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. 1993 Feb 15;290(Pt 1):205–218. doi: 10.1042/bj2900205

Evolutionary families of peptidases.

N D Rawlings 1, A J Barrett 1
PMCID: PMC1132403  PMID: 8439290

Abstract

The available amino acid sequences of peptidases have been examined, and the enzymes have been allocated to evolutionary families. Some of the families can be grouped together in 'clans' that show signs of distant relationship, but nevertheless, it appears that there may be as many as 60 evolutionary lines of peptidases with separate origins. Some of these contain members with quite diverse peptidase activities, and yet there are some striking examples of convergence. We suggest that the classification by families could be used as an extension of the current classification by catalytic type.

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Selected References

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