Student Major/Year in School
Biochemistry/ Third Year
Faculty Mentor Information
Dr. Maureen Gorman, Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Kansas State University
Abstract
Characterization of a Membrane-Bound Insect Transferrin
Diana G. Najera, Michelle E. Coca, Kayla E. Nutsch, and Maureen J. Gorman
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Kansas State University
Transferrins are extracellular proteins that bind iron. Vertebrate transferrins have well-characterized roles in iron transport and immunity, but the functions of transferrins in most other animals are poorly understood. The goals of this study are to identify the functions of transferrin-3 (Tsf3) from Drosophila melanogaster (fruit fly), and to determine whether Tsf3 is conserved in other species of insects. Our experimental approach has been to predict important features of the protein, analyze gene expression, perform RNAi-mediated knockdown in cultured cells, and use phylogenetic analysis to identify Tsf3 orthologs. An analysis of the Tsf3 amino acid sequence predicts that Tsf3 is extracellular and anchored to the plasma membrane. Putative iron-binding residues are present in the carboxyl-lobe, but iron-binding residues appear to be lacking in the amino-lobe; therefore, we predict that only the carboxyl-lobe binds iron. Tsf3 is expressed at a low level throughout development in many tissues, and it is very highly expressed in prepupal salivary glands. To test the hypothesis that Tsf3 is used for iron uptake by insect cells, we are in the process of evaluating the effect of RNAi-mediated knockdown of Tsf3 on cellular iron content. Finally, we did a phylogenetic analysis of insect transferrins and identified orthologs of Tsf3 in insects from 10 different orders. Our findings demonstrate that Tsf3 is likely to be an extracellular, membrane-bound, iron-binding protein that may be involved in cellular iron uptake in diverse species of insects.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
Recommended Citation
Najera, Diana (2019). "Characterization of a Membrane-Bound Insect Transferrin," Kansas State University Undergraduate Research Conference. https://newprairiepress.org/ksuugradresearch/2019/posters/51
Characterization of a Membrane-Bound Insect Transferrin
Characterization of a Membrane-Bound Insect Transferrin
Diana G. Najera, Michelle E. Coca, Kayla E. Nutsch, and Maureen J. Gorman
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Kansas State University
Transferrins are extracellular proteins that bind iron. Vertebrate transferrins have well-characterized roles in iron transport and immunity, but the functions of transferrins in most other animals are poorly understood. The goals of this study are to identify the functions of transferrin-3 (Tsf3) from Drosophila melanogaster (fruit fly), and to determine whether Tsf3 is conserved in other species of insects. Our experimental approach has been to predict important features of the protein, analyze gene expression, perform RNAi-mediated knockdown in cultured cells, and use phylogenetic analysis to identify Tsf3 orthologs. An analysis of the Tsf3 amino acid sequence predicts that Tsf3 is extracellular and anchored to the plasma membrane. Putative iron-binding residues are present in the carboxyl-lobe, but iron-binding residues appear to be lacking in the amino-lobe; therefore, we predict that only the carboxyl-lobe binds iron. Tsf3 is expressed at a low level throughout development in many tissues, and it is very highly expressed in prepupal salivary glands. To test the hypothesis that Tsf3 is used for iron uptake by insect cells, we are in the process of evaluating the effect of RNAi-mediated knockdown of Tsf3 on cellular iron content. Finally, we did a phylogenetic analysis of insect transferrins and identified orthologs of Tsf3 in insects from 10 different orders. Our findings demonstrate that Tsf3 is likely to be an extracellular, membrane-bound, iron-binding protein that may be involved in cellular iron uptake in diverse species of insects.
