The phylogenetic analysis of tetraspanins projects the evolution of cell–cell interactions from unicellular to multicellular organisms

• Published in: Genomics (San Diego, Calif.) Vol. 86; no. 6; pp. 674 - 684
• Main Authors: Huang, Shengfeng, Yuan, Shaochun, Dong, Meiling, Su, Jing, Yu, Cuiling, Shen, Yang, Xie, Xiaojin, Yu, Yanhong, Yu, Xuesong, Chen, Shangwu, Zhang, Shicui, Pontarotti, Pierre, Xu, Anlong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: San Diego, CA Elsevier Inc 01.12.2005; Elsevier
• Subjects: Amoeba - genetics; Animals; Base Sequence; Biological and medical sciences; Branchiostoma lanceolatum; Chordata, Nonvertebrate - genetics; Cloning, Molecular; Coevolution; Computational Biology; Evolution, Molecular; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Fungi - genetics; Gene Library; Genes. Genome; Genetic Variation; Genetics of eukaryotes. Biological and molecular evolution; Humans; Invertebrates - genetics; Membrane Proteins - classification; Membrane Proteins - genetics; Metazoa; Models, Molecular; Molecular and cellular biology; Molecular genetics; Molecular Sequence Data; Multicellularity; Multigene Family - genetics; Phylogeny; Plants - genetics; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Species Specificity; Tetraspanin; Tetraspanin-like; Tetraspanins; Unicellularity; Vertebrates - genetics; Tetraspanin-like; Unicellularity; Phylogeny; Coevolution; Multicellularity; Tetraspanin; Molecular evolution; Molecular phylognetic; Genomics; Cell cell interaction
• ISSN: 0888-7543; 1089-8646
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ygeno.2005.08.004

In animals, the tetraspanins are a large superfamily of membrane proteins that play important roles in organizing various cell–cell and matrix–cell interactions and signal pathways based on such interactions. However, their origin and evolution largely remain elusive and most of the family's members are functionally unknown or less known due to difficulties of study, such as functional redundancy. In this study, we rebuilt the family's phylogeny with sequences retrieved from online databases and our cDNA library of amphioxus. We reveal that, in addition to in metazoans, various tetraspanins are extensively expressed in protozoan amoebae, fungi, and plants. We also discuss the structural evolution of tetraspanin's major extracellular domain and the relation between tetraspanin's duplication and functional redundancy. Finally, we elucidate the coevolution of tetraspanins and eukaryotes and suggest that tetraspanins play important roles in the unicell-to-multicell transition. In short, the study of tetraspanin in a phylogenetic context helps us understand the evolution of intercellular interactions.