The WD40 repeat (also known as the WD or beta-transducin repeat) is a short
structural motif
In a chain-like biological molecule, such as a protein or nucleic acid, a structural motif is a common three-dimensional structure that appears in a variety of different, evolutionarily unrelated molecules. A structural motif does not have t ...
of approximately 40
amino acid
Amino acids are organic compounds that contain both amino and carboxylic acid functional groups. Although over 500 amino acids exist in nature, by far the most important are the 22 α-amino acids incorporated into proteins. Only these 22 a ...
s, often terminating in a
tryptophan
Tryptophan (symbol Trp or W)
is an α-amino acid that is used in the biosynthesis of proteins. Tryptophan contains an α-amino group, an α-carboxylic acid group, and a side chain indole, making it a polar molecule with a non-polar aromat ...
-
aspartic acid
Aspartic acid (symbol Asp or D; the ionic form is known as aspartate), is an α-amino acid that is used in the biosynthesis of proteins. The L-isomer of aspartic acid is one of the 22 proteinogenic amino acids, i.e., the building blocks of protei ...
(W-D) dipeptide.
Tandem copies of these repeats typically fold together to form a type of circular
solenoid protein domain called the WD40 domain.
Structure
WD40 domain-containing proteins have 4 to 16 repeating units, all of which are thought to form a circularised
beta-propeller structure (see figure to the right).
The WD40 domain is composed of several repeats, a variable region of around 20 residues at the beginning followed by a more common repeated set of residues. These repeats typically form a four stranded anti-parallel beta sheet or blade. These blades come together to form a propeller with the most common being a 7 bladed beta propeller. The blades interlock so that the last beta strand of one repeat forms with the first three of the next repeat to form the 3D blade structure.
Function
WD40-repeat proteins are a large family found in all
eukaryote
The eukaryotes ( ) constitute the Domain (biology), domain of Eukaryota or Eukarya, organisms whose Cell (biology), cells have a membrane-bound cell nucleus, nucleus. All animals, plants, Fungus, fungi, seaweeds, and many unicellular organisms ...
s and are implicated in a variety of functions ranging from
signal transduction
Signal transduction is the process by which a chemical or physical signal is transmitted through a cell as a biochemical cascade, series of molecular events. Proteins responsible for detecting stimuli are generally termed receptor (biology), rece ...
and
transcription regulation to
cell cycle
The cell cycle, or cell-division cycle, is the sequential series of events that take place in a cell (biology), cell that causes it to divide into two daughter cells. These events include the growth of the cell, duplication of its DNA (DNA re ...
control,
autophagy
Autophagy (or autophagocytosis; from the Greek language, Greek , , meaning "self-devouring" and , , meaning "hollow") is the natural, conserved degradation of the cell that removes unnecessary or dysfunctional components through a lysosome-depe ...
and
apoptosis
Apoptosis (from ) is a form of programmed cell death that occurs in multicellular organisms and in some eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms such as yeast. Biochemistry, Biochemical events lead to characteristic cell changes (Morphology (biol ...
.
The underlying common function of all WD40-repeat proteins is coordinating multi-protein complex assemblies, where the repeating units serve as a rigid
scaffold for protein interactions. The specificity of the proteins is determined by the sequences outside the repeats themselves. Examples of such complexes are
G protein
G proteins, also known as guanine nucleotide-binding proteins, are a Protein family, family of proteins that act as molecular switches inside cells, and are involved in transmitting signals from a variety of stimuli outside a cell (biology), ...
s (beta subunit is a beta-propeller),
TAFII transcription factor, and
E3 ubiquitin ligase
A ubiquitin ligase (also called an E3 ubiquitin ligase) is a protein that recruits an E2 ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme that has been loaded with ubiquitin, recognizes a protein substrate, and assists or directly catalyzes the transfer of ubiquitin ...
.
Examples
According to the initial analysis of the human genome WD40 repeats are the eighth largest family of proteins. In all 277 proteins were identified to contain them.
Human genes encoding proteins containing this domain include:
*
AAAS,
AAMP,
AHI1,
AMBRA1,
APAF1,
ARPC1A,
ARPC1B,
ATG16L1,
*
BOP1,
BRWD1,
BRWD3,
BTRC,
BUB3,
*
C6orf11,
CDC20
The cell division cycle protein 20 homolog is an essential regulator of cell division that is encoded by the ''CDC20'' gene in humans. To the best of current knowledge its most important function is to activate the anaphase promoting complex (AP ...
,
CDC40,
CDRT1,
CHAF1B,
CIAO1,
CIRH1A,
COPA,
COPB2,
CORO1A,
CORO1B,
CORO1C,
CORO2A,
CORO2B,
CORO6,
CORO7,
CSTF1,
*
DDB2,
DENND3,
DMWD,
DMXL1,
DMXL2,
DNAI1,
DNAI2,
DNCI1,
DTL,
DYNC1I1,
DYNC1I2,
EDC4,
*
EED,
EIF3S2,
ELP2,
EML1,
EML2,
EML3,
EML4,
EML4-ALK,
EML5,
ERCC8,
*
FBXW10,
FBXW11,
FBXW2,
FBXW4,
FBXW5,
FBXW7,
FBXW8,
FBXW9,
FZR1,
* GBL,
GEMIN5,
GNB1,
GNB1L,
GNB2,
GNB2L1,
GNB3,
GNB4,
GNB5,
GRWD1,
GTF3C2,
*
HERC1,
HIRA,
HZGJ,
*
IFT121,
IFT122,
IFT140,
IFT172,
IFT80,
IQWD1,
*
KATNB1,
KIAA1336,
KIF21A,
KIF21B,
KM-PA-2,
*
KEAP1,
*
LLGL1,
LLGL2,
LRBA,
LRRK1,
LRRK2,
LRWD1,
LYST,
*
MAPKBP1,
MED16,
MORG1,
*
NBEA,
NBEAL1,
NEDD1,
NLE1,
NSMAF,
NUP37,
NUP43,
NWD1,
*
PAAF1,
PAFAH1B1
Platelet-activating factor acetylhydrolase IB subunit alpha or Lisencephaly protein-1 (LIS-1) is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ''PAFAH1B1'' gene. The protein plays an important role in regulating the motor protein dynein.
