WHAT DOES HOMOLOGY MEAN?
A homology, in the sense we use on this website, is a similarity in the amino acid sequences of two or more proteins [1]. Below are thirteen organisms with a protein that is homologous in sequence to the human MCM6 protein. These proteins were organized into four phylogenetic trees, representing each of their similarities to each other, on the Phylogeny page.
ACCESSION NUMBERS AND SEQUENCES
Underneath each organism, is the author-given protein name and percent similarity to the Homo sapiens DNA replication licensing factor MCM6: NM_005915.5, followed by a link to the National Center for Biotechnology Information page on the protein, where there is a wealth of extra information to pique your curiosities.
Arabidopsis thaliana
"Minichromosome maintenance protein 6", MCM6 (45%) NP_680393.1 Bos taurus "DNA replication licensing factor MCM6" (97%) NP_001039699.1 Caenorhabditis elegans "Protein MCM6, isoform a" (55%) NP_001023011.1 Canis lupus familiaris "PREDICTED: DNA replication licensing factor MCM6" (97%) XP_533338.3 Danio rerio "DNA replication licensing factor MCM6", mcm6 (82%) NP_001076318.1 Drosophila melanogaster "Minichromosome maintenance 6", Mcm6 (63%) NP_511065.1 Macaca mulatta "DNA replication licensing factor MCM6" (99%) NP_001247544.1 |
Mus musculus
"DNA replication licensing factor MCM6" (96%) NP_032593.1 Neurospora crassa OR74A "DNA replication licensing factor mcm6" (47%) XP_962193.2 Pan troglodytes "PREDICTED: DNA replication licensing factor MCM6 isoform 2" (99%) XP_001154732.1 Rattus norvegicus "DNA replication licensing factor MCM6" (96%) NP_058983.1 Saccharomyces cerevisiae S288c "Mcm6p" (48%) NP_011314.2 Schizosaccharomyces pombe 972h- "MCM complex subunit Mcm6" (46%) NP_596614.1 |
ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
As you can see, the percent similarity of each protein to the human MCM6 protein. Note that the proteins listed for Canis lupus familiaris and Pan troglodytes are "predicted" to be the same protein and not formally identified. This means that there is a stretch of DNA encoding amino acids that are a very close match to the MCM6 protein in Homo sapiens. The number in parentheses identifying the sequence similarity is based on the number of amino acids out of the total number that are the same and in the same location. |
Macaca mulatta, aka Rhesus macaque
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Pan troglodytes, aka chimpanzee www.freechimppictures.com
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These results make sense because organisms that are more similar to us have higher percent similarities to us. The two organisms that are 99% similar are Macaca mulatta and Pan troglodytes, see above images. This makes sense because were are, as complete organisms, more related to the Rhesus macaque and the chimpanzee than to the other organisms which include small mammals, worms, flies, plants, fish and microbes. For more information: my Phylogeny page evolutionary trees that diagram the percent similarity and my Protein Info page has an analysis and discussion of the domains in these proteins and what these percentages mean in greater detail than I have here.
REFERENCES
[1] "Homology." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, 2013. Web. 28 Feb. 2013.
[1] "Homology." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, 2013. Web. 28 Feb. 2013.
Page created by: Renae Geier, undergraduate student in genetics at the University of Wisconsin - Madison ([email protected])
Page last updated: 5/16/2013, www.gen677.weebly.com
Page last updated: 5/16/2013, www.gen677.weebly.com