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Protein Structural Phylogenetics

Authors: Caroline Puente-Lelievre; Ashar Malik; Jordan Douglas;

Protein Structural Phylogenetics

Abstract

Abstract Protein structural phylogenetics is an interdisciplinary branch of molecular evolution that (i) uses 3D structural data to trace evolutionary histories, and (ii) uses these evolutionary relationships to explore the diversity of protein structures and their ancestral functions. The appeal in extracting phylogenetic information from protein structure lies in the greater conservation of protein structure compared with sequence, reflecting its resilience to mutation over long evolutionary timescales. Leveraging this information is particularly useful for examining relationships within the “twilight zone”—a region of low protein sequence similarity where it becomes challenging to resolve noise from signal. Historically, the field has been constrained by the limited availability of high-resolution structural data. However, recent breakthroughs in artificial intelligence have made high-quality protein structural data widely accessible. Although the methods for constructing phylogenetic trees from protein structures have progressed significantly from distance-based approaches used since the 1970s, this area of research still lags behind the advanced probabilistic models employed in sequence-based phylogenetics; particularly Bayesian and maximum likelihood approaches. This article reviews the current state of protein structural phylogenetics, outlines methods for extracting evolutionary insights from structural data, and highlights key applications and future directions. Due to the surge of newly available structural information, it is anticipated that sequence and structural data will become routinely integrated in phylogenetic analysis; poising us to venture further into the twilight zone and form cross-disciplinary and translational collaborations.

Keywords

molecular evolution, Protein Conformation, evolutionary biology, review, Proteins, Special Section: Structural Phylogenetics, phylogenetics, Evolution, Molecular, 1105 Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, 1311 Genetics, protein structure, structural phylogenetics, Phylogeny

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    selected citations
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    This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
    16
    popularity
    This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
    Top 10%
    influence
    This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
    Average
    impulse
    This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
    Top 10%
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selected citations
These citations are derived from selected sources.
This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Citations provided by BIP!
popularity
This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Popularity provided by BIP!
influence
This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Influence provided by BIP!
impulse
This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Impulse provided by BIP!
16
Top 10%
Average
Top 10%
Green
gold