Tachylectin-5A is a protein found in the immune system of the Japanese horseshoe crab, Tachypleus tridentatus. Tachylectin-5A, which has a PBD reference number of 1JC9, is mainly found in the hemolymph plasma of horseshoe crabs (1). This protein was determined on June 8th, 2001 via x-ray diffraction (1). The X-ray diffraction results in an absorbance of 2.01 Å (2). It shows that the protein contains 269 residues, and the molecular weight ot is 380-400 kDa (2). Proteins similar to tachylectin-5A have been found in various organisms like slime molds, sponges, bony fish, and lancelets (3). Tachylectin-5A is structurally related to the fibrinogen γ fragment, which is found in mammals’ plasma; and it is similar to a protein in humans called ficolin, which is involved in host defense through nonself-recognition (4).
Tachylectin-5A is an ellipsoidal molecule that is an asymmetrical monomer, which is subdivided into three different domains that interact with each other (2). The primary structure of Tachylectin-5A constitutes 269 amino acid residues (1). The amino acid composition of this protein has a cis-peptide bone between Arg-218 and Cys-219 (3). It contains one protein modification called prryolidone carboxylic acid, which is the twenty-fourth amino acid in the sequence (1). And the secondary structure of the protein consists of 16% alpha helical and 24% beta sheets. There are 9 helices with 44 amino acid residues and 19 beta sheets with 66 residues involved in total (1). The
You scratch Giant Crab 1 in the left first leg from behind, fracturing the chitin and bruising the fat!
The Callinectes sapidus also known commonly as the Maryland Blue Crab, is a crustacean found in the Chesapeake Bay. The blue crab is found in aquatic environments, most often in estuaries. It characterized by it’s blue claws. The blue crabs undergo a life cycle of: zoeae, megalop, juvenile, and adulthood. The blue crab’s hard shells serve as a protective barrier for external dangers. The Callinectes sapidus comes from the order of Decapods, whereby it’s carapace has now evolved to be better suited for swimming. Of interest is the blue crab’s mating
Second, in order to further confirm the information about characteristics and function of the targeting protein that we have
The PaV1 infection is a pathogenic virus that is usually lethal within the course of weeks or months for juvenile spiny lobsters and the spiny lobster species is commonly affected by this disease. Most lobster traps are baited with live, sublegal-sized lobsters because these attract legal sized lobsters due to their social natures but it is not well known how lobsters react to traps that have PaV1 infected lobsters in them or how other lobsters confined in the traps with the infected lobsters handle this virus. The study found that 11% of lobsters caught in traps tested positive for the virus even though they showed no visible signs of disease. It was also found that traps containing infected lobsters caught a significantly lower amount of lobsters compared to those traps that had healthy lobsters in them. Once healthy lobsters were caught in traps with PaV1 positive lobsters, the healthy ones soon became infected more so than healthy lobsters confined with other healthy lobsters. These results show that a pathogen can have a significant impact on the practice of wood box like traps that can have negative consequences to the lobster
The blue crab Callinectes sapidus is a wide-ranging, ecologically and economically important species along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico (GMx) coasts of North America. Consequently, its basic biology, life history, population genetics, and demography have been the subjects of numerous studies. For my dissertation research, I propose to focus on two critical areas concerning the ecology and evolution of blue crabs that have broader implications for our understanding of marine organisms with biphasic life cycles. For the first chapter I will investigate the unusual finding of extreme temporal and spatial variation in the genetic composition of settling blue crab larvae along the Texas coast. Since it was reported in 1993, this finding been
Limulus polyphemus has been harvested from the waters of Monomoy, Cape Cod NS (Pleasant Bay), and Cape Cod Bay for both of these purposes for over 25 years, however, the waters of Cape Cod NS and Monomoy were closed to harvesting in 2000. Around 10 to 15 percent of the 500,000 crabs bled annually along the Atlantic coast do not survive the bleeding process, and for those that do survive, the long term effects of the bleeding are still unknown to scientists (Fabie, 2009). One study, however, has suggested that bleeding may actually affect the movement patterns of the crabs (Fabie,
“Horseshoe crabs are some of the most successful life forms on earth.” They have been around for over 445 million years. Longer than even the pesky cockroaches. They have a blood that turns to jelly, creating a barrier between them and pathogens, keeping them safe from any diseases. But for the physical harm, they have adapted a hard shell or carapace to protect them from attacks. Horseshoe crabs also have gills as thin as the pages of a book, allowing them to breathe out of water for as long as they are wet. This is especially good for spawning. Speaking of which, they can also produce 90,000 fertile eggs a year, increasing the population. They seem unstoppable.
