title: Modularity and evolutionary constraint on proteins.
abstract: Modularity, which has been found in the functional and physical protein interaction networks of many organisms, has been postulated to affect both the mode and tempo of evolution. Here I show that in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, protein interaction hubs situated in single modules are highly constrained, whereas those connecting different modules are more plastic. This pattern of change could reflect a tendency for evolutionary innovations to occur by altering the proteins and interactions between rather than within modules, in a manner somewhat similar to the evolution of new proteins through the shuffling of conserved protein domains.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA. hunter@ocf.berkeley.edu
authors.forename: Hunter B
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Fraser
mesh_terms: D003198:Computer Simulation; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D008954:Models, Biological; D011485:Protein Binding; D025941:Protein Interaction Mapping; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins