Method for the determination of protein evolution rates by amino acid composition. Evolution rate of actins.

A method has been developed to determine the actin evolution rate. The method is based on amino acid compositon. The actin evolution rate has been established to be extremely low. Only three or less amino acid changes per hundred amino acid residues have accumulated for a 100 million years. One can explain the conservative nature of actin evolution as a sequence of its unique tightly fitted structure rich in biologically active centres at short distances from each other. The peculiar invariability of polar amino acids leads to a conclusion that some given distribution of charges is necessary for the unique functioning of actin molecules.