Cell-specific properties of red cell and liver ferritin from bullfrog tadpoles probed by phosphorylation in vitro

Cell-specific differences occur in the primary structure of ferritin. For example, red cell and liver ferritin from bullfrog tadpoles differ by 1.5 times in serine content. To determine if cell-specific differences in ferritin primary structure are expressed in the tetraeicosomer, which thus might distinguish the proteins in a functional state, phosphorylation in vitro was employed as a probe using [gamma-32P]ATP and the catalytic subunit from the cAMP-dependent protein kinase of bovine skeletal muscle. Subunits of both proteins in the tetraeicosomers were phosphorylated. Based on tryptic peptide maps, five regions common to both red cell and liver apoferritin were phosphorylated, as confirmed for two peptides by amino acid analyses. [32P]Apoferritin from red cells yielded an additional four 32P-fragments by mapping, at least three of which were unique by amino acid analysis and, in one case, might represent a 32P-Fe complex bound by a fragment of the iron-binding site. One peptide appeared to be unique to liver apoferritin. High concentrations of ATP yielded one additional peptide common to liver and red cell and one red cell-specific peptide in the tryptic peptide maps. The maximum moles of 32P/molecule were 13 +/- 4 and 6 +/- 2, respectively, for red cell and liver apoferritin, which corresponded within experimental error to the number of 32P-tryptic peptides. The level of phosphorylation was, on the average, not more than one site/subunit. Furthermore, above certain levels of phosphorylation, some subunits in the assemblage of 24 appeared to be unavailable as substrates, possibly because of charge repulsion or conformational changes. The possibility that post-translational modifications of ferritin which amplify cell-specific structural features occur in vivo with cytoplasmic components, e.g. protein kinases, is considered in terms of the physiological availability of iron from different iron storage cells and developmental changes in iron storage.     

A possible role for the conserved trimer interface of ferritin in iron incorporation.

Ferritin is a large protein, highly conserved among higher eukaryotes, which reversibly stores iron as a mineral of hydrated ferric oxide. Twenty-four polypeptides assemble to form a hollow coat with the mineral inside. Multiple steps occur in iron core formation. First, Fe2+ enters the protein. Then, several alternate paths may be followed which include oxidation at site(s) on the protein, oxidation on the core surface, and mineralization. Sequence variations occur among ferritin subunits which are classified as H or L; Fe2+ oxidation at sites on the protein appears to be H-subunit-specific or protein-specific. Other steps of ferritin core formation are likely to involve conserved sites in ferritins. Since incorporation of Fe2+ into the protein must precede any of the other steps in core formation, it may involve sites conserved among the various ferritin proteins. In this study, accessibility of Fe2+ to 1,10-phenanthroline, previously shown to be inaccessible to Fe2+ inside ferritin, was used to measure Fe2+ incorporation in two different ferritins under various conditions. Horse spleen ferritin (L/H = 10-20:1) and sheep spleen ferritin (L/H = 1:1.6) were compared. The results showed that iron incorporation measured as inaccessibility of Fe2+ to 1,10-phenanthroline increased with pH. The effect was the same for both proteins, indicating that a step in iron core formation common among ferritins was being measured. Conserved sites previously proposed for different steps in ferritin core formation are at the interfaces of pairs and trios of subunits. Dinitrophenol cross-links, which modify pairs of subunits and affect iron oxidation, had no effect on Fe2+ incorporation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Ferritin gene organization: Differences between plants and animals suggest possible kingdom-specific selective constraints

