The vertebrate muscle-specific RING finger protein family includes MuRF4 – A novel, conserved E3-ubiquitin ligase

Daniel J. MacQueen, Eduardo N. Fuentes, Juan Antonio Valdés, Alfredo Molina, Samuel A.M. Martin

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

9 Citations (Scopus)
8 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Muscle-specific RING finger (MuRF) proteins are E3-ubiquitin ligases and key regulators of muscle growth and turnover. Here, using a range of phylogenomic approaches, we established the complete-definitive MuRF family of vertebrates. Adding to recognized MuRF1, 2 and 3, we describe a novel family member, hereafter MuRF4, which was independently lost during placental mammal and bird evolution, but is otherwise conserved. MuRF4 transcripts were expressed in heart and skeletal muscles of zebrafish, but were barely detectable in striated muscles of adult anole lizards. We also demonstrate that MuRF1 underwent retrotransposition in the teleost fish ancestor, before the retrogene fully replaced the original gene and muscle-specific function.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)4390-4397
Number of pages8
JournalFEBS Letters
Volume588
Issue number23
Early online date18 Oct 2014
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 28 Nov 2014

Bibliographical note

This work was supported by a visiting fellowship funded by the Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland (Grant No. VF20) and by start-up funds to D.J.M. from the University of Aberdeen. E.N.F. also receives support from a FONDAP project (Grant No. 15110027) granted by CONICYT-Chile. Samples used for transcript expression studies were a gift from Professor Ian A. Johnston (University of St Andrews, UK).

Keywords

  • muscle-specific RING finger family
  • Novel MuRF: MuRF4
  • striated muscle
  • E3-ubiquitin ligase
  • evolution
  • retrotansposition

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The vertebrate muscle-specific RING finger protein family includes MuRF4 – A novel, conserved E3-ubiquitin ligase'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this