title: The quest for the universals of protein evolution.
abstract: The sequences of proteins change at dramatically different rates. Unraveling the association between this variability and cellular and ecological processes will enable a better understanding of protein function and evolution. Although weak associations of protein evolutionary rates with a plethora of variables have been reported, none withstands comparison with the effect of expression levels. A recent report by Drummond et al. suggests that the dominant role of expression levels in slowing the rate of protein evolution stems from selection for translation robustness.
authors.affiliation: Unité Génomique des Génomes Bactériens, Institut Pasteur, 28 rue Dr Roux, 75015 Paris, France. erocha@abi.snv.jussieu.fr
authors.forename: Eduardo P C
authors.initials: EP
authors.lastname: Rocha
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D015870:Gene Expression / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D014176:Protein Biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D011506:Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D011506:Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger