title: Evolution of the vertebrate ABC gene family: analysis of gene birth and death.
abstract: Vertebrate evolution has been largely driven by the duplication of genes that allow for the acquisition of new functions. The ATP-binding cassette (ABC) proteins constitute a large and functionally diverse family of membrane transporters. The members of this multigene family are found in all cellular organisms, most often engaged in the translocation of a wide variety of substrates across lipid membranes. Because of the diverse function of these genes, their large size, and the large number of orthologs, ABC genes represent an excellent tool to study gene family evolution. We have identified ABC proteins from the sea squirt (Ciona intestinalis), zebrafish (Danio rerio), and chicken (Gallus gallus) and, using phylogenetic analysis, identified those genes with a one-to-one orthologous relationship to human ABC proteins. All ABC protein subfamilies found in Ciona and zebrafish correspond to the human subfamilies, with the exception of a single ABCH subfamily gene found only in zebrafish. Multiple gene duplication and deletion events were identified in different lineages, indicating an ongoing process of gene evolution. As many ABC genes are involved in human genetic diseases, and important drug transport phenotypes, the understanding of ABC gene evolution is important to the development of animal models and functional studies.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Genomic Diversity, Building 560, Room 21-18, NCI-Frederick, Frederick, MD 21702, USA.
authors.forename: Tarmo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Annilo
authors.forename: Zhang-Qun
authors.initials: ZQ
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Sergey
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shulenin
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Costantino
authors.forename: Lauren
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lou
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Stefanov
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dean
mesh_terms: D018528:ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters / Q000235:genetics*; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002645:Chickens / Q000235:genetics; D002938:Ciona intestinalis / Q000235:genetics; D004285:Dogs / Q000235:genetics; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D017353:Gene Deletion; D020440:Gene Duplication; D016678:Genome; D015894:Genome, Human; D006801:Humans; D008957:Models, Genetic; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D015027:Zebrafish / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D018528:ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters