an unexpected location may complicate routine analyses, at the same time, the detection of a protein in unexpected multiprotein complexes or locations suggests that protein may have a moonlighting function.
Furthermore, mass spectrometry may be used to determine if a protein has high expression levels that do not correlate to the enzyme's measured metabolic activity. These expression levels may signify that the protein is performing a different function than previously known.
The
structure of a protein can also help determine its functions. Protein structure in turn may be elucidated with various techniques including
X-ray crystallography
X-ray crystallography is the experimental science determining the atomic and molecular structure of a crystal, in which the crystalline structure causes a beam of incident X-rays to diffract into many specific directions. By measuring the angle ...
or
NMR.
Dual-polarization interferometry may be used to measure changes in protein structure which may also give hints to the protein's function. Finally, application of
systems biology approaches
such as
interactomics give clues to a proteins function based on what it interacts with.
Higher order multifunctionality
In the case of the glycolytic enzyme
glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), in addition to the large number of alternate functions it has also been observed that it can be involved in the same function by multiple means (multifunctionality within multifunctionality). For example, in its role in maintenance of cellular iron homeostasis GAPDH can function to import or extrude iron from cells. Moreover, in case of its iron import activities it can traffic into cells holo-transferrin as well as the related molecule lactoferrin by multiple pathways.
Crystallins
In the case of
crystallins, the genes must maintain sequences for catalytic function and transparency maintenance function.
The abundant lens crystallins have been generally viewed as static proteins serving a strictly structural role in transparency and
cataract
A cataract is a cloudy area in the lens of the eye that leads to a decrease in vision. Cataracts often develop slowly and can affect one or both eyes. Symptoms may include faded colors, blurry or double vision, halos around light, trouble w ...
.
However, recent studies have shown that the lens crystallins are much more diverse than previously recognized and that many are related or identical to metabolic enzymes and stress proteins found in numerous tissues.
Unlike other proteins performing highly specialized tasks, such as
globin or
rhodopsin
Rhodopsin, also known as visual purple, is a protein encoded by the RHO gene and a G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR). It is the opsin of the rod cells in the retina and a light-sensitive receptor protein that triggers visual phototransduct ...
, the crystallins are very diverse and show numerous species differences. Essentially all vertebrate lenses contain representatives of the α and β/γ crystallins, the "ubiquitous crystallins", which are themselves heterogeneous, and only few species or selected taxonomic groups use entirely different proteins as lens crystallins. This paradox of crystallins being highly conserved in sequence while extremely diverse in number and distribution shows that many crystallins have vital functions outside the lens and cornea, and this multi-functionality of the crystallins is achieved by moonlightining.
Gene regulation
Crystallin recruitment may occur by changes in
gene regulation
Regulation of gene expression, or gene regulation, includes a wide range of mechanisms that are used by cells to increase or decrease the production of specific gene products (protein or RNA). Sophisticated programs of gene expression are wide ...
that leads to high lens expression. One such example is gluthathione S-transferase/S11-crystallin that was specialized for lens expression by change in gene regulation and
gene duplication
Gene duplication (or chromosomal duplication or gene amplification) is a major mechanism through which new genetic material is generated during molecular evolution. It can be defined as any duplication of a region of DNA that contains a gene ...
. The fact that similar transcriptional factors such as Pax-6, and retinoic acid receptors, regulate different crystalline genes, suggests that lens-specific expression have played a crucial role for recruiting multifunctional protein as crystallins. Crystallin recruitment has occurred both with and without gene duplication, and tandem gene duplication has taken place among some of the crystallins with one of the duplicates specializing for lens expression. Ubiquitous α –crystallins and bird δ –crystallins are two examples.
Alpha crystallins
The α-crystallins, which contributed to the discovery of crystallins as borrowed proteins,
have continually supported the theory of gene sharing, and helped delineating the mechanisms used for gene sharing as well. There are two α-crystallin genes (αA and αB), which are about 55% identical in amino acid sequence.
Expression studies in non-lens cells showed that the αB-crystallin, other than being a functional lens protein, is a functional small heat shock protein.
αB-crystallin is induced by heat and other physiological stresses, and it can protect the cells from elevated temperatures
and hypertonic stress.
αB-crystallin is also overexpressed in many pathologies, including
neurodegenerative diseases, fibroblasts of patients with
Werner syndrome showing premature senescence, and growth abnormalities. In addition to being overexpressed under abnormal conditions, αB-crystallin is constitutively expressed in heart, skeletal muscle, kidney, lung and many other tissues.
In contrast to αB-crystallin, except for low-level expression in the thymus, spleen and retina,
αA-crystallin is highly specialized for expression in the lens
and is not stress-inducible. However, like αB-crystallin, it can also function as molecular
chaperone and protect against thermal stress.
Beta/gamma-crystallins
β/γ-crystallins are different from α-crystallins in that they are a large multigene family. Other proteins like bacterial spore coat, a slime mold cyst protein, and epidermis differentiation-specific protein, contain the same Greek key motifs and are placed under β/γ crystallin superfamily. This relationship supports the idea that β/γ- crystallins have been recruited by a gene-sharing mechanism. However, except for few reports, non-refractive function of the β/γ-crystallin is yet to be found.
Corneal crystallins
Similar to
lens
A lens is a transmissive optical device which focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements'' ...
,
cornea
The cornea is the transparent front part of the eye that covers the iris, pupil, and anterior chamber. Along with the anterior chamber and lens, the cornea refracts light, accounting for approximately two-thirds of the eye's total optical ...
is a transparent, avascular tissue derived from the
ectoderm
The ectoderm is one of the three primary germ layers formed in early embryonic development. It is the outermost layer, and is superficial to the mesoderm (the middle layer) and endoderm (the innermost layer). It emerges and originates from the o ...
that is responsible for focusing light onto the
retina
The retina (from la, rete "net") is the innermost, light-sensitive layer of tissue of the eye of most vertebrates and some molluscs. The optics of the eye create a focused two-dimensional image of the visual world on the retina, which then ...
. However, unlike lens, cornea depends on the air-cell interface and its curvature for refraction. Early immunology studies have shown that BCP 54 comprises 20–40% of the total soluble protein in bovine cornea.
Subsequent studies have indicated that BCP 54 is ALDH3, a tumor and xenobiotic-inducible cytosolic enzyme, found in human, rat, and other mammals.
Non refractive roles of crystallins in lens and cornea
While it is evident that gene sharing resulted in many of lens crystallins being multifunctional proteins, it is still uncertain to what extent the crystallins use their non-refractive properties in the lens, or on what basis they were selected. The α-crystallins provide a convincing case for a lens crystallin using its non-refractive ability within the lens to prevent protein aggregation under a variety of environmental stresses
and to protect against enzyme inactivation by post-translational modifications such as
glycation.
The α-crystallins may also play a functional role in the stability and remodeling of the cytoskeleton during fiber
cell differentiation
Cellular differentiation is the process in which a stem cell alters from one type to a differentiated one. Usually, the cell changes to a more specialized type. Differentiation happens multiple times during the development of a multicellula ...
in the lens.
In cornea, ALDH3 is also suggested to be responsible for absorbing UV-B light.
Co-evolution of lens and cornea through gene sharing
Based on the similarities between lens and cornea, such as abundant water-soluble enzymes, and being derived from ectoderm, the lens and cornea are thought to be co-evolved as a "refraction unit." Gene sharing would maximize light transmission and refraction to the retina by this refraction unit. Studies have shown that many water-soluble enzymes/proteins expressed by cornea are identical to taxon-specific lens crystallins, such as ALDH1A1/ η-crystallin, α-enolase/τ-crystallin, and lactic dehydrogenase/ -crystallin. Also, the
anuran corneal epithelium, which can transdifferentiate to regenerate the lens, abundantly expresses ubiquitous lens crystallins, α, β and γ, in addition to the taxon-specific crystallin α-enolase/τ-crystallin. Overall, the similarity in expression of these proteins in the cornea and lens, both in abundance and taxon-specificity, supports the idea of co-evolution of lens and cornea through gene sharing.
