scholarly journals Jumping on the Edge—First Evidence for a 2 × 6-meric Hemocyanin in Springtails

Biomolecules ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 396
Author(s):  
Juliane Schmidt ◽  
Heinz Decker ◽  
Michael T. Marx
Keyword(s):  
Quaternary Structure ◽  
Structure And Function ◽  
Decapod Crustaceans ◽  
Sds Page ◽  
Physiological Adaptations ◽  
Respiratory Protein ◽  
Horseshoe Crabs ◽  
And Function ◽  
First Time ◽  
Evolutionary Descent

Hemocyanins are respiratory dioxygen carrier proteins found in many arthropods including ancient terrestrial species such as spiders and scorpions as well as marine horseshoe crabs. As hemocyanins are highly conserved in this lineage, it is possible to observe an evolutionary descent through its subunits and their overall structure. Unfortunately, little is known about the structure and function of hexapod hemocyanins. Using recent springtail taxa (Collembola) as models for basal hexapods, and the help of electron microscopy, light scattering, SDS PAGE, and Western blot, we could demonstrate for the first time the presence of 2 × 6-meric hemocyanins in the hemolymph of hexapods. The quaternary structure is composed of at least two different subunits and looks nearly identical to the hemocyanin found in decapod crustaceans. In addition, homology modeling and western blotting suggest a close structural relationship between collembolan and crustacean hemocyanin. Such a respiratory protein was possibly helpful in the early terrestrialization process of ancient Collembola. In addition, physiological adaptations to hypoxic or temporarily anoxic conditions could be a possible explanation for the presence of this respiratory protein. Nevertheless, it has to be concluded that the primary benefit of hemocyanin for springtails remains unclear.

Strategies for Oral Delivery of Metal-Saturated Lactoferrin

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (11) ◽  
pp. 1046-1051 ◽  
Author(s):  
Przemysław Gajda-Morszewski ◽  
Klaudyna Śpiewak-Wojtyła ◽  
Maria Oszajca ◽  
Małgorzata Brindell
Keyword(s):  
Biological Activity ◽  
Oral Delivery ◽  
Therapeutic Potential ◽  
Structure And Function ◽  
The Difference ◽  
And Function ◽  
First Time

Lactoferrin was isolated and purified for the first time over 50-years ago. Since then, extensive studies on the structure and function of this protein have been performed and the research is still being continued. In this mini-review we focus on presenting recent scientific efforts towards the elucidation of the role and therapeutic potential of lactoferrin saturated with iron(III) or manganese(III) ions. The difference in biological activity of metal-saturated lactoferrin vs. the unmetalated one is emphasized. The strategies for oral delivery of lactoferrin, are also reviewed, with particular attention to the metalated protein.

scholarly journals Influence of High Pressure on the Dimerization of ToxR, a Protein Involved in Bacterial Signal Transduction

2008 ◽  
Vol 74 (24) ◽  
pp. 7821-7823 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kai Linke ◽  
Nagarajan Periasamy ◽  
Matthias Ehrmann ◽  
Roland Winter ◽  
Rudi F. Vogel
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Signal Transduction ◽  
High Pressure ◽  
Structure And Function ◽  
Transmembrane Segments ◽  
Bacterial Signal Transduction ◽  
Reporter Strains ◽  
And Function ◽  
First Time

ABSTRACT High hydrostatic pressure (HHP) is suggested to influence the structure and function of membranes and/or integrated proteins. We demonstrate for the first time HHP-induced dimer dissociation of membrane proteins in vivo with Vibrio cholerae ToxR variants in Escherichia coli reporter strains carrying ctx::lacZ fusions. Dimerization ceased at 20 to 50 MPa depending on the nature of the transmembrane segments rather than on changes in the ToxR lipid bilayer environment.