Function ...
,
PAK1IP1,
PEX7,
PHIP,
PIK3R4,
PLAA,
PLRG1,
PPP2R2A,
PPP2R2B,
PPP2R2C,
PPP2R2D,
PPWD1,
PREB,
PRPF19,
PRPF4,
PWP1
Periodic tryptophan protein 1 homolog is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''PWP1'' gene
In biology, the word gene has two meanings. The Mendelian gene is a basic unit of heredity. The molecular gene is a sequence of nucleotides i ...
,
PWP2,
*
RAE1,
RPTOR,
RBBP4,
RBBP5,
RBBP7
Histone-binding protein RBBP7 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''RBBP7'' gene.
Function
This protein is a ubiquitously expressed nuclear protein and belongs to a highly conserved subfamily of WD-repeat proteins. It is found amon ...
,
RFWD2,
RFWD3,
RRP9
U3 small nucleolar RNA-interacting protein 2 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''RRP9'' gene.
See also
* Fibrillarin
* Small nucleolar RNA U3
* RCL1
* RRP9
* UTP6
* UTP11L
* UTP14A
* UTP15
U3 small nucleolar RNA-associated p ...
,
*
SCAP,
SEC13,
SEC31A,
SEC31B,
SEH1L,
SHKBP1,
SMU1,
SPAG16, SPG,
STRAP
A strap, sometimes also called strop, is an elongated flap or ribbon, usually of leather or other flexible materials.
Thin straps are used as part of clothing or baggage, or bedding such as a sleeping bag. See for example spaghetti strap, s ...
,
STRN,
STRN3,
STRN4,
STXBP5,
STXBP5L,
*
TAF5,
TAF5L,
TBL1X,
TBL1XR1,
TBL1Y,
TBL2,
TBL3,
TEP1,
THOC3,
THOC6,
TLE1
Transducin-like enhancer protein 1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''TLE1'' gene
In biology, the word gene has two meanings. The Mendelian gene is a basic unit of heredity. The molecular gene is a sequence of nucleotides in DN ...
,
TLE2
Transducin-like enhancer protein 2 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''TLE2'' gene.
Interactions
TLE2 has been shown to interact with TLE1
Transducin-like enhancer protein 1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''TLE1'' ge ...
,
TLE3,
TLE4,
TLE6,
TRAF7,
TSSC1,
TULP4,
TUWD12,
*
UTP15
U3 small nucleolar RNA-associated protein 15 homolog is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''UTP15'' gene
In biology, the word gene has two meanings. The Mendelian gene is a basic unit of heredity. The molecular gene is a sequence o ...
,
UTP18,
*
WAIT1,
WDF3,
WDFY1,
WDFY2,
WDFY3,
WDFY4,
WDHD1,
WDR1,
WDR10,
WDR11,
WDR12,
WDR13,
WDR16,
WDR17,
WDR18,
WDR19,
WDR20,
WDR21A,
WDR21C,
WDR22,
WDR23,
WDR24
WD repeat-containing protein 24 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''WDR24'' gene
In biology, the word gene has two meanings. The Mendelian gene is a basic unit of heredity. The molecular gene is a sequence of nucleotides in DNA ...
,
WDR25,
WDR26,
WDR27,
WDR3,
WDR31,
WDR32,
WDR33,
WDR34,
WDR35,
WDR36,
WDR37,
WDR38,
WDR4,
WDR40A,
WDR40B,
WDR40C,
WDR41,
WDR42A,
WDR42B,
WDR43,
WDR44,
WDR46,
WDR47,
WDR48,
WDR49,
WDR5,
WDR51A,
WDR51B,
WDR52,
WDR53,
WDR54,
WDR55,
WDR57,
WDR59,
WDR5B,
WDR6,
WDR60,
WDR61,
WDR62,
WDR63,
WDR64,
WDR65,
WDR66,
WDR67,
WDR68,
WDR69,
WDR7,
WDR70,
WDR72,
WDR73,
WDR74,
WDR75,
WDR76,
WDR77,
WDR78,
WDR79,
WDR8,
WDR81,
WDR82,
WDR85,
WDR86,
WDR88,
WDR89,
WDR90,
WDR91,
WDR92,
WDSOF1,
WDSUB1,
WDTC1,
WSB1
WD repeat and SOCS box-containing protein 1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''WSB1'' gene.
This gene encodes a member of the WD-protein subfamily. This protein shares a high sequence identity to mouse and chick proteins. It contain ...
,
WSB2,
*
ZFP106
See also
*
Beta-propeller
*
Tomosyn, a protein two WD40 domains
*
Protein tandem repeats
References
External links
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{{InterPro content, IPR001680