IMR Press / FBL / Volume 10 / Issue 2 / DOI: 10.2741/1600

Frontiers in Bioscience-Landmark (FBL) is published by IMR Press from Volume 26 Issue 5 (2021). Previous articles were published by another publisher on a subscription basis, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with Frontiers in Bioscience.

Article
Insights to metabolic network evolution by fusion proteins
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1 NCSV, MPE, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798
2 Department of Microbiology, NUS, Singapore 119260
Front. Biosci. (Landmark Ed) 2005, 10(2), 1070–1078; https://doi.org/10.2741/1600
Published: 1 May 2005
Abstract

Human fusion proteins consisting of two or more fusion partners of prokaryotic origin exhibit accreted function. Recent studies have elucidated the importance of fusion proteins in complex regulatory networks. The significance of fusion proteins in cellular networks and their evolutionary mechanism is largely unknown. Here, we discuss the association of six fusion proteins with the citric acid cycle. We define possible gene fusion scenarios and show that they produce metabolites with high connectivity for complex networking. Complex networking of metabolites requires proteins with incremental structural architectures and functional capabilities. Such higher order functionality is frequently provided by fusion proteins. Therefore, evolution of fusion proteins capable of producing metabolites with greater connectivity for enhanced cross-talk between pathways is critical for the selection of multiple trajectories in maintaining a stoichiometric balance during regulation. The association of six fusion proteins with the citric acid cycle and their capability to produce metabolites with high connectivity index is intriguing. This suggests that fusion gene products and their evolution have had a key role in the selection of complex multifaceted networks. In addition, we propose that fusion proteins have gained additive biochemical function for a balanced regulation of metabolic networks.

Keywords
Gene Fusion
Fusion Partners
Functional Accretion
Networks
Connectivity
Metabolites
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