Signaling properties of a non-metazoan Src kinase and the evolutionary history of Src negative regulation.
Choanoflagellates, unicellular organisms that are closely related to metazoans, possess cell adhesion and signaling proteins previously thought to be unique to animals, suggesting that these components may have played roles in the evolution of metazoan multicellularity. We have cloned, expressed, and purified the nonreceptor tyrosine kinase MbSrc1 from the choanoflagellate Monosiga brevicollis. The kinase has the same domain arrangement as mammalian Src kinases, and we find that the individual Src homology 3 (SH3), SH2, and catalytic domains have similar functions to their mammalian counterparts. In contrast to mammalian c-Src, the SH2 and catalytic domains of MbSrc1 do not appear to be functionally coupled. We cloned and expressed the M. brevicollis homolog of c-Src C-terminal kinase (MbCsk) and showed that it phosphorylates the C terminus of MbSrc1, yet this phosphorylation does not inhibit MbSrc to the same degree seen in the mammalian Src/Csk pair. Thus, Src autoinhibition likely evolved more recently within the metazoan lineage, and it may have played a role in the establishment of intercellular signaling in metazoans.
Li
Wanqing
W
Department of Physiology and Biophysics, School of Medicine, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA.
Young
Susan L
SL
King
Nicole
N
Miller
W Todd
WT
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000081247:CSK Tyrosine-Protein Kinase; D056890:Eukaryota / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D008322:Mammals / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology*; D018909:src Homology Domains / Q000502:physiology; D019061:src-Family Kinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
D015800:Protozoan Proteins; D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; D000081247:CSK Tyrosine-Protein Kinase; D019061:src-Family Kinases