An epistatic ratchet constrains the direction of glucocorticoid receptor evolution

• Published in: Nature (London) Vol. 461; no. 7263; pp. 515 - 519
• Main Authors: Bridgham, Jamie T., Ortlund, Eric A., Thornton, Joseph W.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 24.09.2009; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Biological evolution; Cellular proteins; Changes; CHO Cells; Cricetinae; Cricetulus; Crystallography; Crystallography, X-Ray; Epistasis, Genetic; Evolution, Molecular; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gene mutations; Genetic aspects; Genetics of eukaryotes. Biological and molecular evolution; Genotype & phenotype; Hormone receptors; Hormones - metabolism; Humanities and Social Sciences; Hydrogen bonds; letter; Life history; Models, Biological; Models, Molecular; Molecular biophysics; multidisciplinary; Mutation; Mutation - genetics; Neurons; Physiological aspects; Protein Engineering; Proteins; Receptors, Glucocorticoid - chemistry; Receptors, Glucocorticoid - genetics; Receptors, Glucocorticoid - metabolism; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Sequence Alignment; Structure in molecular biology; Substrate Specificity; Tridimensional structure; United States; Molecular evolution; Reversibility; Specificity; Vertebrata; Three dimensional structure; Glucocorticoid receptor

Evolution has no reverse Whether evolution can go back to an ancestral structure just by reversing the selection pressure on function has been a long-standing issue, but one hard to address based on just the history of forms. Bridgham et al . have now physically reconstituted ancient versions of a r...