Short-term Visitor
The evolution of the p53-network has not been resolved yet. In vertebrates p53 acts as a crucial tumor suppressor and transcription factor, which controls genome integrity and regulates genes, leading to apoptosis, cell cycle arrest and senescence. P53-homologs have been found in many invertebrates as well. However, most of them seem to exhibit a higher similarity to the vertebrate p63 gene. The genome of Trichoplax adhaerens, the so far only described species within the phylum Placozoa (new molecular data support a species-rich phylum, however), encodes for a p53-homolog with high sequence similarity to human p53 gene. Its basal position in the metazoan Tree of Life, the animals’ most simple bauplan and its rich gene endowment make Trichoplax a promising model organism in the field of cancer research. As yet, little is known about the Trichoplax p53-homolog, however. Therefore, genomic, transcriptomic and ETS data of different placozoan haplotypes will be analyzed by bioinformatics to elucidate the gene/protein structure of p53 and respective binding sites of possible interaction partners. Deep phylogenetic analysis will help to clarify the evolution of p53 among the Placozoa and within the Metazoa.
Evolution of the p53-network in Placozoa
| PI(s): | Sarah Rolfes (TiHo Hannover, ITZ, Division of Ecology and Evolution) |
| Start Date: | 6-Jan-2014 |
| End Date: | 30-Apr-2014 |
| Keywords: | comparative methods, evo-devo, gene structure and function, systematics, evolutionary genetics |
The evolution of the p53-network has not been resolved yet. In vertebrates p53 acts as a crucial tumor suppressor and transcription factor, which controls genome integrity and regulates genes, leading to apoptosis, cell cycle arrest and senescence. P53-homologs have been found in many invertebrates as well. However, most of them seem to exhibit a higher similarity to the vertebrate p63 gene. The genome of Trichoplax adhaerens, the so far only described species within the phylum Placozoa (new molecular data support a species-rich phylum, however), encodes for a p53-homolog with high sequence similarity to human p53 gene. Its basal position in the metazoan Tree of Life, the animals’ most simple bauplan and its rich gene endowment make Trichoplax a promising model organism in the field of cancer research. As yet, little is known about the Trichoplax p53-homolog, however. Therefore, genomic, transcriptomic and ETS data of different placozoan haplotypes will be analyzed by bioinformatics to elucidate the gene/protein structure of p53 and respective binding sites of possible interaction partners. Deep phylogenetic analysis will help to clarify the evolution of p53 among the Placozoa and within the Metazoa.
