The network organization of protein interactions in the spliceosome is reproduced by the simple rules of food-web models

Autor(es)

Pires, Mathias M. ^[1] ; Cantor, Mauricio ^[2] ; Guimaraes, Paulo R. ^[1] ; de Aguiar, Marcus A. M. ^[3] ; dos Reis, Sergio F. ^[4] ; Coltri, Patricia P. ^[5]

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Biociencias, Dept Ecol, BR-05508090 Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[2] Dalhousie Univ, Dept Biol, Halifax, NS B3H 4J1 - Canada

^[3] Univ Estadual Campinas, Inst Fis Gleb Wataghin, Dept Fis Mat Condensada, BR-13083859 Campinas, SP - Brazil

^[4] Univ Estadual Campinas, Inst Biol, Dept Biol Anim, BR-13083970 Campinas, SP - Brazil

^[5] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Ciencias Biomed, Dept Biol Celular & Desenvolvimento, BR-05508000 Sao Paulo - Brazil

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: SCIENTIFIC REPORTS; v. 5, OCT 7 2015.
• Citações Web of Science: 5

Resumo

The network structure of biological systems provides information on the underlying processes shaping their organization and dynamics. Here we examined the structure of the network depicting protein interactions within the spliceosome, the macromolecular complex responsible for splicing in eukaryotic cells. We show the interactions of less connected spliceosome proteins are nested subsets of the connections of the highly connected proteins. At the same time, the network has a modular structure with groups of proteins sharing similar interaction patterns. We then investigated the role of affinity and specificity in shaping the spliceosome network by adapting a probabilistic model originally designed to reproduce food webs. This food-web model was as successful in reproducing the structure of protein interactions as it is in reproducing interactions among species. The good performance of the model suggests affinity and specificity, partially determined by protein size and the timing of association to the complex, may be determining network structure. Moreover, because network models allow building ensembles of realistic networks while encompassing uncertainty they can be useful to examine the dynamics and vulnerability of intracelullar processes. Unraveling the mechanisms organizing the spliceosome interactions is important to characterize the role of individual proteins on splicing catalysis and regulation. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 09/54422-8 - Estrutura e dinâmica coevolutiva em redes de interações mutualísticas
• Beneficiário: Paulo Roberto Guimarães Junior
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Jovens Pesquisadores
• Processo FAPESP: 09/54567-6 - Redes troficas do pleistoceno: estrutura e fragilidade
• Beneficiário: Mathias Mistretta Pires
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Doutorado
• Processo FAPESP: 13/02738-7 - Caracterização do papel de proteínas reguladoras do splicing em eucariotos
• Beneficiário: Patricia Pereira Coltri
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Regular