title: Bacterial-like PPP protein phosphatases: novel sequence alterations in pathogenic eukaryotes and peculiar features of bacterial sequence similarity.
abstract: Reversible phosphorylation is a widespread modification affecting the great majority of eukaryotic cellular proteins, and whose effects influence nearly every cellular function. Protein phosphatases are increasingly recognized as exquisitely regulated contributors to these changes. The PPP (phosphoprotein phosphatase) family comprises enzymes, which catalyze dephosphorylation at serine and threonine residues. Nearly a decade ago, "bacterial-like" enzymes were recognized with similarity to proteins from various bacterial sources: SLPs (Shewanella-like phosphatases), RLPHs (Rhizobiales-like phosphatases), and ALPHs (ApaH-like phosphatases). A recent article from our laboratory appearing in Plant Physiology characterizes their extensive organismal distribution, abundance in plant species, predicted subcellular localization, motif organization, and sequence evolution. One salient observation is the distinct evolutionary trajectory followed by SLP genes and proteins in photosynthetic eukaryotes vs. animal and plant pathogens derived from photosynthetic ancestors. We present here a closer look at sequence data that emphasizes the distinctiveness of pathogen SLP proteins and that suggests that they might represent novel drug targets. A second observation in our original report was the high degree of similarity between the bacterial-like PPPs of eukaryotes and closely related proteins of the "eukaryotic-like" phyla Myxococcales and Planctomycetes. We here reflect on the possible implications of these observations and their importance for future research.
authors.affiliation: University of Calgary; Department of Biological Sciences; Calgary, AB Canada.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kerk
authors.affiliation: University of Calgary; Department of Biological Sciences; Calgary, AB Canada.
authors.forename: R Glen
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Uhrig
authors.affiliation: University of Calgary; Department of Biological Sciences; Calgary, AB Canada.
authors.forename: Greg B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Moorhead
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001419:Bacteria / Q000201:enzymology*; D056890:Eukaryota / Q000201:enzymology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010749:Phosphoprotein Phosphatases / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D021381:Protein Transport; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D013347:Subcellular Fractions / Q000201:enzymology
chemical_list: D010749:Phosphoprotein Phosphatases
keywords: Bacterial-like Protein Phosphatases; Myxococcales; Pathogenic Eukaryotes; Planctomycetes; Protein Phosphatases