Relationships of Human Protein Sequences to Those of Other Organisms

Abstract

Presently more than 4000 amino acid sequences are known, including more than 200 representing human proteins. Many of the sequences, which are being reported at an ever-increasing rate, have been inferred from nucleic acid sequences, and often the protein itself is not necessarily in hand. In such cases there is much that can be learned by comparison with sequences from other species or with other related proteins. Furthermore, the entire course of human history lies in our genes and can be read through the sequences of our proteins. In this article we attempt to chart some of the major divergences that have led to human proteins over the past few billion years. In this regard we have categorized the sequenced proteins into several arbitrary groups, beginning with the most ancient and continuing through to the modern.