Figures
Systematic Mapping of Protein Mutational Space
Systematic mappings of the effects of all possible mutations in a given protein sequence are routinely performed, with the aim of understanding protein structure-function and evolution. Most of these experiments indicate that the majority of amino acid substitutions are neutral. Our experimental system mimicked the manner by which protein sequences diverge in nature: a prolonged, gradual accumulation of mutations while retaining the protein¹s structure and function. Unlike previous mappings, the sequence-function Œheat map¹ derived from this experiment indicates that the fraction of deleterious mutations is in the order of 80% (dark to light blue) whereas the neutral mutations (white; ~15%), let alone beneficial mutations (~2%; in red), comprise a minority. Tawfik et al.
Image Credit: Tawfik et al.
Citation: (2015) PLoS Computational Biology Issue Image | Vol. 11(8) August 2015. PLoS Comput Biol 11(8): ev11.i08. https://doi.org/10.1371/image.pcbi.v11.i08
Published: August 31, 2015
Copyright: © 2015 Tawfik et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Systematic mappings of the effects of all possible mutations in a given protein sequence are routinely performed, with the aim of understanding protein structure-function and evolution. Most of these experiments indicate that the majority of amino acid substitutions are neutral. Our experimental system mimicked the manner by which protein sequences diverge in nature: a prolonged, gradual accumulation of mutations while retaining the protein¹s structure and function. Unlike previous mappings, the sequence-function Œheat map¹ derived from this experiment indicates that the fraction of deleterious mutations is in the order of 80% (dark to light blue) whereas the neutral mutations (white; ~15%), let alone beneficial mutations (~2%; in red), comprise a minority. Tawfik et al.
Image Credit: Tawfik et al.