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Full-Text Articles in Chemistry

Identification Of Guanylate Cyclases And Related Signaling Proteins In Sperm Tail From Sea Stars By Mass Spectrometry, Mia Nakachi, Midori Matsumoto, Philip M. Terry, Ronald L. Cerny, Hideaki Moriyama May 2008

Identification Of Guanylate Cyclases And Related Signaling Proteins In Sperm Tail From Sea Stars By Mass Spectrometry, Mia Nakachi, Midori Matsumoto, Philip M. Terry, Ronald L. Cerny, Hideaki Moriyama

Hideaki Moriyama Publications

Marine invertebrates employ external fertilization to take the advantages of sexual reproduction as one of excellent survival strategies. To prevent mismatching, successful fertilization can be made only after going though strictly defined steps in the fertilization. In sea stars, the fertilization process starts with the chemotaxis of sperm followed by hyperactivation of sperm upon arriving onto the egg coat, and then sperm penetrate to the egg coat before achieving the fusion. To investigate whether the initiation of chemotaxis and the following signaling has species specificity, we conducted comparative studies in the protein level among sea stars, Asterias amurensis, A. forbesi …


Mechanisms Of Hemoglobin Adaptation To High Altitude Hypoxia, Jay F. Storz, Hideaki Moriyama Jan 2008

Mechanisms Of Hemoglobin Adaptation To High Altitude Hypoxia, Jay F. Storz, Hideaki Moriyama

Hideaki Moriyama Publications

Evidence from a number of vertebrate taxa suggests that modifications of hemoglobin (Hb) function may often play a key role in mediating an adaptive response to high altitude hypoxia. The respiratory functions of Hb are a product of the protein’s intrinsic O2-binding affinity and its interactions with allosteric effectors such as protons, chloride ions, CO2, and organic phosphates. Here we review several case studies involving high altitude vertebrates where it has been possible to identify specific mechanisms of Hb adaptation to hypoxia. In addition to comparative studies of Hbs from diverse animal species, functional studies of …


Conserved Sequences Of Sperm-Activating Peptide And Its Receptor Throughout Evolution, Despite Speciation In The Sea Star Asterias Amurensis And Closely Related Species, Mia Nakachi, Motonori Hoshi, Midori Matsumoto, Hideaki Moriyama Jan 2008

Conserved Sequences Of Sperm-Activating Peptide And Its Receptor Throughout Evolution, Despite Speciation In The Sea Star Asterias Amurensis And Closely Related Species, Mia Nakachi, Motonori Hoshi, Midori Matsumoto, Hideaki Moriyama

Hideaki Moriyama Publications

The asteroidal sperm-activating peptides (asterosaps) from the egg jelly bind to their sperm receptor, a membrane-bound guanylate cyclase, on the tail to activate sperm in sea stars. Asterosaps are produced as single peptides and then cleaved into shorter peptides. Sperm activation is followed by the acrosome reaction, which is subfamily specific. In order to investigate the molecular details of the asterosap-receptor interaction, corresponding cDNAs have been cloned, sequenced and analysed from the Asteriinae subfamily including Asterias amurensis, A. rubens, A. jorbesi and Aphelasterias japonica, as well as Distolasterias nipon from the Coscinasteriinae subfamily. Averages of 29% and 86% identity …


Mechanisms Of Hemoglobin Adaptation To High Altitude Hypoxia, Jay F. Storz, Hideaki Moriyama Jan 2008

Mechanisms Of Hemoglobin Adaptation To High Altitude Hypoxia, Jay F. Storz, Hideaki Moriyama

Hideaki Moriyama Publications

Evidence from a number of vertebrate taxa suggests that modifications of hemoglobin (Hb) function may often play a key role in mediating an adaptive response to high altitude hypoxia. The respiratory functions of Hb are a product of the protein’s intrinsic O2-binding affinity and its interactions with allosteric effectors such as protons, chloride ions, CO2, and organic phosphates. Here we review several case studies involving high altitude vertebrates where it has been possible to identify specific mechanisms of Hb adaptation to hypoxia. In addition to comparative studies of Hbs from diverse animal species, functional studies of …