Protein Structure and Functions: Creation of New Protein Functions
A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Chemical and Molecular Sciences".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 June 2022) | Viewed by 924
Special Issue Editor
Interests: origin of genes; origin of genetic codes; origin of tRNA; origin of proteins; origin of the genetic system; origin of life
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Diverse organisms inhabit on the present Earth using versatile proteins. Proteins are the most important biopolymers expressing various functions in organisms. On the other hand, the amino acid sequence diversity of even a small protein, which is composed of only 100 amino acids, reaches 10020 = ~10130. This means that protein has the potential to generate an extraordinarily large number of new functions.
New proteins are generated through three processes, which are described as follows:
(1) Creation of entirely new proteins through actually or essentially random process.
(2) Creation of orthologous proteins upon speciation of organisms.
(3) Creation of paralogous proteins upon gene duplication in an organism.
The gene duplication theory, which was proposed by S. Ohno, can explain well the creation processes of homologous proteins, (2) and (3), but cannot entirely account for the creation of new proteins (1). However, of the three mechanisms, the first is the most important, because, if the mechanism by which entirely new proteins have been created could be made clear, it is expected that a large number of artificial proteins with new functions could be produced by the application of the knowledge to new protein technologies. I have proposed a GC-NSF(a) hypothesis assuming that entirely new proteins should be created from a nonstop frame on an antisense strand of a GC-rich gene based on protein 0th-order structure. I believe that entirely new proteins with any necessary functions would be effectively created according to the GC-NSF(a) hypothesis.
Therefore, it is important to apply the knowledge about the creation of entirely new proteins to new technologies for producing artificial proteins, which have recently enjoyed significant progression. Knowledge of the origin of protein and techniques producing artificial proteins would complementarily contribute to each other, as the development of one knowledge could accelerate the progress of the other techniques and vice versa. Thus, newly developed protein technologies could be applied to many industries. Both theoretical and experimental approaches for the creation of proteins with new functions are encouraged for submission.
Prof. Kenji Ikehara
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- the origin of protein
- protein 0th-order structure
- creation of new protein function
- development of new protein technology
- the origin of life
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