Ferritin, a protein widespread in nature, concentrates iron ∼10¹¹–10¹²-fold above the solubility within a spherical shell of 24 subunits; it derives in plants and animals from a common ancestor (based on sequence) but displays a cytoplasmic location in animals compared to the plastid in contemporary plants. Ferritin gene regulation in plants and animals is altered by development, hormones, and excess iron; iron signals target DNA in plants but mRNA in animals. Evolution has thus conserved the two end points of ferritin gene expression, the physiological signals and the protein structure, while allowing some divergence of the genetic mechanisms. Comparison of ferritin gene organization in plants and animals, made possible by the cloning of a dicot (soybean) ferritin gene presented here and the recent cloning of two monocot (maize) ferritin genes, shows evolutionary divergence in ferritin gene organization between plants and animals but conservation among plants or among animals; divergence in the genetic mechanism for iron regulation is reflected by the absence in all three plant genes of the IRE, a highly conserved, noncoding sequence in vertebrate animal ferritin mRNA. In plant ferritin genes, the number of introns (n= 7) is higher than in animals (n= 3). Second, no intron positions are conserved when ferritin genes of plants and animals are compared, although all ferritin gene introns are in the coding region; within kingdoms, the intron positions in ferritin genes are conserved. Finally, secondary protein structure has no apparent relationship to intron/exon boundaries in plant ferritin genes, whereas in animal ferritin genes the correspondence is high. The structural differences in introns/exons among phylogenetically related ferritin coding sequences and the high conservation of the gene structure within plant or animal kingdoms suggest that kingdom-specific functional constraints may exist to maintain a particular intron/exon pattern within ferritin genes. In the case of plants, where ferritin gene intron placement is unrelated to triplet codons or protein structure, and where ferritin is targeted to the plastid, the selection pressure on gene organization may relate to RNA function and plastid/nuclear signaling. Received: 25 July 1995 / Accepted: 3 October 1995     

Tracing paternal ancestry in mice, using the Y-linked, sex-determining locus, Sry

The molecular evolution of mammalian Y-linked DNA sequences is of special interest because of their unique mode of inheritance: most Y- linked sequences are clonally inherited from father to son. Here we investigate the use of Y-linked sequences for phylogenetic inference. We describe a comparative analysis of a 515-bp region from the male sex- determining locus, Sry, in 22 murine rodents (subfamily Murinae, family Muridae), including representatives from nine species of Mus, and from two additional murine genera--Mastomys and Hylomyscus. Percent sequence divergence was < 0.01% for comparisons between populations within a species and was 0.19%-8.16% for comparisons between species. Our phylogenetic analysis of 12 murine taxa resulted in a single most- parsimonius tree that is highly concordant with phylogenies based on mitochondrial DNA and allozymes. A total evidence tree based on the combined data from Sry, mitochondrial DNA, and allozymes supports (1) the monophyly of the subgenus Mus, (2) its division into a Palearctic group (M. musculus, M. domesticus, M. spicilegus, M. Macedonicus, and M. spretus) and an Oriental group (M. cookii++, M. cervicolor, and M. caroli), and (3) sister-group relationships between M. spicilegus and M. macedonicus and between M. cookii and M. cervicolor. We argue that Y- chromosome DNA sequences represent a valuable new source of characters for phylogenetic inference.      

Active and passive cation transport and L antigen hertogeneity in low potassium sheep red cells

Several lines of experimental evidence are presented suggesting that the L antigens in low potassium (LK) sheep red cells are associated with separate Na(+)K(+) pump flux is distinct from the action of anti-L(l) on K(+) leak flux, implying that K(+) leak transport sites may not be converted into active pumps by the L antiserum. Treatment of LK red cells with trypsin completely abolished both the stimulation of K(+) pump flux and the enhancement of the rate of ouabain binding brought about by anti- L. That this effect is due to a total destruction of the L(p) determinant associated with the LK pump was evident from the complete failure of anti-L(p) to bind to trypsinized LK red cells. The L(p) antigen can be effectively protected against the trypsin attack by prior incubation with anti-L, indicating that the sites for antibody binding and trypsin action may be closely adjacent at the structural level. Trypsin treatment, however, did not interfere with anti-L(l) reducing ouabain insensitive K(+) leak influx, nor did it prevent binding of anti-L(ly), the hemolytically active L antibody which is probably identical with anti-L(l). The functional independence of the L(p) and L(l) sites was documented by the observation that anti-L(l) still reduced K(+) leak influx in LK cells with experimentally induced high potassium concentrations, at which K(+) pump flux is fully suppressed, whether or not anti-L(p) was binding to the L(p) antigen associated with the LK pump.     

