Comparative genomics of prokaryotic GTP-binding proteins (the Era, Obg, EngA, ThdF (TrmE), YchF and YihA families) and their relationship to eukaryotic GTP-binding proteins (the DRG, ARF, RAB, RAN, RAS and RHO families).

Several GTP-binding proteins with poorly defined functions were previously identified in Escherichia coli (i.e. Era, ThdF (TrmE)), Bacillus subtilis (i.e. Obg) and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (i.e. EngA). In these species, every individual protein is encoded by an essential gene. BLAST searches were used to detect orthologs in genomes of various organisms. Alignments of orthologous sequences allowed the construction of phylogenetic trees and the definition of protein families. The BLAST searches also resulted in the identification of two additional families, the YchF and YihA families, named after the ychF and yihA genes of E. coli. Most families are not present in archaeal genomes, but representatives of each family were also detected in eukaryotic genomes. Only representatives of the YchF family are present in every genome sequenced to date, suggesting that YchF-like proteins might be involved in a fundamental life process. The GTP1/DRG family consisting of eukaryotic and archaeal proteins is related to the YchF family of GTP-binding proteins. The relationship of the six prokaryotic families of GTP-binding proteins and the GTP1/DRG family to eukaryotic GTPase families was also investigated: With the exception of the ARF family, a clear separation of the six prokaryotic families and the GTP1/DRG family with respect to eukaryotic (RAB, RAN, RAS and RHO) GTPases was observed.