Superoxide dismutase: an evolutionary puzzle

Journal Article · Fri Feb 01 04:00:00 EST 1985 · Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.82.3.824· OSTI ID:5616982

Lee, Y M; Friedman, D J; Ayala, F J

The authors have obtained the complete amino acid sequence of copper/zinc-containing superoxide dismutase (SOD, superoxide:superoxide oxidoreductase, EC 1.15.1.1) from Drosophila melanogaster. The sequence of this enzyme is also known for man, horse, cow, and the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The rate of evolution of this enzyme is far from constant. The number of amino acid substitutions per 100 residues per 100 million years is 30.9 when the three mammals are compared to each other, 10.6 when Drosophila is compared to the three mammals, and 5.8 when the yeast is compared to the four animals. The first value represents one of the fastest evolutionary rates for any protein, the second is similar to the globin rate, and the third is similar to some cytochromes and other slowly evolving proteins. Hence, SOD is not acceptable evolutionary clock. Another peculiarity of this enzyme is that a two-amino-acid deletion must have occurred independently in the lineages going to the cow and to Drosophila. The authors conclude that using the primary structure of a single gene or protein to time evolutionary events or to reconstruct phylogenetic relationships is potentially fraught with error.

• Research Organization: Univ. of California, Davis
• OSTI ID: 5616982
• Journal Information: Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.; (United States), Journal Name: Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.; (United States) Vol. 82:3; ISSN PNASA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

550400* -- Genetics
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
AMINO ACID SEQUENCE
ANIMALS
ARTHROPODS
BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION
CATTLE
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
DIPTERA
DOMESTIC ANIMALS
DROSOPHILA
ENZYMES
FLIES
FRUIT FLIES
FUNGI
GENES
HORSES
INSECTS
INVERTEBRATES
MAMMALS
MAN
MICROORGANISMS
MOLECULAR STRUCTURE
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OXIDOREDUCTASES
PLANTS
PRIMATES
PROTEINS
RUMINANTS
SACCHAROMYCES
SACCHAROMYCES CEREVISIAE
STRUCTURAL CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
SUPEROXIDE DISMUTASE
VERTEBRATES
YEASTS