scholarly journals Crab scars reveal survival advantage of left-handed snails

2006 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 439-442 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory P Dietl ◽  
Jonathan R Hendricks
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Structure And Function ◽  
Snail Species ◽  
Left Handedness ◽  
Left Handed ◽  
Selection Processes ◽  
Living Organisms ◽  
And Function ◽  
First Time ◽  
Crab Predation

Biological asymmetries are important elements of the structure and function of many living organisms. Using the Plio–Pleistocene fossil record of crab predation on morphologically similar pairs of right- and left-handed snail species, we show here for the first time, contrary to traditional wisdom, that rare left-handed coiling promotes survival from attacks by right-handed crabs. This frequency-dependent result influences the balance of selection processes that maintain left-handedness at the species level and parallels some social interactions in human cultures, such as sports that involve dual contests between opponents of opposite handedness.

scholarly journals Foliar colleters in Macrocarpaea obtusifolia (Gentianaceae): anatomy, ontogeny, and secretion

Botany ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 92 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valdnéa Casagrande Dalvi ◽  
Lucas Siqueira Cardinelli ◽  
Renata Maria Strozi Alves Meira ◽  
Aristéa Alves Azevedo
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Nature ◽  
Developmental Stages ◽  
Structure And Function ◽  
Histochemical Analysis ◽  
Secretory Structures ◽  
Standard Type ◽  
Vegetative Organs ◽  
New Information ◽  
And Function ◽  
First Time

Colleters are secretory structures located in reproductive and (or) vegetative organs of many eudicots. In Gentianaceae Juss., the presence of foliar colleters has been neglected, and anatomical and histochemical studies are scarce. The objectives of this study were to investigate the anatomy, ontogeny, and chemical nature of the secretion found in Macrocarpaea obtusifolia (Griseb.) Gilg colleters to establish a relationship between their structure and function and check whether these structures are similar to those described for other genera of the Gentianaceae and other families of the Gentianales. Samples of leaves at different developmental stages were collected and processed for anatomical and histochemical analysis using light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Colleters in M. obtusifolia have a protodermal origin, are of standard type, and are not vascularized. Young colleters are translucent and produce an abundant amount of sticky secretion. Later, they turn yellowish with a blackened region at the apex of the head, and the secretion, composed of polysaccharides and proteins, becomes less abundant and brownish. During senescence, the process begins with complete degradation and cell collapse of the secretory portion. The colleters of the standard type in M. obtusifolia have been observed for the first time in the Gentianaceae and represent additional evidence that reinforces how common this type of colleter is in the Gentianales. Such results provide new information on the anatomy, ontogeny, histochemistry, and colleter types of Gentianaceae.

Memoirs: On Ptychodera flava, Eschscholtz

1897 ◽  
Vol s2-40 (157) ◽  
pp. 165-184
Author(s):  
ARTHUR WILLEY
Keyword(s):  
Living Condition ◽  
Structure And Function ◽  
The Other ◽  
Detailed Structure ◽  
Pharyngeal Wall ◽  
Littoral Habitat ◽  
Collar Region ◽  
Ptychodera Flava ◽  
And Function ◽  
First Time

1. This is the first time that an Enteropneust with a free pharynx has been studied in the living condition. 2. The Ptychodera flava of Eschscholtz (char. emend. mihi) is rightly assigned by Spengel to his amended genus Ptychodera, as shown by the presence of the genital pleura, of external liver saccules, and by the length of the collar region. 3. P. flava belongs to Spengel's sub-genus Chlamydothorax, as shown by the ventral origin of the genital pleura, the diffuse gonads, and the free pharynx. 4. In the fact of the gill-slits being open directly to the exterior throughout their entire length, P. flava is more closely related to P. bahamensis than to any other described species. This is also indicated by the simple rows of paired liver saccules as opposed to the irregular multiple arrangement met with in P. erythræa. 5. The genus Ptychodera. (referring more especially to the sub-genus Chlamydothorax) probably represents an archaic type, as shown by the diffuse arrangement of the gonads, the free pharynx, and its littoral habitat; and it is probably not, as Spengel supposes it to be, phylogenetically younger than the other genera of Enteropneusta. 6. The gill-slits, branchial skeleton, and the temporary atrium formed by the apposition of the genital pleura in Ptychodera, offer a general homology to the corresponding structures in Amphioxus and the Ascidians, while presenting many differences in the details of their structure and relations. 7. Some of these differences are comparatively unimportant, and such as might well be expected to occur in distantly related forms with such totally different habits of existence, while others are to be accounted for by a wide interpretation of the principle of correlation between structure and function. 8. Many differences of detailed structure in the pharyngeal wall and its skeletal supports between the Enteropneusta and Amphioxus are to be correlated with the fact that, in the former, the tongue-bars are larger (often, as in P. flava, very much larger) than the primary bars, while in the latter the reverse condition obtains.

