2003 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Variation and Evolution of Metal Utilization
| Project/Area Number |
14596005
|
|---|
| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
|
| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
|---|
| Section | 一般 |
|---|
| Research Field |
生物多様性・分類
|
|---|
| Research Institution | HIROSHIMA UNIVERSITY |
|---|
Principal Investigator |
UEKI Tatsuya Hiroshima University, Graduate School of Science, Associate Professor, 大学院・理学研究科, 助教授 (10274705)
|
|---|
| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
MICHIBATA Hitoshi Hiroshima University, Graduate School of Science, Professor, 大学院・理学研究科, 教授 (00111740)
|
|---|
| Project Period (FY) |
2002 – 2003
|
| Keywords | chordate / polychaete / metal accumulation / vanadium / metal binding proteins / amity column / genome / EST |
|---|
| Research Abstract |
Metal ions at a low level in cells are important for biological functions such as oxygen transport, electron transfer, regulation of enzyme activity, or signal transduction. There is increasing interest on the relationship between evolution of various organisms and the variety of metal utilization. In this study, we focused on vanadium-binding proteins (vanabins) that are thought to be a key factor for vanadium accumulation in an ascidian, Ascidia sydneiensis samea. We intended to examine whether this protein is unique in vanadium-accumulating ascidian, whether this protein exist in vanadium-accumulating worm, what is the function of homologous proteins if exist. The final goal is to create a new research filed of variety and evolution of metal utilization
1. We examined by genomic Southern blot hybridization to identify genes homologous to vanabins in ascidians collected in the sea surrounding Japan, but it failed
2. We identified several vanadium-associated proteins by immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography in Pseudopotamilla occelata
3. We found five genes homologues to vanabins in genome and EST databases of an ascidian, Ciona intestinalis. They are clustered in a small "genomic region. We revealed their ability to bind vanadium ions by using recombinant proteins
4. We found six genes homologous to vanabins in the genome database of another ascidian, Ciona savignyi. They are not distributed in three distant regions in the genome
|
