vertebrate paralogous mef2 genes origin, conservation, and evolution脊椎动物paralogous mef2基因起源、保护和发展.pdfVIP

Vertebrate Paralogous MEF2 Genes: Origin, Conservation, and Evolution 1,2 3 4 1 1,2 Wenwu Wu , Stefan de Folter , Xia Shen , Wenqian Zhang , Shiheng Tao * 1 College of Life Science, Northwest AF University, Yangling, Shaanxi, China, 2 Bioinformatics Center, Northwest AF University, Yangling, Shaanxi, China, 3 Laboratorio ´ ´ ´ Nacional de Genomica para la Biodiversidad (Langebio), Centro de Investigacion y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politecnico Nacional (CINVESTAV-IPN), Campus Guanajuato, Guanajuato, Mexico, 4 College of Drug Research, Shaanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China Abstract Background: The myocyte enhancer factor 2 (MEF2) gene family is broadly expressed during the development and maintenance of muscle cells. Although a great deal has been elucidated concerning MEF2 transcription factors’ regulation of specific gene expression in diverse programs and adaptive responses, little is known about the origin and evolution of the four members of the MEF2 gene family in vertebrates. Methodology/Principal Findings: By phylogenetic analyses, we investigated the origin, conservation, and evolution of the four MEF2 genes. First, among the four MEF2 paralogous branches, MEF2B is clearly distant from the other three branches in vertebrates, mainly because it lacks the HJURP_C (Holliday junction recognition protein C-terminal) region. Second, three duplication events might have occurred to produce the four MEF2 paralogous genes and the latest duplication event occurred near the origin of vertebrates producing MEF2A and MEF2C. Thi