Membranes in the miotic apparatus of barley cells

Membranes in the mitotic apparatus have been investigated ultrastructually in dividing cells of barley (Hordeum vulgare). After osmium tetroxide- potassium ferricyanide or ferrocyanide postfixation (OsFeCN) of material that had been fixed in glutaraldehyde in the presence of Ca(++), the nuclear envolope (NE)-endoplasmic reticulum (ER) complex is selectively stained, permitting observations on the cellular pattern and structural ramifications of this membrane system that have not been previously recognized. Specifically, it is observed that membrane system that have not been previously recognized. Specifically, it is observed that during mitosis the NE-ER forms a continuous membrane system that ensheathes and isolates the mitotic apparatus (MA). Elements of ER progressively accumulate in the region of the spindle pole, becoming most concentrated by early anaphase. Within the MA itself, there are striking spindle- membrane associations; in particular, tubular elements of predominantly smooth NE-ER invade the spindle interior selectively along kinetochore microtubules. The membrane elements at the pole and surrounding the MA consist of tubular reticulum and fenestrated lamellae. Membranes of the MA thus resemble in considerable detail the tubular network and fenestrated elements of the sarcoplasmic reticulum of muscle. It is suggested that the NE-ER of the dividing barley cell may function in one or both of the following ways: (a) to control the concentration of free Ca(++) in the MA and (b) to serve as an anchor to chromosome motion.     

Similarity of the structure of ferritin and iron . dextran (imferon) determined by extended X-ray absorption fine structure analysis.

Ferritin, a natural complex of iron oxide encased in protein, and iron . dextran, a synthetic complex of iron oxide coated with dextran, have the similar properties of maintaining high concentrations of iron in solution at physiological pH and releasing iron relatively slowly in vivo. Extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EX-AFS) analysis was performed on each complex and compared to see if the structures of the iron cores were similar. The results obtained from the extended x-ray absorption fine structure technique show that the near-neighbor environment around the average iron atom in ferritin and iron . dextran is identical, within experimental uncertainty, for the first three shells. The similarity of the iron cores in both complexes may explain the similarity of iron release in vivo. Ferritin has a protein coat which is composed of 24 subunits arranged in a hollow sphere with six channels through which the iron may move during deposition and release. However, little is known about the requirements of the protein structure in ferritin for the maintenance of high concentrations of iron in a soluble, nontoxic form or about the role of the protein in the release of iron from ferritin. The results suggest that iron . dextran will be a useful model compound in studies of the relation of the iron core and protein in ferritin to function.     

Impacts of cage culture on physico-chemical and bacteriological water quality in Lake Volta,Ghana

The effects of cage fish farming on physico-chemical and bacteriological water quality in Lake Volta, Ghana, were investigated in 2013–2014. Farmed and unfarmed (control) areas of the lake were selected for monitoring. Nutrients, temperature, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, turbidity, pH, total coliforms, Pseudomonas and Vibrio spp. in the water were monitored monthly. Analyses of the water samples were carried out according to standard procedures. Physico-chemical quality of the water in both farm and control sites were within ranges typical of minimally impacted water and did not vary significantly between the two contrasting sites. The bacteriological analysis, however, revealed contamination of the lake water by fish farming. The bacterial counts at the farmed sites were significantly higher (p < 0.05) than those of the control sites, with figures at the farmed sites ranging from 132 to 1 708 cfu 100 ml?1 for total coliforms, 514 to 5 170 cfu 100 ml?1 Pseudomonas spp. and 14 to 516 cfu 100 ml?1 for Vibrio spp. The results suggested that cage fish farming has increased bacterial loads in the lake water, but has had minimal impact on its physico-chemical quality.