Ausio J
Department of Biochemistry & Microbiology, University of Victoria, B.C., Canada.
Mol Cell Biochem. 1992 Oct 7;115(2):163-72. doi: 10.1007/BF00230327.
Chromatin organization in the sperm of the bivalve mollusks results from the interaction between a discrete number of protamine-like proteins (PL) and DNA. A small variable amount of histones is also present. An extensive study carried out on a relatively large number of species, within the class Bivalvia, has shown that it is possible to arrange these mollusks into five major categories on the basis of their PL composition (Ausio, J. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 85, 439-449, (1986) [1]). In the present work, we have extended this analysis to a larger number of species and found that in spite of the inter- and intra-specific similarity of all PL proteins in their chemical composition, they exhibit different degrees of structural variability. Moreover one of these PL proteins is present in all the species analyzed, and bears an enormous resemblance to histones of the H1 family. The evolutionary significance of this finding is discussed.
双壳贝类精子中的染色质组织是由一定数量的类鱼精蛋白（PL）与DNA之间的相互作用形成的。同时也存在少量可变的组蛋白。在双壳纲内对相对大量的物种进行的广泛研究表明，根据它们的PL组成，可以将这些软体动物分为五大类（奥西奥，《比较生物化学与生理学》85卷，439 - 449页，（1986年）[1]）。在本研究中，我们将这一分析扩展到了更多物种，发现尽管所有PL蛋白在化学成分上存在种间和种内相似性，但它们表现出不同程度的结构变异性。此外，这些PL蛋白中的一种存在于所有分析的物种中，并且与H1家族的组蛋白极为相似。本文讨论了这一发现的进化意义。
