Biomaterial Database

The evolution of the histidine biosynthetic genes in prokaryotes: a common ancestor for the hisA and hisF genes. 1994

R Fani, and P Liò, and I Chiarelli, and M Bazzicalupo

Dipartimento di Biologia Animale e Genetica, Università degli Studi, Firenze, Italy.

The hisA and hisF genes belong to the histidine operon that has been extensively studied in the enterobacteria Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium where the hisA gene codes for the phosphoribosyl-5-amino-1-phosphoribosyl-4-imidazolecarboxamide isomerase (EC 5.3.1.16) catalyzing the fourth step of the histidine biosynthetic pathway, and the hisF gene codes for a cyclase catalyzing the sixth reaction. Comparative analysis of nucleotide and predicted amino acid sequence of hisA and hisF genes in different microorganisms showed extensive sequence homology (43% considering similar amino acids), suggesting that the two genes arose from an ancestral gene by duplication and subsequent evolutionary divergence. A more detailed analysis, including mutual information, revealed an internal duplication both in hisA and hisF genes in each of the considered microorganisms. We propose that the hisA and hisF have originated from the duplication of a smaller ancestral gene corresponding to half the size of the actual genes followed by rapid evolutionary divergence. The involvement of gene elongation, gene duplication, and gene fusion in the evolution of the histidine biosynthetic genes is also discussed.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007535	Isomerases	A class of enzymes that catalyze geometric or structural changes within a molecule to form a single product. The reactions do not involve a net change in the concentrations of compounds other than the substrate and the product.(from Dorland, 28th ed) EC 5.	Isomerase
D008969	Molecular Sequence Data	Descriptions of specific amino acid, carbohydrate, or nucleotide sequences which have appeared in the published literature and/or are deposited in and maintained by databanks such as GENBANK, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), National Biomedical Research Foundation (NBRF), or other sequence repositories.	Sequence Data, Molecular,Molecular Sequencing Data,Data, Molecular Sequence,Data, Molecular Sequencing,Sequencing Data, Molecular
D009876	Operon	In bacteria, a group of metabolically related genes, with a common promoter, whose transcription into a single polycistronic MESSENGER RNA is under the control of an OPERATOR REGION.	Operons
D004247	DNA	A deoxyribonucleotide polymer that is the primary genetic material of all cells. Eukaryotic and prokaryotic organisms normally contain DNA in a double-stranded state, yet several important biological processes transiently involve single-stranded regions. DNA, which consists of a polysugar-phosphate backbone possessing projections of purines (adenine and guanine) and pyrimidines (thymine and cytosine), forms a double helix that is held together by hydrogen bonds between these purines and pyrimidines (adenine to thymine and guanine to cytosine).	DNA, Double-Stranded,Deoxyribonucleic Acid,ds-DNA,DNA, Double Stranded,Double-Stranded DNA,ds DNA
D005075	Biological Evolution	The process of cumulative change over successive generations through which organisms acquire their distinguishing morphological and physiological characteristics.	Evolution, Biological
D005798	Genes, Bacterial	The functional hereditary units of BACTERIA.	Bacterial Gene,Bacterial Genes,Gene, Bacterial
D005810	Multigene Family	A set of genes descended by duplication and variation from some ancestral gene. Such genes may be clustered together on the same chromosome or dispersed on different chromosomes. Examples of multigene families include those that encode the hemoglobins, immunoglobulins, histocompatibility antigens, actins, tubulins, keratins, collagens, heat shock proteins, salivary glue proteins, chorion proteins, cuticle proteins, yolk proteins, and phaseolins, as well as histones, ribosomal RNA, and transfer RNA genes. The latter three are examples of reiterated genes, where hundreds of identical genes are present in a tandem array. (King & Stanfield, A Dictionary of Genetics, 4th ed)	Gene Clusters,Genes, Reiterated,Cluster, Gene,Clusters, Gene,Families, Multigene,Family, Multigene,Gene Cluster,Gene, Reiterated,Multigene Families,Reiterated Gene,Reiterated Genes
D006639	Histidine	An essential amino acid that is required for the production of HISTAMINE.	Histidine, L-isomer,L-Histidine,Histidine, L isomer,L-isomer Histidine
D000595	Amino Acid Sequence	The order of amino acids as they occur in a polypeptide chain. This is referred to as the primary structure of proteins. It is of fundamental importance in determining PROTEIN CONFORMATION.	Protein Structure, Primary,Amino Acid Sequences,Sequence, Amino Acid,Sequences, Amino Acid,Primary Protein Structure,Primary Protein Structures,Protein Structures, Primary,Structure, Primary Protein,Structures, Primary Protein
D000619	Aminohydrolases