Lobo-Cabrera, F. J. | bioRxiv Science

bioRxiv2019

A general decrease of normalized ncDNA in evolution

Complexity is often associated with increasing non-coding DNA (ncDNA). For example, the human genome is in its vast majority ncDNA. Here, it is hypothesized that normalized ncDNA (nncDNA) has in fact diminished in evolution. This definition of ncDNA content takes into consideration total proteomic content. It is shown that by reducing their normalized ncDNA, organisms may have obtained more complexity in evolution. Also, a potential connection between ncDNA, proteome information and chromatin interactions in mice and humans is presented.

evolutionary biology↗

bioRxiv2018

A Constant Proportion in Protein Structure

The principles governing protein structure are largely unknown. Here, a structural proportion universal (R2 = 0.978) among proteins is reported. The model variance is shown to be independent from protein size, secondary structure composition, compactness or relative surface area. The structural characteristic under study --named here QUILLO-- quantifies residue-type spatial clustering. In this way, polar, hydrophobic, acidic and basic residues are evaluated individually and their values added up. For the analysis, all X-Ray currently determined structures deposited in the Protein Data Bank were studied. The QUILLO proportion offers for the first time an a priori protein prediction quality-check. Indeed, predictions with unexpected proportion values correspond to low ranks in the CASP12 experiment. The reason behind a specific, constant rule for protein folding remains unknown.

biophysics↗