Phylogeny of vertebrate Src tyrosine kinases revealed by the epitope region of mAb327

Mass fingerprinting and MS/MS analysis demonstrated that Xyk, a 57-kDa Src family tyrosine kinase that is activated within minutes of Xenopus egg fertilization, comprises a mixture of two Src proteins, Src1 and Src2. However, the Xenopus Src protein, denoted as xSrc, is hardly detectable with mAb327, a universal Src-specific antibody, whose target sequence has not yet been determined. We show that a point amino acid substitution in the Src homology 3 domain of xSrc is critical for improvement of the low efficiency of its recognition by mAb327. Namely, a point-mutated xSrc, in which Arg-121 was replaced by His that is conserved among mAb327-reactive Src in mammals and chicken, showed increased recognition by mAb327. On the other hand, a mutant chicken Src, in which the His-122 residue is replaced by Arg, showed decreased recognition by mAb327. Genomic sequencing analysis also demonstrated that reptile Src proteins are of either the R-type (snake) or H-type (caiman, turtle, and tortoise). These studies revealed, for the first time, a critical amino acid in the Src SH3 domain for mAb327 recognition, and suggest a novel scheme for the molecular evolution of Src, in which the H-type Src(s) are monophyletic and derived from the R-type Src.