In order to study the molecules regulator in hematopoiesis by an in vitro culture, crayfish hematopoietic cytokines, astakine1 have been identified (5). Astakine1 is an invertebrate prokineticin, which plays an important role in hematopoiesis regulation in crustacean.
Proteins are polymeric chains that are built from monomers called amino acids. All structural and functional properties of proteins derive from the chemical properties of the polypeptide chain. There are four levels of protein structural organization: primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary. Primary structure is defined as the linear sequence of amino acids in a polypeptide chain. The secondary structure refers to certain regular geometric figures of the chain. Tertiary structure results from long-range contacts within the chain. The quaternary structure is the organization of protein subunits, or two or more independent polypeptide chains.
When combined with calcium carbonate chitin forms a strong composite, which contributes to the ablility of R. pachyptila to withstand such high pressures. Chitin is found across crustaceans and insects and is tough and pliable, providing protection while maintaining some flexibility. The characteristic red plume of R. pachyptila can be just as much of a hinderance as it is an asset, being an attractive target for predators. To remedy this, the plume can be retracted into the chitin tube when predators draw near. Additionally, the lack of many predators due to the extreme conditions often allows R. pachyptila to flourish in its ecological
For the second part of the experiment, one had to use the knowledge learn from viewing protein molecules in FirstGlance in Jmol to analyze the protein PDB ID: 4EEY. The analysis of this protein was done using the RSCB protein data bank (PDB) at (http://www.rcsb.org/pdb/home/home.do).2
There is always a time in a man’s life in which he must break himself away from the iron-fist of his merciless crabs. Under the unforgiving tyrant nature of these shelled creatures, they turn a man’s relationship with them, from a friend to a voiceless servant. As the slave of the shell’s inhabitant, the man is required to see to their every need, and is wholly responsible for keeping them pleased. Once this slavery takes effect, however, that man should have the liberty to express his freedom, and to the liberation from the cynical crustaceans. These crabs have added an unnecessary burden to my existence, a burden that greatly interferes with my daily life. Let light shine on the proof of their imperious power:
The pH in the control was 8.043, and the acidified tanks pH was 7.712, both had a 0.006 standard error. Temperature remained constant at 4.1C and the salinity was 31.5 ppt. The Acidified water differed from the control having higher pCO2 and DIC. It also had lower ΩAragonite, and ΩCalcite than control water, these are the most important molecules required for calcification in the crabs exoskeleton. In the embryogenesis experiment the first three principal components explained 90% of variation in embryo morphometrics. The first PC positively correlated with yolk size and negatively with egg and eye size. The samples taken from the acidified conditions in March showed larger eggs and eyes and smaller yolks than the control conditions compared to the month of February. Differences were in months, treatments, and individuals, but not interaction between embryo and larval phases. The second PC showed all positive correlations with the exception of the maximum eye diameter; variation occurred between crabs but not months or treatments. Long et al did not describe PC three as it was not easily interpreted and had minimal input on the variation in the data; it showed differences in females and treatments, but not for months. For adult female survival testing only one acidified female successfully molted and survived 2 weeks post-molt, all four control crabs survived. One acidified female did not
Bettelheim, Brown, Campbell and Farrell assert that polypeptide chains do not extend in straight lines but rather they fold in various ways and give rise to a large number of three-dimensional structures (594). This folding or conformation of amino acids in the localized regions of the polypeptide chains defines the secondary structure of proteins. The main force responsible for the secondary structure is the non-covalent
Western Blotting can be used to detect the Myosin actin light chain in different species of fish and is used to distinguish from different species based on variation, commonality, or evolutionary divergence. First, proteins are extracted from the tissue and loaded into a gel matrix. The matrix will separate the proteins according to size using an electric current. Proteins that are separated after are blotted from the gel and onto a paper membrane. An antibody is then added to the membrane paper and causes a colored reaction. Following the reaction, the results