DCD is a plant specific domain in proteins involved in development and programmed cell death. The domain is shared by several proteins in the Arabidopsis and the rice genomes, which otherwise show a different protein architecture. Biological studies indicate a role of these proteins in phytohormone response, embryo development and programmed cell death by pathogens or ozone.
The DCD (Development and Cell Death) domain is found in plant proteins involved in development and cell death. The DCD domain is an ~130 amino acid long stretch that contains several mostly invariable motifs. These include a FGLP and a LFL motif at the N terminus and a PAQV and a PLxE motif towards the C terminus of the domain. The DCD domain is present in proteins with different architectures. Some of these proteins contain additional recognizable motifs, like the KELCH repeats or the ParB domain [ (PUBMED:16008837) ]. Biological studies indicate a role of these proteins in phytohormone response, embryo development and programmed cell death by pathogens or ozone.
The predicted secondary structure of the DCD domain is mostly composed of beta strands and confined by an alpha-helix at the N- and at the C terminus [ (PUBMED:16008837) ].
Proteins known to contain a DCD domain are listed below:
Carrot B2 protein.
Pea Gda-1 protein.
Soybean N-rich protein (NRP).
Family alignment:
There are 1605 DCD domains in 1568 proteins in SMART's nrdb database.
Click on the following links for more information.
Evolution (species in which this domain is found)
Taxonomic distribution of proteins containing DCD domain.
This tree includes only several representative species. The complete taxonomic breakdown of all proteins with DCD domain is also avaliable.
Click on the protein counts, or double click on taxonomic names to display all proteins containing DCD domain in the selected taxonomic class.
DCD - a novel plant specific domain in proteins involved in development and programmed cell death.
BMC Bioinformatics. 2005; 6: 169-169
Display abstract
BACKGROUND: Recognition of microbial pathogens by plants triggers the hypersensitive reaction, a common form of programmed cell death in plants. These dying cells generate signals that activate the plant immune system and alarm the neighboring cells as well as the whole plant to activate defense responses to limit the spread of the pathogen. The molecular mechanisms behind the hypersensitive reaction are largely unknown except for the recognition process of pathogens. We delineate the NRP-gene in soybean, which is specifically induced during this programmed cell death and contains a novel protein domain, which is commonly found in different plant proteins. RESULTS: The sequence analysis of the protein, encoded by the NRP-gene from soybean, led to the identification of a novel domain, which we named DCD, because it is found in plant proteins involved in development and cell death. The domain is shared by several proteins in the Arabidopsis and the rice genomes, which otherwise show a different protein architecture. Biological studies indicate a role of these proteins in phytohormone response, embryo development and programmed cell by pathogens or ozone. CONCLUSION: It is tempting to speculate, that the DCD domain mediates signaling in plant development and programmed cell death and could thus be used to identify interacting proteins to gain further molecular insights into these processes.
Links (links to other resources describing this domain)
