A Comparative Genomic and Phylogenetic Analysis of the Origin and Evolution of the CCN Gene Family

Kuan Hu,Yiming Tao,Xinyan Zhu,Zhiming Wang,Zhuang Liu,Juanni Li

doi:10.1155/2019/8620878

Abstract

CCN gene family members have recently been identified as multifunctional regulators involved in diverse biological functions, especially in vascular and skeletal development. In the present study, a comparative genomic and phylogenetic analysis was performed to show the similarities and differences in structure and function of CCNs from different organisms and to reveal their potential evolutionary relationship. First, CCN homologs of metazoans from different species were identified. Then we made multiple sequence alignments, MEME analysis, and functional sites prediction, which show the highly conserved structural features among CCN metazoans. The phylogenetic tree was further established, and thus CCNs were found undergoing extensive lineage-specific duplication events and lineage-specific expansion during the evolutionary process. Besides, comparative analysis about the genomic organization and chromosomal CCN gene surrounding indicated a clear orthologous relationship among these species counterparts. At last, based on these research results above, a potential evolutionary scenario was generated to overview the origin and evolution of the CCN gene family.

Highlights

The CCN family consists of six cysteine-rich proteins designated CCN1 to CCN6
CCN as an acronym here represents the first three members of this family that have been discovered: CYR61, CTGF, and NOV [1]. These first three identified genes are given the name as CCN1 (CYR61), CCN2 (CTGF), and CCN3 (NOV) successively
CCN2 (CTGF) got its name from being able to increase the mitogenic activity of connective tissue in vivo when it was first known by chance [3]

Summary

Introduction

CCN as an acronym here represents the first three members of this family that have been discovered: CYR61 (cysteine-rich 61), CTGF (connective tissue growth factor), and NOV (nephroblastoma overexpressed) [1]. These first three identified genes are given the name as CCN1 (CYR61), CCN2 (CTGF), and CCN3 (NOV) successively. CCN1 (CYR61) was first discovered in fibroblasts as an immediate-early gene that can be induced by serum or growth factors [2] It was the 61st found in CYR family, came the name CYR61. To facilitate the research, we will follow the unified nomenclature to describe all the CCN family members such as CCN1-CCN6 [1]

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion