How to translate text using browser tools
1 August 2013 Molecular Cloning, Sequence Analysis and Homology Modeling of the First Caudata Amphibian Antifreeze-Like Protein in Axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum)
Songyan Zhang, Jiuxiang GaO, Yiling Lu, Shasha Cai, Xue Qiao, Yipeng Wang, Haining Yu
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) refer to a class of polypeptides that are produced by certain vertebrates, plants, fungi, and bacteria and which permit their survival in subzero environments. In this study, we report the molecular cloning, sequence analysis and three-dimensional structure of the axolotl antifreeze-like protein (AFLP) by homology modeling of the first caudate amphibian AFLP. We constructed a full-length spleen cDNA library of axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum). An EST having highest similarity (∼42%) with freeze-responsive liver protein Li16 from Rana sylvatica was identified, and the full-length cDNA was subsequently obtained by RACE-PCR. The axolotl antifreeze-like protein sequence represents an open reading frame for a putative signal peptide and the mature protein composed of 93 amino acids. The calculated molecular mass and the theoretical isoelectric point (pl) of this mature protein were 10128.6 Da and 8.97, respectively. The molecular characterization of this gene and its deduced protein were further performed by detailed bioinformatics analysis. The three-dimensional structure of current AFLP was predicted by homology modeling, and the conserved residues required for functionality were identified. The homology model constructed could be of use for effective drug design. This is the first report of an antifreeze-like protein identified from a caudate amphibian.

© 2013 Zoological Society of Japan
Songyan Zhang, Jiuxiang GaO, Yiling Lu, Shasha Cai, Xue Qiao, Yipeng Wang, and Haining Yu "Molecular Cloning, Sequence Analysis and Homology Modeling of the First Caudata Amphibian Antifreeze-Like Protein in Axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum)," Zoological Science 30(8), 658-662, (1 August 2013). https://doi.org/10.2108/zsj.30.658
Received: 21 November 2012; Accepted: 1 March 2013; Published: 1 August 2013
KEYWORDS
Ambystoma mexicanum
antifreeze-like protein
caudate amphibian
homology modeling
molecular cloning
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission
Back to Top