Stepwise evolution of Elk-1 in early deuterostomes

Metazoans have multiple ETS paralogues with overlapping or indiscriminate biological functions. Elk- 1, one of three mammalian Ternary Complex Factors (TCFs), is a well-conserved, ETS domain-containing transcriptional regulator of mitogen-responsive genes that operates in concert with Serum Response...

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Main Authors: Saxton, Janice, Ferjentsik, Zoltan, Ducker, Charles, Shaw, Peter E.
Format: Article
Published: Wiley 2016
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Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/34743/
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author Saxton, Janice
Ferjentsik, Zoltan
Ducker, Charles
Shaw, Peter E.
author_facet Saxton, Janice
Ferjentsik, Zoltan
Ducker, Charles
Shaw, Peter E.
author_sort Saxton, Janice
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description Metazoans have multiple ETS paralogues with overlapping or indiscriminate biological functions. Elk- 1, one of three mammalian Ternary Complex Factors (TCFs), is a well-conserved, ETS domain-containing transcriptional regulator of mitogen-responsive genes that operates in concert with Serum Response Factor (SRF). Nonetheless, its genetic role remains unresolved because the elk-1 gene could be deleted from the mouse genome seemingly without adverse effect. Here we have explored the evolution of Elk-1 to gain insight into its conserved biological role. We identified antecedent Elk-1 proteins in extant early metazoans and used amino acid sequence alignments to chart the appearance of domains characteristic of human Elk-1. We then performed biochemical studies to determine whether putative domains apparent in the Elk-1 protein of a primitive hemichordate were functionally orthologous to those of human Elk-1. Our findings imply the existence of primordial Elk-1 proteins in primitive deuterostomes that could operate as mitogen-responsive ETS transcription factors but not as TCFs. The role of TCF was acquired later, but presumably prior to the whole genome duplications in the basal vertebrate lineage. Thus its evolutionary origins link Elk-1 to the appearance of mesoderm.
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spelling nottingham-347432020-05-04T17:36:37Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/34743/ Stepwise evolution of Elk-1 in early deuterostomes Saxton, Janice Ferjentsik, Zoltan Ducker, Charles Shaw, Peter E. Metazoans have multiple ETS paralogues with overlapping or indiscriminate biological functions. Elk- 1, one of three mammalian Ternary Complex Factors (TCFs), is a well-conserved, ETS domain-containing transcriptional regulator of mitogen-responsive genes that operates in concert with Serum Response Factor (SRF). Nonetheless, its genetic role remains unresolved because the elk-1 gene could be deleted from the mouse genome seemingly without adverse effect. Here we have explored the evolution of Elk-1 to gain insight into its conserved biological role. We identified antecedent Elk-1 proteins in extant early metazoans and used amino acid sequence alignments to chart the appearance of domains characteristic of human Elk-1. We then performed biochemical studies to determine whether putative domains apparent in the Elk-1 protein of a primitive hemichordate were functionally orthologous to those of human Elk-1. Our findings imply the existence of primordial Elk-1 proteins in primitive deuterostomes that could operate as mitogen-responsive ETS transcription factors but not as TCFs. The role of TCF was acquired later, but presumably prior to the whole genome duplications in the basal vertebrate lineage. Thus its evolutionary origins link Elk-1 to the appearance of mesoderm. Wiley 2016-02-18 Article PeerReviewed Saxton, Janice, Ferjentsik, Zoltan, Ducker, Charles and Shaw, Peter E. (2016) Stepwise evolution of Elk-1 in early deuterostomes. FEBS Journal, 283 (6). pp. 1025-1038. ISSN 1742-4658 ETS-Domain Transcription Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase (MAPK) Mediator Mesoderm Germ Line http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/febs.13607/abstract doi:10.1111/febs.13607 doi:10.1111/febs.13607
spellingShingle ETS-Domain
Transcription
Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase (MAPK)
Mediator
Mesoderm
Germ Line
Saxton, Janice
Ferjentsik, Zoltan
Ducker, Charles
Shaw, Peter E.
Stepwise evolution of Elk-1 in early deuterostomes
title Stepwise evolution of Elk-1 in early deuterostomes
title_full Stepwise evolution of Elk-1 in early deuterostomes
title_fullStr Stepwise evolution of Elk-1 in early deuterostomes
title_full_unstemmed Stepwise evolution of Elk-1 in early deuterostomes
title_short Stepwise evolution of Elk-1 in early deuterostomes
title_sort stepwise evolution of elk-1 in early deuterostomes
topic ETS-Domain
Transcription
Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase (MAPK)
Mediator
Mesoderm
Germ Line
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/34743/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/34743/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/34743/