title: Abalone (Haliotis tuberculata) hemocyanin type 1 (HtH1). Organization of the approximately 400 kDa subunit, and amino acid sequence of its functional units f, g and h.
abstract: We have identified two separate hemocyanin types (HtH1 and HtH2) in the European abalone Haliotis tuberculata. HtH1/HtH2 hybrid molecules were not found. By selective dissociation of HtH2 we isolated HtH1 which, as revealed by electron microscopy and SDS/PAGE, is present as didecamers of a approximately 400 kDa subunit. Immunologically, HtH1 and HtH2 correspond to keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH)1 and KLH2, respectively, the two well-studied hemocyanin types of the closely related marine gastropod Megathura crenulata. On the basis of limited proteolytic cleavage, two-dimensional immunoelectrophoresis, SDS/PAGE and N-terminal sequencing, we identified eight different 40-60 kDa functional units in HtH1, termed HtH1-a to HtH1-h, and determined their linear arrangement within the elongated subunit. From Haliotis mantle tissue, rich in hemocyanin-producing pore cells, we isolated mRNA and constructed a cDNA library. By expression screening with HtH-specific rabbit antibodies, a cDNA clone was isolated and sequenced which codes for the three C-terminal functional units f, g and h of HtH1. Their sequences were aligned to those available from other molluscs, notably to functional unit f and functional unit g from the cephalopod Octopus dofleini. HtH1-f, which is the first sequenced functional unit of type f from a gastropod hemocyanin, corresponds to functional unit f from Octopus. Also functional unit g from Haliotis and Octopus correspond to each other. HtH1-h is a gastropod hemocyanin functional unit type which is absent in cephalopods and has not been sequenced previously. It exhibits a unique tail extension of approximately 95 amino acids, which is lacking in functional units a to g and aligns with a published peptide sequence of 48 amino acids from functional unit h of Helix pomatia hemocyanin. The new Haliotis sequences are discussed with respect to their counterparts in Octopus, the 15 A three-dimensional reconstruction of the KLH1 didecamer from electron micrographs, and the recent 2.3 A X-ray structure of functional unit g from Octopus hemocyanin.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Zoology, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Germany.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Keller
authors.lastname: Lieb Bp6
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Altenhein
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gebauer
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Richter
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Stricker
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Markl
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D006433:Hemocyanins / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D008974:Mollusca / Q000737:chemistry*; D011817:Rabbits; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
chemical_list: D018076:DNA, Complementary; C121185:hemocyanin type 1, abalone; D006433:Hemocyanins