Researchers were able to discover a critically important ancestral gene – one that pushed living things on Earth to evolve beyond slime.
Plants, animals and other organisms are made up of cells that contain specialized structures within. This makes such species larger and more complex than bacteria.
The gene contained in all complex organisms encodes for what scientists call protein kinase, which pushes cells to become larger and communicate information from one region to another.
"If the duplications and subsequent mutations of this gene during evolution didn't happen, then life would be completely different today," says study author Steven Pelech. He adds that if this had not occurred, then the most advanced living state on Earth would most likely be nothing higher than bacterial slime.
More About Protein Kinases
Protein kinases are immensely intermutual and act just like the neurons in the brain such that they transfer data across the entire cell. Such ability does not only push the cells to become more complex inside, but also allows the cells to unite and form systems, later leading to the evolution of intelligent life.
Disease occurs when cells are puzzled or are not informed of important information. With this, protein kinases play a huge role in the field of medicine, particularly in pharmaceuticals. This is because over 400 human diseases such as diabetes and cancer are associated with disturbances in cell signalling.
At present, approximately one-third of medicines being developed primarily focus on protein kinases.
Origins And Outcomes
For over 30 years, scientists have well known that majority of protein kinases have common origins because the genes are similar. Pelech says about 500 genes for varied protein kinases have similar blueprints.
In the new study, the authors discovered that the gene likely came from bacteria for regulating protein synthesis, but changed and obtained entirely new functions.
In the end, Pelech says their strategy for this study may help researches who investigate other protein groups. One day, it may even possibly pave the way for a protein version of the evolutionary tree of life.
The study was published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.
