Biomedical subjects

W C Barker

Publications and source records attributed to W C Barker.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1979

Evolution of homologous physiological mechanisms based on protein sequence data.

1. Genetic duplications can give rise to homologous physiological mechanisms that include structurally related protein components. There are many such examples of related proteins within the human body. 2. Evolutionary histories showing the origins and subsequent divergences of these distantly related proteins can be derived from the protein sequences and correlated with the functional characteristics of these proteins. 3. The hormones related to glucagon provide an example of homology of physiological mechanisms and emergence of new functions subsequent to gene duplications. 4. The proteins related to troponin C illustrate the participation of distantly related proteins in the same mechanism (muscle contraction), the relationship of proteins characteristic of a specialized tissue to proteins found in all eukaryote cells, and the correlation of genetic duplications with the evolutionary appearance of different types of muscle.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1978

A comprehensive examination of protein sequences for evidence of internal gene duplication.

We have implemented a routine procedure for screening protein sequences for evidence of intragenic duplications. We tested 163 protein sequences representing 116 superfamilies of unrelated proteins. Twenty superfamilies contain proteins with internal gene duplications. The intragenic duplications detected can be divided into two major types. (1) One or more duplications of all or part of a gene produce a protein with two or several detectable regions of sequence homology. Sequences from 18 superfamilies contained this type of duplication. (2) Repeated reduplication of a small DNA segment can produce a protein that is repetitive over most of its length. Three superfamilies contain such repetitive sequences. We also investigated the limits of detection of ancient duplications using sequences derived by random mutation of a model sequence consisting of ten 10-residue repeats. The original repetitive nature of the sequence was usually detected after 250 point mutations even though the ancestral segment could not be accurately reconstructed.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1977

Evolution of lipoproteins deduced from protein sequence data.

1. Human serum apolipoprotein A-I contains a prominent 11-residue sequence periodicity. 2. Similar 11-residue segments occur in the other sequenced human apolipoproteins, C-I, C-III, and A-II. 3. Computer analyses of the sequences support the hypothesis that they evolved from a common ancestor. 4. An evolutionary history of these proteins is proposed. 5. The estimated rate of change of these proteins indicates that all four types will be found throughout the vertebrates and that related proteins will also be found in invertebrates.

Amino Acid Sequence↗