Exon-phase symmetry and intrinsic structural disorder promote modular evolution in the human genome

A key signature of module exchange in the genome is phase symmetry of exons, suggestive of exon shuffling events that occurred without disrupting translation reading frame. At the protein level, intrinsic structural disorder may be another key element because disordered regions often serve as functional elements that can be effectively integrated into a protein structure. Therefore, we asked whether exon-phase symmetry in the human genome and structural disorder in the human proteome are connected, signalling such evolutionary mechanisms in the assembly of multi-exon genes. We found an elevated level of structural disorder of regions encoded by symmetric exons and a preferred symmetry of exons encoding for mostly disordered regions (>70% predicted disorder). Alternatively spliced symmetric exons tend to correspond to the most disordered regions. The genes of mostly disordered proteins (>70% predicted disorder) tend to be assembled from symmetric exons, which often arise by internal tandem duplications. Preponderance of certain types of short motifs (e.g. SH3-binding motif) and domains (e.g. high-mobility group domains) suggests that certain disordered modules have been particularly effective in exon-shuffling events. Our observations suggest that structural disorder has facilitated modular assembly of complex genes in evolution of the human genome. © 2013 The Author(s)

The Melting Diagram of Protein Solutions and Its Thermodynamic Interpretation

Here we present a novel method for the characterization of the hydration of protein solutions based on measuring and evaluating two-component wide-line 1H NMR signals. We also provide a description of key elements of the procedure conceived for the thermodynamic interpretation of such results. These interdependent experimental and theoretical treatments provide direct experimental insight into the potential energy surface of proteins. The utility of our approach is demonstrated through the examples of two proteins of distinct structural classes: the globular, structured ubiquitin; and the intrinsically disordered ERD10 (early response to dehydration 10). We provide a detailed analysis and interpretation of data recorded earlier by cooling and slowly warming the protein solutions through thermal equilibrium states. We introduce and use order parameters that can be thus derived to characterize the distribution of potential energy barriers inhibiting the movement of water molecules bound to the surface of the protein. Our results enable a quantitative description of the ratio of ordered and disordered parts of proteins, and of the energy relations of protein–water bonds in aqueous solutions of the proteins

Multisteric regulation by structural disorder in modular signaling proteins: An extension of the concept of allostery

Allostery is a classical regulatory mechanism of proteins in which a signal at 'another site' modifies the activity/function of a protein. In fact, with the recognition of the generality of the structural disorder of proteins and the landscape theory of protein structure, a 'new view' of allostery started to emerge, in which emphasis is placed on ligand-induced shifts in the conformational ensemble of the protein. The ensuing changes in ligand binding/catalytic activity might stem from coupled folding transitions of distinct binding sites or remodeling of the conformational landscape to entropically favor a particular downstream binding/catalytic event. The ensuing sigmoidal binding isotherm cannot be described by a simple saturation; rather, it shows signs of cooperation between ligands. If binding of one ligand weakens that of the others, one can also speak about negative cooperativity. To elucidate the underlying mechanistic changes, two models have been suggested, which, even today, form the basis of our textbook wisdom of this phenomenon

What Can Be Said: The Jenő Janovics Archive in Cluj

This paper focuses on the documents kept in archive of Jenő Janovics, an artistic director in Hungary and Romania for 30 years. The rich archival materials, kept in Cluj, of this important public figure reflect the turbulent times of history of Hungarian Theater in Cluj in the first half of the 20th century. The study presents a possible approach to this material, also introducing Janovics’s diary’s hermeneutical problems