Relationship to similar concepts
Gene sharing is related to, but distinct from, several concepts in genetics, evolution, and molecular biology. Gene sharing entails multiple effects from the same gene, but unlike ''
pleiotropy
Pleiotropy (from Greek , 'more', and , 'way') occurs when one gene influences two or more seemingly unrelated phenotypic traits. Such a gene that exhibits multiple phenotypic expression is called a pleiotropic gene. Mutation in a pleiotropic ge ...
'', it necessarily involves separate functions at the molecular level. A gene could exhibit pleiotropy when single enzyme function affects multiple phenotypic
traits; mutations of a shared gene could potentially affect only a single trait. ''
Gene duplication
Gene duplication (or chromosomal duplication or gene amplification) is a major mechanism through which new genetic material is generated during molecular evolution. It can be defined as any duplication of a region of DNA that contains a gene ...
'' followed by differential mutation is another phenomenon thought to be a key element in the evolution of protein function, but in gene sharing, there is no divergence of gene sequence when proteins take on new functions; the single polypeptide takes on new roles while retaining old ones. ''
Alternative splicing'' can result in the production of multiple polypeptides (with multiple functions) from a single gene, but by definition, gene sharing involves multiple functions of a single polypeptide.
Clinical significance
The multiple roles of moonlighting proteins complicates the determination of
phenotype
In genetics, the phenotype () is the set of observable characteristics or traits of an organism. The term covers the organism's morphology or physical form and structure, its developmental processes, its biochemical and physiological prop ...
from
genotype
The genotype of an organism is its complete set of genetic material. Genotype can also be used to refer to the alleles or variants an individual carries in a particular gene or genetic location. The number of alleles an individual can have in a ...
,
hampering the study of inherited
metabolic disorder
A metabolic disorder is a disorder that negatively alters the body's processing and distribution of macronutrients, such as proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. Metabolic disorders can happen when abnormal chemical reactions in the body alter the ...
s.
The complex phenotypes of several disorders are suspected to be caused by the involvement of moonlighting proteins. The protein
GAPDH has at least 11 documented functions, one of which includes apoptosis. Excessive apoptosis is involved in many neurodegenerative diseases, such as
Huntington's
Huntington's disease (HD), also known as Huntington's chorea, is a neurodegenerative disease that is mostly inherited. The earliest symptoms are often subtle problems with mood or mental abilities. A general lack of coordination and an unst ...
,
Alzheimer's, and
Parkinson's as well as in brain
ischemia
Ischemia or ischaemia is a restriction in blood supply to any tissue, muscle group, or organ of the body, causing a shortage of oxygen that is needed for cellular metabolism (to keep tissue alive). Ischemia is generally caused by problems ...
. In one case, GAPDH was found in the degenerated neurons of individuals who had Alzheimer's disease.
Although there is insufficient evidence for definite conclusions, there are well documented examples of moonlighting proteins that play a role in disease. One such disease is
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in w ...
. One moonlighting protein in ''
M. tuberculosis
''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (M. tb) is a species of pathogenic bacteria in the family Mycobacteriaceae and the causative agent of tuberculosis. First discovered in 1882 by Robert Koch, ''M. tuberculosis'' has an unusual, waxy coating on its c ...
'' has a function which counteracts the effects of antibiotics.
Specifically, the bacterium gains
antibiotic resistance
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) occurs when microbes evolve mechanisms that protect them from the effects of antimicrobials. All classes of microbes can evolve resistance. Fungi evolve antifungal resistance. Viruses evolve antiviral resistanc ...
against
ciprofloxacin from
overexpression of
glutamate racemase in vivo
Studies that are ''in vivo'' (Latin for "within the living"; often not italicized in English) are those in which the effects of various biological entities are tested on whole, living organisms or cells, usually animals, including humans, and ...
.
GAPDH localized to the surface of pathogenic mycobacteriea has been shown to capture and traffic the mammalian iron carrier protein transferrin into cells resulting in iron acquisition by the pathogen.
See also
*
Enzyme promiscuity
*
Pseudoenzymes
Pseudoenzymes are variants of enzymes (usually proteins) that are catalytically-deficient (usually inactive), meaning that they perform little or no enzyme catalysis. They are believed to be represented in all major enzyme families in the kingdo ...
External links
*
moonlightingproteins.org database
References
{{reflist, colwidth=35em, refs =
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Evolutionary biology
Molecular genetics
Proteins