title: Chicken CP49: significant or paltry? An evolutionary perspective.
abstract: The lens-specific intermediate filament (IF) proteins CP49 and filensin have been identified in a large number of evolutionary divergent species. In the chick lens both CP49 and filensin have been identified. Recently a unique variant of CP49, CP49ins has been identified. CP49ins contains an insertion of 49 amino acids in helix 1b giving it characteristics similar to the lamin-like cytoplasmic IF of invertebrates. The presence of this variant form in the chick lens poses some important questions about the co-assembly of the two CP49 forms and also the evolutionary relationship with invertebrate IF proteins.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, University of Dundee, Scotland, UK.
authors.forename: P S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Wallace
authors.forename: S V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Duff
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Prescott
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Goebel
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Maisel
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Quinlan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D002645:Chickens; D005136:Eye Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D007381:Intermediate Filament Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D005136:Eye Proteins; D007381:Intermediate Filament Proteins; C079098:filensin