Model systems to investigate oncogene-driven cancer have played an essential role in the development of therapies for cancer. However, not all systems are appropriate for all therapeutic targets. Knowing where and when proto-oncogenes and their interactors originated in evolutionary history is key to understanding which organisms can serve as models. Here we investigate two tyrosine kinase receptors that underlie tumorigenesis in cancer: anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) and leukocyte tyrosine kinase (LTK). In Drosophila melanogaster, Caenorhabitis elegans, and Homo sapiens, the discovery of putative ligands Jeb, Hen-1, and AUG has the potential to accelerate the development of novel therapeutics. However, homology of these ligands and receptors is unclear. We performed an exhaustive search for their homologs spanning the metazoan tree of life. Jeb and Hen-1 were restricted to species that diverged prior to the origin of all vertebrates. No non-vertebrate species had ligands orthologous..... READ ARTICLE
Genome Biology and Evolution DOI:10.1101/795468
Authors: Alex Dornburg, Zheng Wang, Junrui Wang, Elizabeth S Mo, Francesc López-Giráldez, Jeffrey P Townsend