Conserved or Lost: Molecular Evolution of the Key Gene GULO in Vertebrate Vitamin C Biosynthesis

@article{Yang2013ConservedOL,
  title={Conserved or Lost: Molecular Evolution of the Key Gene GULO in Vertebrate Vitamin C Biosynthesis},
  author={Hongwen Yang},
  journal={Biochemical Genetics},
  year={2013},
  volume={51},
  pages={413-425}
}
  • Hongwen Yang
  • Published 2013
  • Biology, Medicine
  • Biochemical Genetics
Abstractl-gulono-gamma-lactone oxidase (GULO) catalyzes the final step in vertebrate vitamin C biosynthesis. Vitamin C-incapable vertebrates lack the GULO gene. Gene structure and phylogenetic analyses showed that vertebrate GULO genes are 64–95% identical at the amino acid level and consist of 11 conserved exons. GULO pseudogenes have multiple indel mutations and premature stop codons in higher primates, guinea pigs, and some bats. No GULO-like sequences were identified in teleost fishes… Expand
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