Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Signaling And Trafficking In Choanoflagellates And Humans: A Study Of Conserved Peptide-Binding Domains, Haley Wofford

WWU Graduate School Collection

Many crucial cellular processes are regulated by signaling and trafficking pathways, which are largely dependent on protein interactions in the cell. These networks are thought to play a crucial role in the evolution of multicellular organisms from their unicellular ancestors. Choanoflagellates are unicellular organisms that can adopt a multicellular state, called a rosette. Though they evolved independently from and prior to the diversification of metazoans, they are the closest extant nonmetazoan ancestor to animals, making them a compelling model for the study of early multicellularity. Here, we look at two structurally conserved peptide-binding domains that both play important roles in …