Fochetti Romolo, Belardinelli Mariacristina, Guerra Laura, Buonocore Francesco, Fausto Anna Maria, Caporale Carlo
Dipartimento di Scienze Ambientali, Largo dell'Università, Università della Tuscia, 01100, Viterbo, Italy.
Protein J. 2006 Dec;25(7-8):443-54. doi: 10.1007/s10930-006-9027-2.
We characterized two subunits of a putative haemocyanin from the stonefly species Perla grandis. In particular, we cloned and sequenced the corresponding cDNAs and studied their expression in different insect stages. Moreover, using the deduced amino acid sequences, homology studies were performed both on their primary and tertiary structures. 3-D molecular modelling data showed that the residues involved in the oxygen transport and subunits contacts were located in spatial positions preserving the functionality of the molecule. Despite it was paradigmatically affirmed that insects do not have respiratory proteins, our data suggest that the haemocyanin could be involved in the respiratory mechanisms of P. grandis. As far as we know, this is the first haemocyanin 3-D structure described and analyzed in insects.
我们对石蝇物种大石蝇（Perla grandis）中一种假定的血蓝蛋白的两个亚基进行了表征。具体而言，我们克隆并测序了相应的cDNA，并研究了它们在不同昆虫阶段的表达。此外，利用推导的氨基酸序列，对其一级和三级结构进行了同源性研究。三维分子建模数据表明，参与氧气运输和亚基接触的残基位于保留分子功能的空间位置。尽管传统观点认为昆虫没有呼吸蛋白，但我们的数据表明，血蓝蛋白可能参与了大石蝇的呼吸机制。据我们所知，这是首次在昆虫中描述和分析的血蓝蛋白三维结构。
