Iron metabolism in insects.
Like other organisms, insects must balance two properties of ionic iron, that of an essential nutrient and a potent toxin. Iron must be acquired to provide catalysis for oxidative metabolism, but it must be controlled to avoid destructive oxidative reactions. Insects have evolved distinctive forms of the serum iron transport protein, transferrin, and the storage protein, ferritin. These proteins may serve different functions in insects than they do in other organisms. A form of translational control of protein synthesis by iron in insects is similar to that of vertebrates. The Drosophila melanogaster genome contains many genes that may encode other proteins involved in iron metabolism.
Nichol
Helen
H
Department of Nutritional Science, University of Arizona, Shantz 309, P.O. Box 210038, Tucson, Arizona 85721-0038, USA. nicholsask@yahoo.com
Law
John H
JH
Winzerling
Joy J
JJ
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001692:Biological Transport; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics; D005293:Ferritins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D017344:Genes, Insect; D006801:Humans; D019476:Insect Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D007313:Insecta / Q000378:metabolism*; D007501:Iron / Q000378:metabolism*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D014176:Protein Biosynthesis; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
D019476:Insect Proteins; D005293:Ferritins; D007501:Iron