Figure 9. Co-emergence of triacylglycerol transfer activity of MTP and apoB.
A tree diagram illustrates the evolution of bacteria, yeast, fungi, nematodes, insects, fish, birds, and mammals. The preferred apolipoprotein (apoB, apolipophorin or vitellogenin) utilized by different species as the primary carrier for lipids is indicated. The presence of MTP in different organisms is depicted. Properties of MTP in various orthologs are shown. The numbers located at breakpoints in the tree indicate predicted approximate time of divergence (MY=millions of years ago).