Extraction and Purification of Matrix Protein from the Nacre of Pearl Oyster Pinctada fucata

A soluble matrix protein P14 with an apparent molecular mass of 14.5 kDa was isolated from fragmented nacre of pearl oysters （Pinctada fucata） treated with 10% NaOH solution to investigate the nacre matrix proteins and their effect on the CaCO3 crystal. The protein was characterized by gel exclusion chromatography and reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography after demineralization by 10% acetic acid. The X-ray diffraction pattern of P14 crystals indicates that P14 plays an important role in nacre biomineralization. P14 can induce aragonite formation, stimulate CaCO3 crystal formation, and accelerate aragonite precipitation. Heating of the acid insoluble nacre residue, which was named conchiolin, in 10% sodium dodecyl sulfate solution supplemented with 10% β-mercaptoethanol solution for 10-20 min at about 100℃ gave two other soluble proteins having molecular masses of 19.4 kDa and 25.0 kDa. The present study suggests that these two proteins are linked to the insoluble organic matrix by disulfide bridges because the extraction yield increases when β-mercaptoethanol is added to the medium.     

Molecular characterization of GmNHX2, a Na＋/H＋ antiporter gene homolog from soybean,and its heterolosous expression to improve salt tolerance in Arabidopsis

Na＋/H＋ antiporters have been well documented to enhance plant salt tolerance by regulating cellular ion homeostasis. Here, a putative Na＋/H＋ antiporter gene homolog GmNHX2 from soybean was cloned and predicted to encode a protein of 534 amino acids with 10 putative transmembrane domains. GmNHX2 was expressed in all soybean plant tissues but enriched in roots and its expression was induced by NaCI and polyethylene glycol （PEG） treatments. GmNHX2 exhibits greater sequence similarity with LeNHX2 and AtNHX6 than that of AtNHX1 and AtSOS1. Although phylogenetic analysis clustered GmNHX2 with organellar （tonoplast and vesicles） antiporters, the GmNHX2-EGFP （enhanced green fluorescent protein） fusion protein was possibly localized in the plasma membrane or organelle membrane of transgenic plant cells, Furthermore, transgenic Arabidopsis plants expressing GmNHX2 were more tolerant to high NaCl concentrations during germination and seedling stages when compared with wild-type plants. These results suggest that GmNHX2 is a membrane Na＋/H＋ antiporter and may function to regulate ion homeostasis under salt stress.     

Molecular Cloning and Distribution of a Plasma Membrane Calcium ATPase Homolog from the Pearl Oyster Pinctada fucata

Plasma membrane calcium ATPaso (PMCA) plays a critical role in transporting Ca2 out of the cy- tosol across the plasma membrane which is essential both in keeping intracellular Ca2+ homeostasis and in biomineralization.In this paper we cloned and localized a gene encoding PMCA from the pearl oyster Pinctada fucata.This PMCA shares similarity with other published PMCAs within the functional domains.Reverse transcdption-polymerase chain reaction analysis shows that it is expressed ubiquitously.Furthermore,in situ hybridization reveals that it is expressed in the inner epithelial calls of the outer fold and in the outer epithelial calls of the middle fold,as well as the edge near the shell,which suggests that PMCA may be involved in calcified layer formation.The identification and characterization of oyster PMCA can help to further under-stand the structural and functional properties of molluscan PMCA,as well as the mechanism of maintaining Ca2+ homeostasis and the mechanism of mineralization in pead oyster.     

Cloning, Characterization, and Expression Analysis of Calreticulin from Pearl Oyster Pinctada fucata

Calreticulin is a unique calcium-binding protein with multiple functions mostly located in the sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticulum. A large amount of calcium is absorbed from the medium and transported to mineralization sites during biomineralization in pearl oyster. This paper describes the cloning of the full-length cDNA of calreticulin from Pinctada fucata, namely PCRT. PCRT encodes a deduced 414-amino acid protein, which includes a predicted 17- amino acid signal peptide and an endoplasmic reticulum retrieval sequence HDEL. The protein shows 63%-76% sequence identity and shares some common characteristics with calreticulins from other species. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR indicates that PCRT is ubiquitously expressed in all tissues tested with the highest expression in the hemolymph and the mantle. In situ hybridization analysis of PCRT in the mantle showed strong signals in the inner fold, the inner side of middle fold, and the inner side of outer fold of the mantle epithelium, All these results suggest PCRT might be involved in Ca^2＋ transport and storage during oyster biomineralization.     

Inhibition of Alkaline Phosphatase from Pearl Oyster Pinctada fucata by o-Phthalaldehyde： Involvement of Lysine and Histidine Residues at the Active Site

Alkaline phosphatase from Pinctada fucata was inactivated by o-phthalaldehyde （OPA）. The inactivation followed pseudo first-order kinetics with a second rate constant of 0.167 （mmol/L）^-1·min^-1 at pH 7.5 and 25℃. A Tsou＇s plot analysis showed that inactivation occurred upon formation of one isoindole group. The OPA-modified enzyme lost the ability to bind with the specific affinity column and the presence of substrates or competitive inhibitors protected the enzyme from inactivation. The results revealed that the OPA-reaction site was at the enzyme substrate binding site. Prior modification of the enzyme by lysine or histidine specific reagent abolished formation of the isoindole derivatives, suggesting that lysine and histidine residues were involved in the OPA-induced inactivation. Taken together, OPA inactivated the alkaline phosphatase from Pinctada fucata by cross-linking lysine and histidine residues at the active site and formed an isoindole group at the substrate binding site of the enzyme.     

Cloning, Characterization, and Expression Analysis of Calreticulin from Pearl Oyster Pinctada fucata

Calreticulin is a unique calcium-binding protein with multiple functions mostly located in the sar-coplasmic/endoplasmic reticulum.A large amount of calcium is absorbed from the medium and transported to mineralization sites during biomineralization in pead oyster.This paper describes the cloning of the full-length cDNA of calreticulin from Pinctada fucata,namely PCRT.PCRT encodes a deduced 414-amino acid protein,which includes a predicted 17- amino acid signal peptide and an endoplasmic reticulum retrieval sequence HDEL.The protein shows 63%-76% sequence identity and shares some common characteristics with calreticulins from other species.Semi-quantitative RT-PCR indicates that PCRT is ubiquitously ex-pressed in all tissues tested with the highest expression in the hemolymph and the mantle.In situ hybridiza-tion analysis of PCRT in the mantle showed strong signals in the inner fold,the inner side of middle fold,and the inner side of outer fold of the mantle epithelium.All these results suggest PCRT might be involved in Ca2+ transport and storage during oyster biomineralization.