Evolution and Structure of Proteins and Proteomes 2011

Dear Colleagues,

Since Darwin established the general principles of natural selection in 1859 and Kimura proposed the neutral theory in the late 1960s, most studies of evolution of molecules have focused on individual gene sequences. However, the recent revolution in nucleic acid sequencing driven by shotgun and high-throughput technologies have led to rapid generation of myriad genomic sequences across the three cellular domains of life and viruses. Similarly, advances in structural genomics have produced an ever-expanding repertoire of three-dimensional models of structure, providing a crucial link to our understanding of the molecular workings of the cell. These unique resources enable the exploration of diversity and change in molecules and molecular repertoires within different time frames and at a global and synthetic level. It is now possible to study how genomes, proteomes, biological processes, molecular functions, and biological networks (e.g., protein interactions and metabolic pathways) are organized and evolve. Some recent genome-wide studies have connected some of these aspects to each other in integrative ways. Others have fleshed processes linked to mechanistic and evolutionary patterns, using experimental, bioinformatic and theoretical approaches. In this special issue we encourage the contribution of review articles and original research papers that address the evolution, structure and function of proteins and proteomes using molecular evolution, genomic, structural, network, and systems biology frameworks.

Dr. Kyung Mo Kim
Dr. Gustavo Caetano-Anollés
Guest Editors