Document Type

Article

Publication Date

10-3-2017

Department

Biology

Abstract

Late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) proteins are a large group of anhydrobiosis-associated intrinsically disordered proteins (IDP), which are commonly found in plants and some animals. The brine shrimp Artemiafranciscana is the only known animal that expresses LEA proteins from three, and not only one, different groups in its anhydrobiotic life stage. The reason for the higher complexity in the A. franciscana LEA proteome (LEAome), compared with other anhydrobiotic animals, remains mostly unknown. To address this issue, we have employed a suite of bioinformatics tools to evaluate the disorder status of the ArtemiaLEAome and to analyze the roles of intrinsic disorder in functioning of brine shrimp LEA proteins. We show here that A. franciscanaLEA proteins from different groups are more similar to each other than one originally expected, while functional differences among members of group 3 are possibly larger than commonly anticipated. Our data show that although these proteins are characterized by a large variety of forms and possible functions, as a general strategy, A. franciscana utilizes glassy matrix forming LEAs concurrently with proteins that more readily interact with binding partners. It is likely that the function(s) of both types, the matrix-forming and partner-binding LEA proteins, are regulated by changing water availability during desiccation.

Comments

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Journal of Biomolecular Structure and Dynamics on 03 Oct 2017, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/07391102.2017.1387177

Original Publication Information

Janis, Brett, Vladimir N. Uversky and Michael A. Menze. "Potential Functions of LEA Proteins from the Brine Shrimp Artemia Franciscana - Anhydrobiosis Meets Bioinformatics." 2017. Journal of Biomolecular Structure and Dynamics, DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2017.1387177

DOI

10.1080/07391102.2017.1387177

Included in

Biology Commons

Share

COinS