The Most Naturally Variable Protein Discovered

Two chemists from San Diego, have recently announced their discovery concerning "the most naturally variable protein."  Currently it is known in a bacterium that is a key player in the formation of dental plaque.  The scientists believe "the extreme variability of the protein discovered in the bacterium Treponema denticola, evolved to adhere to the hundreds of different kinds of other bacteria that inhabit people's mouths.”

They gave the name "Treponema Variable Protein," (or TvpA) to this protein they discovered.  They have arrived at the conclusion that it is a million, to a billion times more variable than the proteins playing main roles in vertebrate immune systems.

Partho Ghosh, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at UC San Diego who headed the research effort, noted that in Treponema denticola, they have found a protein known as TvpA, “that varies considerably more than proteins of the immune system and to our knowledge, this protein is the most variable natural protein described to date.  We don't know what it does in this bacterium, but our hypothesis is that it enables it to adhere to the bio-film, commonly known as dental plaque, that exists in people's mouths."

Source: The National Academy of Sciences