title: A nematode microtubule-associated protein, PTL-1, closely resembles its mammalian counterparts in overall molecular architecture.
abstract: The mammalian microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs), MAP2, MAP4, and τ, are structurally similar and considered to be evolutionarily related. The primary structure of a nematode MAP, PTL-1, also reportedly resembles those of the MAPs, but only in a small portion of the molecule. In this study, we elucidated the overall domain organization of PTL-1, using a molecular dissection technique. Firstly, we isolated nematode microtubules and proved that the recombinant PTL-1 binds to nematode and porcine microtubules with similar affinities. Then, the recombinant PTL-1 was genetically dissected to generate four shorter polypeptides, and their microtubule-binding and assembly promoting activities were assessed, using porcine microtubules and tubulin. PTL-1 was found to consist of two parts, microtubule-binding and projection domains, with the former further divided into three functionally distinct subdomains. The molecular architecture of PTL-1 was proved to be quite analogous to its mammalian counterparts, MAP2, MAP4, and τ, strongly supporting their evolutionary relationships.
authors.affiliation: a Faculty of Science, Department of Biological Sciences , Kanagawa University , Hiratsuka , Japan.
authors.forename: Yurika
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hashi
authors.affiliation: a Faculty of Science, Department of Biological Sciences , Kanagawa University , Hiratsuka , Japan.
authors.forename: Susumu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kotani
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Adachi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001665:Binding Sites; D005075:Biological Evolution; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D015870:Gene Expression; D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008870:Microtubules / Q000378:metabolism*; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D011485:Protein Binding; D000072417:Protein Domains; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D040681:Structural Homology, Protein; D013552:Swine; D014404:Tubulin / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D016875:tau Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins; C100857:PTL-1 protein, C elegans; D010455:Peptides; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D014404:Tubulin; D016875:tau Proteins
keywords: Caenorhabditis elegans; MAPs; microtubule-associated protein; ptl-1