Dynamic sensitivity and nonlinear interactions influence the system-level evolutionary patterns of phototransduction proteins

Brandon M. Invergo, Ludovica Montanucci, Jaume Bertranpetit
2015 Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Biological Sciences  
Determining the influence of complex, molecular-system dynamics on the evolution of proteins is hindered by the significant challenge of quantifying the control exerted by the proteins on system output. We have employed a combination of systems biology and molecular evolution analyses in a first attempt to unravel this relationship. We employed a comprehensive mathematical model of mammalian phototransduction to predict the degree of influence that each protein in the system exerts on the
more » ... evel dynamic behaviour. We found that the genes encoding the most dynamically sensitive proteins exhibit relatively relaxed evolutionary constraint. We also investigated the evolutionary and epistatic influences of the many nonlinear interactions between proteins in the system and found several pairs to have coevolved, including those whose interactions are purely dynamical with respect to system output. This evidence points to a key role played by nonlinear system dynamics in influencing patterns of molecular evolution.
doi:10.1098/rspb.2015.2215 pmid:26631565 pmcid:PMC4685781 fatcat:fhzm2bmwzzfhzlxlo426dxywru