scholarly journals IMGT® and 30 Years of Immunoinformatics Insight in Antibody V and C Domain Structure and Function

Antibodies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lefranc ◽  
Lefranc
Keyword(s):  
Domain Structure ◽  
High Throughput Sequencing ◽  
Genome Mapping ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Cell Receptor ◽  
Structure And Function ◽  
Antibody Engineering ◽  
New Science ◽  
And Function ◽  
First Time

At the 10th Human Genome Mapping (HGM10) Workshop, in New Haven, for the first time, immunoglobulin (IG) or antibody and T cell receptor (TR) variable (V), diversity (D), joining (J), and constant (C) genes were officially recognized as ‘genes’, as were the conventional genes. Under these HGM auspices, IMGT®, the international ImMunoGeneTics information system® (http://www.imgt.org), was created in June 1989 at Montpellier (University of Montpellier and CNRS). The creation of IMGT® marked the birth of immunoinformatics, a new science, at the interface between immunogenetics and bioinformatics. The accuracy and the consistency between genes and alleles, sequences, and three-dimensional (3D) structures are based on the IMGT Scientific chart rules generated from the IMGT-ONTOLOGY axioms and concepts: IMGT standardized keywords (IDENTIFICATION), IMGT gene and allele nomenclature (CLASSIFICATION), IMGT standardized labels (DESCRIPTION), IMGT unique numbering and IMGT Collier de Perles (NUMEROTATION). These concepts provide IMGT® immunoinformatics insights for antibody V and C domain structure and function, used for the standardized description in IMGT® web resources, databases and tools, immune repertoires analysis, single cell and/or high-throughput sequencing (HTS, NGS), antibody humanization, and antibody engineering in relation with effector properties.

scholarly journals Street lighting changes the composition of invertebrate communities

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 764-767 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas W. Davies ◽  
Jonathan Bennie ◽  
Kevin J. Gaston
Keyword(s):  
Ecological Impact ◽  
Time Of Day ◽  
Structure And Function ◽  
Light Pollution ◽  
Invertebrate Community ◽  
Biological Organization ◽  
Street Lighting ◽  
Artificial Lighting ◽  
And Function ◽  
First Time

Artificial lighting has been used to illuminate the nocturnal environment for centuries and continues to expand with urbanization and economic development. Yet, the potential ecological impact of the resultant light pollution has only recently emerged as a major cause for concern. While investigations have demonstrated that artificial lighting can influence organism behaviour, reproductive success and survivorship, none have addressed whether it is altering the composition of communities. We show, for the first time, that invertebrate community composition is affected by proximity to street lighting independently of the time of day. Five major invertebrate groups contributed to compositional differences, resulting in an increase in the number of predatory and scavenging individuals in brightly lit communities. Our results indicate that street lighting changes the environment at higher levels of biological organization than previously recognized, raising the potential that it can alter the structure and function of ecosystems.

scholarly journals Quaternary structure and function of transport proteins

2002 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 242-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liesbeth M Veenhoff ◽  
Esther H.M.L Heuberger ◽  
Bert Poolman
Keyword(s):  
Quaternary Structure ◽  
Transport Proteins ◽  
Structure And Function ◽  
And Function
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