Most protein in hair and wool is of two broad types: keratin intermediate filament-forming proteins (commonly known as keratins) and keratin-associated proteins (KAPs). Keratin nomenclature was reviewed in 2006, but the KAP nomenclature has not been revised since 1993. Recently there has been an increase in the number of KAP genes (KRTAPs) identified in humans and other species, and increasingly reports of variation in these genes. We therefore propose that an updated naming system is needed to accommodate the complexity of the KAPs. It is proposed that the system is founded in the previous nomenclature, but with the abbreviation sp-KAPm-nL*x for KAP proteins and sp-KRTAPm-n(p/L)*x for KAP genes. In this system “sp” is a unique letter-based code for different species as described by the protein knowledge-based UniProt. “m” is a number identifying the gene or protein family, “n” is a constituent member of that family, “p” signifies a pseudogene if present, “L” if present signifies “like” and refers to a temporary “place-holder” until the family is confirmed and “x” signifies a genetic variant or allele. We support the use of non-italicised text for the proteins and italicised text for the genes.This nomenclature is not that different to the existing system, but it includes species information and also describes genetic variation if identified, and hence is more informative. For example, GenBank sequence JN091630 would historically have been named KRTAP7-1 for the gene and KAP7-1 for the protein, but with the proposed nomenclature would be SHEEP-KRTAP7-1*A and SHEEP-KAP7-1*A for the gene and protein respectively. This nomenclature will facilitate more efficient storage and retrieval of data and define a common language for the KAP proteins and genes from all mammalian species.
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