Tao of TAO and Tau
May 26, 2006
| Proteoetymology
Pleasingly, the TAO signalling protein was named in 1998 for its thousand and one amino acids. There are at least three other human proteins in SWISSPROT with an amino acid length of 1001.
Tau protein on the other hand, was identified in 1975 out of the Kirschner lab who 'propose to call this protein tau for its ability to induce tubule formation'. Actually they wrote 'protein tau' and then a greek letter tau as well but I don't know how to reliably render that. I think in 1975 it was been evident that there were likely to be more than 23 more nameable proteins, but maybe they just figured they had got there first.
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