Abstract:
The gasdermin(GSDM) gene family widely exists in the genome of vertebrates. Gasdermin D(GSDMD) and gasdermin E(GSDME) play important roles in the pyroptosis of cells from higher animals. However,little is known about other members of GSDM family and its system evolution mode. First of all, this study analyzed gene structure, chromosome distribution, tissue-specific expression, physical/chemical properties, and secondary structures of human GSDM family genes and their encoded proteins through bioinformatical methods.Then, we constructed a phylogenetic tree of GSDM gene family members from 18 species and analyzed the selection pressure. Our results revealed that there were significant differences in gene structure and expression tissue distribution among members of human GSDM family. Most of the proteins encoded by human GSDM family genes were acidic and highly hydrophilic. The majority of secondary structure of these proteins was α-helices and random coils. Phylogenesis analysis unveiled that pejvakin(PJVK) and GSDME exist in all groups of vertebrates,constituting the original members of the GSDM gene family. GSDMB, GSDMC and GSDMD existed in mammals and may be evolved from GSDMA in birds. Selection pressure analysis showed that GSDMD, GSDMC, GSDME and PJVK were all affected by negative selection and PJVK was the most affected. In contrast, GSDMD undergoes positive selection. The data above not only provided new clues for understanding biological functions of the GSDM gene family, but also provided new potential directions for further experimental researches.