Featured Publications
Transposon molecular domestication and the evolution of the RAG recombinase
Zhang Y, Cheng TC, Huang G, Lu Q, Surleac MD, Mandell JD, Pontarotti P, Petrescu AJ, Xu A, Xiong Y, Schatz DG. Transposon molecular domestication and the evolution of the RAG recombinase. Nature 2019, 569: 79-84. PMID: 30971819, PMCID: PMC6494689, DOI: 10.1038/s41586-019-1093-7.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsRAG1-RAG2 recombinaseMolecular domesticationRAG recombinaseCryo-electron microscopy structureTwo-tiered mechanismAmino acid residuesJawed vertebratesMicroscopy structureEvolutionary adaptationDNA substratesTransposition activityAcid residuesDomesticationDNA cleavageAcidic regionDiverse repertoireAdaptive immune systemRecombinaseTransposonCell receptorTransposasePivotal eventRecombinationCleavageVertebratesStructures of a RAG-like transposase during cut-and-paste transposition
Liu C, Yang Y, Schatz DG. Structures of a RAG-like transposase during cut-and-paste transposition. Nature 2019, 575: 540-544. PMID: 31723264, PMCID: PMC6872938, DOI: 10.1038/s41586-019-1753-7.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsCryo-electron microscopy structureC-terminal tailUnique structural elementsStrand transfer complexEukaryotic cutEvolutionary progenitorsMicroscopy structureRAG recombinasePaste transpositionApo enzymeSubstrate DNAHelicoverpa zeaConformational changesEarly stepsTransposaseAdaptive immune systemDNATarget siteTransposonTarget DNAPivotal roleActive siteEnzymeTransposition processEssential component
2017
New insights into the evolutionary origins of the recombination‐activating gene proteins and V(D)J recombination
Carmona LM, Schatz DG. New insights into the evolutionary origins of the recombination‐activating gene proteins and V(D)J recombination. The FEBS Journal 2017, 284: 1590-1605. PMID: 27973733, PMCID: PMC5459667, DOI: 10.1111/febs.13990.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsTransposable elementsEvolutionary originRAG proteinsAbsence of RAG2Independent evolutionary originsBasal chordate amphioxusRecombination-activating gene (RAG) proteinsFamily of transposasesAntigen receptor genesRAG transposonChordate amphioxusJawed vertebratesSequence similarityEvolutionary relativesProteins RAG1RAG genesGene proteinRAG1Gene segmentsDiverse arrayMechanistic linkProteinRAG2Adaptive immune systemDNA cleavage reaction
2004
Antigen receptor genes and the evolution of a recombinase
Schatz DG. Antigen receptor genes and the evolution of a recombinase. Seminars In Immunology 2004, 16: 245-256. PMID: 15522623, DOI: 10.1016/j.smim.2004.08.004.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsAntigen receptor genesReceptor geneDNA repair factorsSite-specific recombination reactionRAG transposonVertebrate genomesJawed vertebratesEvolutionary implicationsRAG2 proteinsTransposable elementsRepair factorsGenesAdaptive immune systemHorizontal transmissionRAG1VertebratesGenomeImmune systemTransposonGermlineRecombinaseRAG2ProteinRecombination reactionRecombination
1999
Transposition mediated by RAG1 and RAG2 and the evolution of the adaptive immune system
Schatz D. Transposition mediated by RAG1 and RAG2 and the evolution of the adaptive immune system. Immunologic Research 1999, 19: 169-182. PMID: 10493171, DOI: 10.1007/bf02786485.Peer-Reviewed Reviews, Practice Guidelines, Standards, and Consensus StatementsConceptsTransposable elementsAncestral receptor geneAdaptive immune systemReceptor gene segmentsReceptor geneAntigen receptor genesRAG proteinsRAG2 proteinsChromosomal DNAFunctional transposaseMillion yearsGene segmentsRAG1Dramatic supportImmune systemGenesRecent findingsUnusual structureProteinVertebratesTransposaseRAG2DNAEvolutionRecombination