Moonlighting peptides with emerging function.
Hunter-killer peptides combine two activities in a single polypeptide that work in an independent fashion like many other multi-functional, multi-domain proteins. We hypothesize that emergent functions may result from the combination of two or more activities in a single protein domain and that could be a mechanism selected in nature to form moonlighting proteins. We designed moonlighting peptides using the two mechanisms proposed to be involved in the evolution of such molecules (i.e., to mutate non-functional residues and the use of natively unfolded peptides). We observed that our moonlighting peptides exhibited two activities that together rendered a new function that induces cell death in yeast. Thus, we propose that moonlighting in proteins promotes emergent properties providing a further level of complexity in living organisms so far unappreciated.
Biochemistry and Structural Biology Department, Instituto de Fisiología Celular, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México DF, México.
Jonathan G
JG
Rodríguez Plaza
Amanda
A
Villalón Rojas
Sur
S
Herrera
Georgina
G
Garza-Ramos
Alfredo
A
Torres Larios
Carlos
C
Amero
Gabriela
G
Zarraga Granados
Manuel
M
Gutiérrez Aguilar
María Teresa
MT
Lara Ortiz
Carlos
C
Polanco Gonzalez
Salvador
S
Uribe Carvajal
Roberto
R
Coria
Antonio
A
Peña Díaz
Dale E
DE
Bredesen
Susana
S
Castro-Obregon
Gabriel
G
del Rio
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D008933:Mitochondrial Swelling / Q000187:drug effects; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010675:Pheromones / Q000494:pharmacology; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000935:Antifungal Agents; D010455:Peptides; D010675:Pheromones