2gnx Abstract

Olfactory receptors likely constitute the largest gene superfamily in the vertebrate genome with over 900 olfactory receptor genes present in the human genome.

Structural analysis of the hypothetical 2GNX protein was not able to identify any structurally similar proteins for the N-terminal domain. A structurally similar protein was however identified for the C-terminal domain and this was the GAF protein. It was predicted that cGMP ligand, which binds to GAF protein, may also bind to a pocket in 2GNX.

The evolutionary analysis aimed to show the divergence of this protein in a verity of species. It was found that this protein is mainly present in higher metazoans and that insects and sea urchins diverged greatest from the target protein of interest. The presence of this protein only in higher metazoans indicates it is not a crucial survival, and developed later in evolution.

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