Induction of a transferrin-like protein by iron deprivation in the marine alga Dunaliella tertiolecta
J.L. Kuo, R. Huang, T.T. Kuo-2000
Bulletin of Marine Science, 67 (2) : 789-797
(from Current Contents)
Abstract :
The roles of iron in the growth and physiology of the
marine alga Dunaliella tertiolecta were investigated. Comparison of the
electrophoretic profiles of total proteins from cells grown under
iron-replete or iron-deficient conditions revealed that the abundance of a
38-kDa protein was markedly increased in cells deprived of iron. Electron
microscopy also revealed that cells subjected to iron limitation exhibited
substantial chlorosis and a defective photosynthetic apparatus. In addition,
immunoblot analysis showed that iron deprivation increased the abundance of
a 150-kDa protein that reacts with antibodies to human transferrin. With the
use of the polymerase chain reaction and primers based on the nucleotide
sequences of a gene for a transferrin-like protein in Dunaliella salina, a
9.5-kb fragment of D. tertiolecta genomic DNA that encodes a homologous
protein was isolated and sequenced. The fragment isolated from D.
tertiolecta comprises 30 exons and contains an open reading frame of 3825 bp
that encodes a protein of 1274 amino acids. The predicted amino acid
sequence of the encoded protein shows a high degree of homology to those of
various transferrin proteins from other organisms.
(Acad Sinica, Inst Mol Biol, Taipei 115, Taiwan,
e-mail of T.T. Kuo: tehkuo@ccvax.sinica.edu.tw)