Comprehensive classification of the plant non-specific lipid transfer protein superfamily towards its Sequence -Structure -Function analysis

Cécile Fleury (1) , Jérôme Gracy (2) , Marie-Françoise Gautier , Jean-Luc Pons (2) , Jean-François Dufayard (1) , Gilles Labesse (2) , Manuel Ruiz (3) , Frédéric F. de Lamotte (1)

1 UMR AGAP - Amélioration génétique et adaptation des plantes méditerranéennes et tropicales
2 CBS - Centre de Biochimie Structurale [Montpellier]
3 IBC - Institut de Biologie Computationnelle

Background. Non-specific Lipid Transfer Proteins (nsLTPs) are widely distributed in the plant kingdom and constitute a superfamily of related proteins. More than 800 different sequences have been characterized so far, but their biological functions remain unclear. It has been clear for years that they present a certain interest for agronomic and nutritional issues. Deciphering their functions means collecting and analyzing a variety of data from gene sequence to protein structure, from cellular localization to the physiological role. As a huge and growing number of new protein sequences are available nowadays, extracting meaningful knowledge from sequence-structure-function relationships calls for the development of new tools and approaches. As nsLTPs show high evolutionary divergence, but a conserved common right-handed superhelix structural fold, and as they are involved in a large number of key roles in plant development and defense, they are a stimulating case study for validating such an approach.

Domaines: Bio-informatique [q-bio.QM]; Biochimie [q-bio.BM]; Amélioration des plantes

Cécile Fleury, Jérôme Gracy, Marie-Françoise Gautier, Jean-Luc Pons, Jean-François Dufayard, et al.. Comprehensive classification of the plant non-specific lipid transfer protein superfamily towards its Sequence -Structure -Function analysis. PeerJ, 2019, 7, pp.e7504. ⟨10.7287/peerj.preprints.27687v1⟩. ⟨hal-02112505⟩