Figure 1

Alignment of the 29 SCP/TAPS domains present in the deduced amino-acid sequences of SmVAL1-28 demonstrates a clear segregation of the family into two distinct groups. Group 1 and group 2 members of the SmVAL superfamily are indicated to the right of the MUSCLE-generated alignment. The row labelled 'consensus' represents the SMART consensus sequence of the SCP/TAPS domain (SM00198) where conserved amino acids (50–79%) are indicated by lower-case and highly conserved residues (> 80%) by upper-case letters. The amino acid numbering (indicated at right of alignment) begins at the first residue of the SCP/TAPS domains. Invariant amino acids are highlighted in grey and the group 1 conserved cysteines are boxed and labelled C1 to C6. Amino acids found at the positions of the four residues comprising the putative SCP/TAPS domain active site are coloured in black with white text. The proposed conserved active site contains histidine residues at the first and fourth positions and glutamic acid residues at the second and third positions. The regions of insertion and deletion within the group 2 proteins are boxed and labelled I1 (insertion) and D1 (deletion).