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Protein evolution – a reconstructive approach (363.2)
Author(s) -
Tawfik Dan
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.28.1_supplement.363.2
Subject(s) - promiscuity , computational biology , biology , function (biology) , evolutionary biology , protein function , genetics , ecology , gene
Our studies aim at understanding how proteins, and enzymes in particular, evolve ‐ how does an exiting sequence with a given structure and function, change, gradually, via one mutation at a time, to give new sequences with different properties? I will describe how biological messiness ‐ noise, infidelity and inaccuracy at all levels, from single molecules to whole organisms, underlines the origins of evolutionary innovations. I will discuss several examples ranging from the functional and structural promiscuity of proteins to translational and transcription errors. I will thus show how innovation, the emergence of new protein functions and traits, begins with latent, coincidental errors that become beneficial and selectable at some point.