Evolution
Examination of prokaryotic and eukaryotic forms of inorganic pyrophosphatase has shown that they differ significantly in both amino acid sequence, number of residues, and oligomeric organization. Despite differing structural components, recent work has suggested a large degree of evolutionary conservation of active site structure as well as reaction mechanism, based on kinetic data. Analysis of approximately one million genetic sequences taken from organisms in the Sargasso Sea identified a 57 residue sequence within the regions coding for inorganic pyrophosphatase that appears to be highly conserved; this region primarily consisted of the four early amino acid residues Gly, Ala, Val and Asp, suggesting an evolutionarily ancient origin for the protein.
Read more about this topic: Inorganic Pyrophosphatase
Famous quotes containing the word evolution:
“The evolution of sense is, in a sense, the evolution of nonsense.”
—Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977)
“The more specific idea of evolution now reached is—a change from an indefinite, incoherent homogeneity to a definite, coherent heterogeneity, accompanying the dissipation of motion and integration of matter.”
—Herbert Spencer (1820–1903)
“Analyze theory-building how we will, we all must start in the middle. Our conceptual firsts are middle-sized, middle-distanced objects, and our introduction to them and to everything comes midway in the cultural evolution of the race.”
—Willard Van Orman Quine (b. 1908)