title: The evolutionary journey of Argonaute proteins.
abstract: Argonaute proteins are conserved throughout all domains of life. Recently characterized prokaryotic Argonaute proteins (pAgos) participate in host defense by DNA interference, whereas eukaryotic Argonaute proteins (eAgos) control a wide range of processes by RNA interference. Here we review molecular mechanisms of guide and target binding by Argonaute proteins, and describe how the conformational changes induced by target binding lead to target cleavage. On the basis of structural comparisons and phylogenetic analyses of pAgos and eAgos, we reconstruct the evolutionary journey of the Argonaute proteins through the three domains of life and discuss how different structural features of pAgos and eAgos relate to their distinct physiological roles.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Microbiology, Department of Agrotechnology and Food Sciences, Wageningen University, Wageningen, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Daan C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Swarts
authors.affiliation: National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Kira
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Makarova
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yanli
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA.
authors.forename: Kotaro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nakanishi
authors.affiliation: Institute for Molecular Biology, Mainz, Germany.
authors.forename: René F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Ketting
authors.affiliation: National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Eugene V
authors.initials: EV
authors.lastname: Koonin
authors.affiliation: Structural Biology Program, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Dinshaw J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Patel
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Microbiology, Department of Agrotechnology and Food Sciences, Wageningen University, Wageningen, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: van der Oost
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D060565:Argonaute Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D006801:Humans; D008958:Models, Molecular; D010802:Phylogeny; D011485:Protein Binding; D011487:Protein Conformation
chemical_list: D060565:Argonaute Proteins