RAG Recombinase as a Selective Pressure for Genome Evolution.

The RAG recombinase is a domesticated transposable element co-opted in jawed vertebrates to drive the process of the so-called V(D)J recombination, which is the hallmark of the adaptive immune system to produce antigen receptors. RAG targets, namely, the Recombination Signal Sequences (RSS), are rather long and degenerated sequences, which highlights the ability of the recombinase to interact with a wide range of target sequences, including outside of antigen receptor loci. The recognition of such cryptic targets by the recombinase threatens genome integrity by promoting aberrant DNA recombination, as observed in lymphoid malignancies. Genomes evolution resulting from RAG acquisition is an ongoing discussion, in particular regarding the counter-selection of sequences resembling the RSS and the modifications of epigenetic regulation at these potential cryptic sites. Here, we describe a new bioinformatics tool to map potential RAG targets in all jawed vertebrates. We show that our REcombination Classifier (REC) outperforms the currently available tool and is suitable for full genomes scans from species other than human and mouse. Using the REC, we document a reduction in density of potential RAG targets at the transcription start sites of genes co-expressed with the rag genes and marked with high levels of the trimethylation of the lysine 4 of the histone 3 (H3K4me3), which correlates with the retention of functional RAG activity after the horizontal transfer.

Evolution of the Rab family of small GTP-binding proteins.

Rab proteins are small GTP-binding proteins that form the largest family within the Ras superfamily. Rab proteins regulate vesicular trafficking pathways, behaving as membrane-associated molecular switches. Here, we have identified the complete Rab families in the Caenorhabditis elegans (29 members), Drosophila melanogaster (29), Homo sapiens (60) and Arabidopsis thaliana (57), and we defined criteria for annotation of this protein family in each organism. We studied sequence conservation patterns and observed that the RabF motifs and the RabSF regions previously described in mammalian Rabs are conserved across species. This is consistent with conserved recognition mechanisms by general regulators and specific effectors. We used phylogenetic analysis and other approaches to reconstruct the multiplication of the Rab family and observed that this family shows a strict phylogeny of function as opposed to a phylogeny of species. Furthermore, we observed that Rabs co-segregating in phylogenetic trees show a pattern of similar cellular localisation and/or function. Therefore, animal and fungi Rab proteins can be grouped in "Rab functional groups" according to their segregating patterns in phylogenetic trees. These functional groups reflect similarity of sequence, localisation and/or function, and may also represent shared ancestry. Rab functional groups can help the understanding of the functional evolution of the Rab family in particular and vesicular transport in general, and may be used to predict general functions for novel Rab sequences.

Prenylation of Rab GTPases: molecular mechanisms and involvement in genetic disease.

Small GTPases of the Rab family regulate membrane transport pathways. More than 50 mammalian Rab proteins are known, many with transport step-specific localisation. Rabs must associate with cellular membranes for activity and membrane attachment is mediated by prenyl (geranylgeranyl) post-translational modification. Mutations in genes encoding proteins essential for the geranylgeranylation reaction, Rab escort protein and Rab geranylgeranyl transferase, underlie genetic diseases. Choroideremia patients have loss of function mutations in REP1 and the murine Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome model gunmetal possesses a splice-site mutation in the alpha-subunit of RGGT. Here we discuss recent insights into Rab prenylation and advances towards our understanding of both diseases.

The mammalian Rab family of small GTPases: definition of family and subfamily sequence motifs suggests a mechanism for functional specificity in the Ras superfamily.

The Rab/Ypt/Sec4 family forms the largest branch of the Ras superfamily of GTPases, acting as essential regulators of vesicular transport pathways. We used the large amount of information in the databases to analyse the mammalian Rab family. We defined Rab-conserved sequences that we designate Rab family (RabF) motifs using the conserved PM and G motifs as "landmarks". The Rab-specific regions were used to identify new Rab proteins in the databases and suggest rules for nomenclature. Surprisingly, we find that RabF regions cluster in and around switch I and switch II regions, i.e. the regions that change conformation upon GDP or GTP binding. This finding suggests that specificity of Rab-effector interaction cannot be conferred solely through the switch regions as is usually inferred. Instead, we propose a model whereby an effector binds to RabF (switch) regions to discriminate between nucleotide-bound states and simultaneously to other regions that confer specificity to the interaction, possibly Rab subfamily (RabSF) specific regions that we also define here. We discuss structural and functional data that support this model and its general applicability to the Ras superfamily of proteins.