Phylogenetic analysis of Na+/H+ (NuoL/MrpA) antiporters

Objectives: Sodium/proton (Na+/H+) antiporters NuoL/MrpA-like proteins are important in monovalent cations homeostasis, ATP synthesis, are involved in growth using low concentrations of acetate, and in management of protons during methane production. To learn more about the evolutive origin and biological relevance of this protein, in this work a phylogenetic analysis of the NuoL/MrpA superfamily of proteins was done. Methodology: Phylogeny reconstruction was done with 596 NuoL/MrpA proteins and 39 MrpD-NuoM/N proteins. The algorithms used were minimum evolution and maximum likelihood, using MEGA program. Additionally, a conserved domain analysis was done. Contribution: NuoL/MrpA superfamily and their homologous proteins, MrpD-NuoM/N, form two paralogous groups. The NuoL/MrpA superfamily consists of two families. Family NuoL consist of arqueal, bacterial and eukaryotic proteins of around 600 aa in size. Family MrpA are formed by proteins from bacteria and archaea, with a 600 to 850 aa in size. Using the phylogenetic analysis and conserved domain analysis, a superfamily NuoL/MrpA evolution model was proposed.