Tumor necrosis factor and tumor necrosis factor receptors in coelacanth genes

Protein superfamilies incorporate any of a group of proteins having similar structure and functionality which descend from the same ancestral gene. The Tumer Necrosis Factor, TNF, and Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptors, TNFR, were investigated by utilizing bioinformatics software. In this study, protein families were characterized by analyzing the similarities and differences between groups in the TNF and superfamily. Using bioinformatics techniques to analyze protein structures of the superfamily found in this study were Coelacanth, Fugu, and Homo sapiens. A computer database, ENSEML, was used to collect data for the Coelacanth, Fugu, and Human TNF and TNFR proteins. ENSEMBL browser provides a variety of genomes with complete explanations using an automated genome annotation system. After determining whether the protein was the Tumor Necrosis Factor of Tumor Necrosis Factor receptor subfamily different groups were analyzed to determine similarities and inconsistencies in each group. Several genes were hypothesized to be artifacts or pseudo genes after analyzing the collected data. Computational tools or gene prediction tools mistake similar proteins that are not functionally related so they require manual manipulation to verify actual genes and not artifacts. Additional studies are needed to further analysis to verify all member of the TNF superfamily