title: Evolution of peptidase diversity.
abstract: A wide variety of peptidases associate with vital biological pathways, but the origin and evolution of their tremendous diversity are poorly defined. Application of the MEROPS classification to a comprehensive set of genomes yields a simple pattern of peptidase distribution and provides insight into the organization of proteolysis in all forms of life. Unexpectedly, a near ubiquitous core set of peptidases is shown to contain more types than those unique to higher multicellular organisms. From this core group, an array of eukaryote-specific peptidases evolved to yield well known intracellular and extracellular processes. The paucity of peptidase families unique to higher metazoa suggests gains in proteolytic network complexity required a limited number of biochemical inventions. These findings provide a framework for deeper investigation into the evolutionary forces that shaped each peptidase family and a roadmap to develop a timeline for their expansion as an interconnected system.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63110, USA.
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Page
authors.forename: Enrico
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Di Cera