Hsp90 - Hsp90 Phylogeny, Gene Duplications and Evolutionary Implications

Hsp90 Phylogeny, Gene Duplications and Evolutionary Implications

Sequence alignments of Hsp90 have shown the protein to have about 40% sequence identity across all homologs, indicating that it is a highly conserved protein. There are two homologs, found in the cytosol and endoplasmic reticulum respectively. The presence of these two homologs was likely caused by a gene duplication event very early in the evolution of eukaryotes that may have accompanied the evolution of the endoplasmic reticulum or the nucleus. This inference is supported by the fact that the duplication is found in Giardia lamblia, one of the earliest branching eukaryotic species. At least 2 other subsequent gene duplications occurred, which explains the different forms of Hsp90 found in fungi and vertebrates. One divergence produced cognate and heat-induced forms of Hsp90 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, while the second gene duplication event in the cytosolic branch produced the alpha and beta subfamilies of sequences that are found in all vertebrates. In a phylogenetic tree based on Hsp90 sequences, it was found that plants and animals are more closely related to each other than to fungi. Similar to the Hsp90 protein, the gene for Hsp70 protein also underwent duplication at a very early stage in the formation of eukaryotic cells and the homologs in the cytosol and endoplasmic reticulum resulted from this gene duplication event. These gene duplication events are important in terms of the origin of the eukaryotic cell and of the endoplasmic reticulum.